Caeden's haircut

Before

This past week Caeden decided to experiment with cutting his own hair. He cut a huge chunk out of his bangs. It didn't look too bad as long as we combed it to the side, but by the end of the week, I couldn't stand it any more. This morning I "evened it out..." At least he'll have a cool head for the rest of the summer.
After

Little muncher...

Guess who's discovered the apple basket? He loves the apples, just not the peels. Those he just spits out... where ever he may be standing... But it's funny to watch him finish a whole apple. He's getting so big so fast!

Another reader in the family!

Levi makes me smile!
He's really getting into books recently. He has decided that Jacob's "Blue's Clues Thinking Chair" is one of his favorite spots to sit in when we're in Jacob's room. He'll grab a book or two off of the bookshelf and sit himself down and "read." I love my smart boys!

Aaron's adventure

Aaron and some of his co workers went mountain biking this weekend. It had been a while since Aaron last went biking, but he was excited to go. They biked the trail called the "Wasatch Ridge." Aaron had quite the adventure. He puked on his shoes, which was only appropriate since he had just finished a big climb called "Puke Hill." He wiped out about 4 times, bent his rear tire, and discovered that his 11 year old bike isn't quite as cool as what we thought it was when we first bought it. He also learned that if you are going to go mountain biking along the Wasatch crest, you need to change out the road tires!!! At the end of the day, after a long bath, lots of ibuprofin, 4 stitches in his elbow, and a good scrubbing of his shoes, he was glad he went.

Meet Senator Hall!

These first few weeks of school have been busy! We do so much homework!!! We have to track reading minutes, physical activity minutes, music practice, and homework, then send the logs in to the teachers to get credit. On top of all the fun learning we are doing, Jordan decided to run for "B-Track President!" He made it past the primaries, and came in second in the run-off on Friday, which means he is the b track senator. He was a little bummed not to have won, but is excited to be a part of the student council. I'm thinking, it's not bad for a first run at office. And I'm really happy to not have to make any more posters or help him with his speeches... Now he gets to go to meetings and feel important... I'm glad that my kids want to be involved. I surely wasn't that kind of kid!

July fun!

July is our month o' fun! It starts with the fireworks, then we have Aaron's birthday!
Aaron has never been a big cake fan, so we made him a birthday pie.
Since it has been so hot recently, the boys feel that if they "have" to be outside, the hose has to be on. I didn't want to put the pool out this year because I was a little worried about Levi going over the edge, (he sneaks outside with his brothers so often!), so the boys made their own swimming hole with our ball bucket.



Of course, Jacob always seems to find a new way of doing things...

This morning it was back to work, though. School started and our noses are back to the grindstone!
Aren't my young scholars handsome?

Our 4th of July!

Caeden watches our "big show!"

For our Fourth of July celebration, we really didn't do too much. It was a lazy day where we caught up on some housework, then barbecued and then did our own fireworks out on the street. South Jordan has its own "Country Fest" at the end of June, complete with greasy fair food and carnival rides and a free concert in the park (this year they had country singer Darryl Worley - he sings "Have You Forgotten?", "Awful, Beautiful Life," "I Miss My Friend," and "I Just Came Back From a War" to name a few songs) and they have a great fireworks show where we can sit close (and by close, I mean there's ashes in your hair when you leave!) and there's very little traffic. So we get our fill of big fireworks and fair at the Country Fest every year then spend the 4th at home doing our own thing. It's been quite fun, really. Anyway, here's a few pictures of our "fireworks show."
Zach and the sparkler
Pyromaniacs in training

Zachary's not a huge fan of noise...Jordan climbs the street sign post

Our Trip to Zions National Park

At the end of June, we went to Zions National Park for the Hall Family Reunion. Aaron and his siblings and all the spouses and kids and parents all attend, and we had a great time. We rented the "Moose Lodge" (which sleeps 34 people) at a resort just outside Zions and spent time hiking in the park, swimming at the resort's pool, and just enjoying each other's company. We took all of the kids on the Emerald Pool hike, which was a perfect hike for all the kids. Jacob didn't think he could make it, but up at the 3rd pool, all the kids took a dip in the pool... I'm pretty sure we weren't supposed to swim up there, but you try to stop 30 overheated kids on a 100 degree day from getting in the water...!
Zachary on the hike

Jordan under the waterfall at the first pool

Catching tadpoles at the second pool

Aaron and the boys cooling off at the 3rd pool

Levi playing in the cool dirt on a hot day!

Twins born in different years?

I've always thought that Levi and Caeden look a lot alike. Some people humor me and say they do, and others disagree. I think I've got a little evidence that supports my side. I've got a few pictures of my boys taken at the same age (13 1/2 months old). What do you think?


Am I just seeing things, or are our cloning exercises approaching success?

We were there!

On Friday, July 11th, we noticed that the steeple had been put up on the temple just west of our home. We decided to go up and check it out, and when we got there, they were preparing to put the Moroni statue up on the steeple. We immediately parked the van and jumped out to watch them put him up. I was so glad to have had my boys all with me so that they could watch it too. It was so very cool! What awesome timing we had that day! It is so fun having a temple being built so close to our home.







Here's the view of the temple from our backyard. Neat, huh!