Summer Vacation

So, we're back in Omaha, and finally recovering from a great vacation, in which we did a million things and got hardly any sleep. We loved being back in Utah, and appreciate our families and everyone else so much. Here are a ton of pictures from the break - hope you don't get too bored. Also, it's so sad, I didn't take any pictures of when we went to Seven Peaks, and that was definently one of the biggest highlights of the trip. Thanks Michael and Julie!!!

On our way to Utah, we drove up to Mt Rushmore. It was a really long drive, but totally worth it. The monument was amazing, and the mountains and forest up there are just beautiful.

You never knew that they added Emma to the mountain, did you?

We did some hiking while we were up there. Emma did great, but her smart mommy only packed her flip-flops, so daddy took pitty on her and carried her a lot of the way.

We went through Beautiful Rushmore Cave. It was about a mile long, and filled with cool formations. We knew Emma would be kind of scared, so we talked it up as "the cave of wonders", but didn't realize unitl we were inside the cave, and she was screaming, that that is the scariest part of Alladin. So, Dan took her out, thinking he wasn't going to be able to go through, but a worker gave her a candy, and after that she walked through the whole thing by herself.

Here is the proof that we really were camping. As far as Emma is concerned we're not camping if we aren't actually in the tent. She kept telling us "let's go camping" even as we were sitting out by the fire, right next to the tent.

Emma's real birthday was while we were with our families. Can you guess the theme of her party? I made the cake, and wow, what a mess. But, what fun!
Her "papa" saved her from the scary candles. They were sparkler candles, and she didn't want to get close to them.

Of course, seeing the cousins is always the best. Here are the little buddies.

Emma got some cute dancing clothes for when she starts dancing this fall. Plus, check out that cute little baby Ariel. She carries her around all day, and tucks her in so sweet at night.

Emma got a bike earlier this summer, and G&G P helped her out with a helmet and some knee pads. She puts on these knee pads and walks bow-legged all over the place. It's hillarious! She likes to wear them, though, so that's good.

Here's a random shot of us at the temple, just messing around with the camer. Hope you all enjoy!

We went camping with mom and dad. Emma was Dan's little shadow the whole. He's got quite the adventurer for a daughter. They have a lot of fun together.

Bathing Beauty. Who needs a swimsuit? Emma could have spent hours throwing rocks in the water. It was always kind of scary - you never knew if you were going to get hit, even if you were standing behind her!

Here are some pics I stole from Monica's blog. The mommy cousins now. I'm nine months younger that Bethany, Monica is nine months younger than me, and Kris is nine months after that. You can't even imagine the riot we had (still have) when we got together. We had a pool party at Jill's house, and it was awesome!

Here are all the second cousins, crammed together for a picture. Emma refused to look up from her toy, but the rest of them did pretty good.