Hawaii day 1 & 2

Mike had simulator training on Oahu, so I decided to tag along. His work schedule was T-Th 8-2, so we flew out from Sunday to Friday so we'd have time to spend together. It turns out he only had to work T/W 8-1, so we got plenty of us time. My wonderful parents came out and took care of the kids while we were gone.

We stayed in the Waikiki Banyan resort. It wasn't directly on the beach, but we could see it from our room.

On Monday we decided to hike up the Koko Crater Railway Trail. The trail used to be an old rail line that goes straight up the mountain that was used to take artillery up. We passed quite a few people on our way up and were rewarded with an amazing view. I wore sandals, because I always wear sandals, and it wasn't a problem on the way up, but on the way down it was a little sketchy. 

After the stairs we went to the beach so Mike could snorkel. It was a little windy, and the water was rough, so I stayed on the beach and made sure he didn't drown while reading a good book. Mike got a good workout maneuvering through the waves. 

Jordan River Temple open house

In April we got to attend the Jordan River Temple open house. This temple is the busiest in the entire church, so when renovations began the surrounding temples became much busier. The new inside is beautiful. I'll miss the escalator (Mike can't "shine" his slippers) but the renovations look great. 

Steven, Sarah and myself were also able to attend the rededication ceremony. Mike was already in Altus, so he wasn't able to be there. It's special for me to be able to attend these kinds of things with my kids. I am thankful for temples and what it means for our family. I love to see the temple!

Steven's 5th grade Exhibition

As a 5th grader Steven participated in "Exhibition", where students get into small groups to talk about various problems in the world and come up with solutions. Steven and his group chose to do "War". (a little broad, but they made it work) As part of the process he collected items for "Operation Adopt a Ghost" that send the items to military personnel serving overseas. It was neat for him to be able to collect the items and drop them off to the very appreciative woman in Orem that ships them.

Tulip Festival

These past few years we've made it a tradition to take Lynette to the Tulip Festival. We went early this season, so a lot of the tulips hadn't bloomed, but it was still really pretty. We've learned that the best way to do it is rent a golf course, which significantly cuts down on the amount of complaining from the kids. ;) Apparently I didn't take a single picture of flowers, but I did get family shots which is what really matters, right? 

Capitol Reef Day 2- Capitol George Trail

On our second day in the park we walked along the Capitol Gorge Trail. It's an easy trail with plenty of fun places to explore and hide. The kids once again gave us ample opportunities to snap their pictures. Adam wore a long sleeve shirt but quickly got hot. (When will my kids take dressing advice?!) ;) Mike tore off his sleeves to make him more comfortable hence his first ever muscle shirt. :)

We tried to attend church on Sunday, but it must have been stake conference because there weren't any cars around. I think we still get credit for trying.

Capitol Reef Day 1- Hickman Bridge

Every once in a while my sister Ashley and I have wonderful ideas about getting our families together. Last year we had the fabulous idea of going to Goblin Valley in June and this year, since we traded pop ups for trailers, we wanted to take them out together. Dave couldn't come along so Ashley, being the wonder woman that she is, brought her crew without him. Our mom came along to help. We decided to go to Capitol Reef National Park since none of us had been there. We stayed at a decent RV park and drove into the park for a couple days. The first day we went on a short-ish hike to Hickman Bridge. The fun thing about hikes like this is that the kids are constantly hiding and asking to have their picture taken. I'm happy to oblige. :) 

 The world was a better place once Steven found a lizard. He wanted to bring it home, of course, but we told him he had to leave the little guy in his home.

We are a lot more lax with eating while on vacation. Adam decided to make a Pringles sandwich. He seemed happy, so who am I to oppose it. Apparently I bought white bread, so there was zero nutritional value.

Children's museum and bathroom beauty shop with the Millers

My sister Ashley brought her kids out for our trip to Capitol Reef so we decided to go to the children's museum before the trip. My parents came as well. Most of the kids wanted to do the high ropes course above the play area, so my dad accompanied Allyson.

I know I took more pictures than this, but I dyed my nieces hair rainbow colors in preparation for our trip. She loved it, hopefully her dad did as well. ;)