Field Day June 2015

 Last June, on one of the final days of school, Marcela's class (my class) was watching a movie and having field day in the afternoon, so I decided to let Cecilia come along and enjoy the fun with her sister and friends. They had a blast going through all of the field day games and getting wet.

 Running through the sprinkler after playing water tug-of-war.

 Double Twister painted on the grass.

 Wet sponge relay.

 Gigantic soccer supposed to be played in crab-walking position.

Riding the Four-Wheeler

Growing up, we had a four-wheeler that provided some pretty exciting entertainment and great stories to tell and retell as the years have gone by. This summer when we went to Oregon, little Ollie had a four-wheeler (that he isn't big enough to ride yet) and the girls were very anxious to give it a spin. I think I passed them some four-wheeling DNA through their genes. ;)  It's a battery-operated one so they had to wait a day to charge it and they had so much fun when it was finally ready!

 Lilly, Grandma Brenda and Cecilia -- all plugged in as Marcela took her turn on the 4-wheeler.

This little cutie just loves being outside. 

Ollie has a love for technology:

Thanks, Aunt Lilly, for letting the girls enjoy Ollie's toy before he does. 

Antelope Island

 While Abuela Rina and Tía Ana were still here we decided to go explore Antelope Island since we'd never been there before. Antelope Island is the largest of 10 islands on the Great Salt Lake and has an area of 42 square miles. We arrived just in time to drive around and check out some of the wildlife and watch the sun set on the lake.

 Arachnaphobes should not stray far from their cars on the island as there are more spiders than you can handle. As we were driving up to the visitors center, strings between the sage brush kept catching my eye and as we slowed down, I noticed that there were giant spiders on each one. It's enough to give me the shivers just as I recall it. Needless to say, I'll never be camping overnight or straying from any paved trails while we visit. :)

 Good things the wildlife can be spotted from the car. :)

Lots of Helping Hands

Since so many family and friends were coming from far and wide to be there when Marcela was baptized, we planned a big picnic/party afterwards and everyone was so helpful and pitched in with all of the details. Tia Ana arrived a week before the party and she and the girls spent hours in front of the television watching movies and making tissue paper flowers and talking about girly things. 

Cecilia was especially great at pulling each layer apart to make the flowers. She was a huge help to Tia Ana.

 I think in the end, they made about 50 flowers!

Aunt Annie, and Grandpa, and Grandma Iden along with Makayla and Jacob arrived two days before to join the fun and help out. As always, Ceci doesn't like her picture taken.

 Really, the party began a few days before -- Aunt Tami and Grandma Leann also arrived that day. 

 Both Grandma's showed their cake-decorating skills and iced two hundred cupcakes in a variety of colors. 

 All the while Ana made spicy salsa with about 25 lbs of tomatoes . . . the true miracle is that is all happened at once in our tiny kitchen and there were no casualties. :)

Patriotic Toes

The girls love to have their toenails painted and we found some dotting and striping tools that we experimented with for Marcela's patriotic toes.

Goodbye Friends

When we moved into our apartment in Holladay after we were first married, there was a gentleman that offered to help carry stuff up to our apartment. He and his wife became our dear friends and although we haven't been neighbors for several years and they moved away from the city, we always tried to see each other at least once a year. This spring we had to say goodbye to them as they moved out-of-state for work. I will be sad to not be able to make that yearly visit to chat and let our kids play together and reacquaint. This year, we went to their neighborhood pool and they had a blast swimming. These three were toddlers and babies when we were neighbors. 

 Makai is such a great big-brother!

Makai, Vaha, Ame, Marcela, Tevi, and Ceci.

 We love you, Funakis, and wish you the best in Arizona!

Simple Summer Fun

Sometimes they just can't resist running through the sprinklers in the front yard. And sometimes I just can't resist grabbing the camera. I love these true and simple expressions of childhood joy. Life is just what it should be in the summer.