a Utah 4th of July...

is simply the best.

I love love love the 4th of July in Utah!! The last couple of weeks I have been wishing upon a star that we could go to Utah for the 4th...so the week of the 4th came and we figured...WHY NOT??

So we hopped in the car last minute and headed off.

I have to say it felt great to be so spontaneous

We started the big day off at the Provo Parade, of course, with Paul's family

and then to Aunt Janice's for a BBQ

Paul's sister, Cindy and I

we are only due 8 DAYS apart...how fun is that??

All the kids with Grandma Cannon (we missed you Sam & Jessie)

And for the Big Surprise:

The Jonas Brothers

at the Stadium of Fire

We kept it a secret until we got in our seats and boy were they excited. Brig couldn't believe that they were "real" and was a little star struck. Raegan rocked out the entire night, dancing on the bench, singing and even calling her friend, Dallas (on her fake phone) to tell him

"I'm at a Party, I gotta go!!"

It was a quick trip, but well worth the 24 hours in the car to spend the 4th of July in Utah with so much family!

Say What?!?

Okay, this post is for my sister, Jana, who I know is not a big fan of this hairdo...

I must admit I am not a fan either.

So I was at the salon today and I kid-you-not the lady sitting next to me had her magazine open to a gi-normous picture of the above mentioned Kate.

She sincerely said to the hairdresser

(drumroll, please)

"I want THIS haircut"

Ahhh, seriously??? It's like a backwards mullet...party in the front, business in the back.

Wow...I wish I would have still been there when her haircut was complete!

More McKinleyville Fun...

The Boots


Paul's Mom & Dad
One of my favorite parts about visiting their house is bundling up and having campfires at night.

One night Kinsey and Joe and there darling family came over for a BBQ, campfire and s'mores. We just love them! They are the reason we met, they set us up on our very first date. Who would have thought 9 years later we would be married with a couple kids, and they would have 3 darling little girls too. So FUN!

My kids loved loved loved playing with their girls.Another day we took the kids to the Marine Lab and they got to hold the Sea Stars.

They loved it, I have to admit it was a little slimy for me. :)

One of my all time favorite things is hearing Paul and his Dad play the guitar together. One night I was exhausted and laid on the couch while being serenaded and drifted off to sleep. What a perfect way to fall asleep into a realzing slumber.

To say the least we had a great trip!

Here are a few other highlights that I didnt get pictures of to post:

Paul's Moms famous Pie...seriously delicious

Homemade breakfast every morning set on the table with placemats and all and with the milk in a pitcher

Paul's Dad's homemade sourdough pancakes

Finishing a 1500 piece puzzle with Paul's mom

Taking the kids to see "UP"

Watching Paul and Brig play with all the toys he grew up with

The beautiful redwood trees and cool weather

Thank you for a wonderful trip...we cant wait to come back!

Cowboys and a Cowgirl

So first thing Monday morning after we got to Paul's parents house, they took us to the Boot Barn to get the kids some cowboy boots! They kids were so excited. We got them each a cowboy hat to top off the cowboy attire. Brig got into character right off, on our way out the store he said in with a cowboy drawl

"I need to get me some biscuits!"

The kids couldn't wait to get back to the house and head outside in their new gear. Raegan was a crackup, she kept telling us that now that she had boots she was going to "step in the horse poop." And as soon as we got back she headed straight to the horse poop. Oh man, oh man!!

Shooting with the Boys...

I was lucky to get to go with the Cannon Boys to the shooting range (Paul's mom is so sweet and stayed back with Raegan). Paul and his Dad were so excited to get Brig shooting some guns...Brig was ready for the challenge.

Paul taught him the ropes

Grandpa gave some great tips, he knows what he is talking about that's for sure.

Yep, me and my pregnant belly even got some shots in

Paul loves loves loves shooting...so it was fun for him to get in some practice

Paul and his Dad

His Dad is big time into guns...you would be amazed at his collection. He is also part of a Cowboy Single Action Shooting club and is known as "Pack Saddle Slim"

So shooting with the Cannon Boys is serious business.

hahaha

I had so much fun watching Paul and Brig together. Brig loved the shooting and after every shot asked "Did I Get It??"

That's My Boy!

Home On The Range...

Our long awaited trip to McKinleyville finally came and we were so excited to get there!!

Grandpa Cannon was waiting on the street before their house ready with his horse and 2 mules to ride the kids in.
This was, of course, a BIG hit with the kids. Raegan got to ride on "Mouse" with Dad, and Brig got to ride the Mule "Peggy" all by himself.

The kids wasted no time at all and ran all over the yard checking out all the fun goodies to do on the "farm"

First, checking out the pond with tadpoles, frogs and fish

Testing out the rope swing

Climbing Trees

Gathering the eggs from the chicken coupe

Playing fetch with Patsy

Eating Strawberries out of Grandpa's Greenhouse

All these pictures were taken in the first 30 minutes that we were there...it is such an amazing place. It's so beautiful in the Redwoods and right near the beach. There house has so much to do and it is also so relaxing! It's kinda like a dream there. I love it, the kids love it, and Grandma and Grandpa were happy to have us there.

There are a ridiculous amount of pictures...so keep checking back!

First Stop...

First stop on our trip to California was to visit my sister, Heather and her family. The kids were so excited to get to see where "cousin Lukey" lived!!

Somehow I managed to get ZERO pictures of my sister and I together...probably because we were busy chasing kids around the majority of the time. :) So here is a picture from thanksgiving of her and her family.

Raegan, Brig and Luke
Seriously these 3 had the time of their lives together just play, play playing.

They live in the funnest (ya, I dont think that's a word) place. We had SO much to do.
Here's just a few:

Swimming

One day we went over to my Aunt Bekky's house and the kids swam the entire day, seriously we had to pry them out to even eat PIZZA!

Aunt Bekky was so sweet to let us stay for the day and Granny & Pop even came over as an extra bonus!

Marine World

Another day we got brave and took the kids to Marine World, which is also a Six Flags now!

We thought for sure that the kids would wear out after a couple of hours...but we ended up getting to stay the whole day.


This may have been the highlight of the day for the kids....BATMAN!! Seriously, these boys were in heaven. They kept there eyes out ALL DAY for Superman, but no luck there.

Raegan and Brig riding Thomas the Train

The whole gang (well almost) getting ready to watch the Whale & Dolphin Show. That was a hit. The kids also loved loved loved the sea lion pirate show.

To the far left of the picture is my cousin and Aunt Bekky...she was so great. She came with us that day and HELPED all day...thanks you SO MUCH!

The kids had a blast riding the rides, eating junk food all day and being with so much family!

Visit to Granny & Pops
My Granny & Pop live just minutes away from my sister's house, so we were able to go and spend a morning playing at their house.

The kids were so fascinated with all of the birds...and so Granny and Pop helped them fill the bird feeders and the the squirrel feeders. The kids thought that was the greatest thing ever!!

The kids pretending to be birds...of course!!

Pop fixing the bird feeder with 3 little helpers

My Granny with all 3 kids.

My Granny & Pop are simply the best

While we were there we also took advantage of the cooler weather, which I LOVED! We went to the park, played in their backyard, walked downtown for some yummy lunch and spent a lot of quality time visiting.

Thank you so much Heather for having us...we will definitely be back.

We're Off...

I'm off today to visit my sister in California with the kids, and then headed up to visit my in-laws! I'm so excited to be with family.

So I am NOT blog slacking...just out of town, I'll be back in a couple of weeks.