July 2021

 Alrighty...  here's July!  These are, as always, supremely out of order, but oh well.  :)

Kelly and I took the Eli, Timothy, Charlie, Cooper, and Corban and Emmett Howard to Burger's Lake for the day.  We had a blast!  I love this annual tradition.

Here's Eli on the trapeze...

All the boys...

And the SUPER high dive...

Earlier in the month, Elizabeth and I took CJ and Eli to Surf-n-Swim (a wave pool), which we've been doing together since the boys were toddlers.  Again, I love this summer tradition!

Eric and Eli took the boat to Purdis Creek to fish one day this month.

My dad's parents came to visit Texas for the first time in years!  It was SO GOOD to see them, and we had a wonderful time.  We're super excited to see my Mom's parents next month as well!

Eli caught his biggest bass ever this month- just over 5 pounds.  He was THRILLED!

Kelly and I took our boys and Cooper to Hawaiian Falls.

And now we've wound our way all the way back to the beginning of the month...  July 4th.  We had a picnic over the weekend with the family and some friends from church, and then we just enjoyed a day off of work on the 4th.  That evening, we did sparklers and a few small fireworks in the backyard, which I always love.

My one picture from the picnic- the boys and CJ.

And that's July!  LOVE to you!!

June 2021

The first month of summer!  We had such a great June, with the hi-light being a trip to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.

We flew into Salt Lake City, Utah, and spent the afternoon walking around the city.  It's pristine and beautiful.  We walked around the grounds of the Mormon Temple, explored the city a bit, had lunch at a great little spot, and then set out on our drive to our rental house in Ashton, Idaho.

Everything up in that area is so spread out, with beauty everywhere you look.  Our house was on a hill overlooking the edge of the Targhee National Forest.  It was beautiful and quiet, and we enjoyed the views so much!  This is right out the back door...

The next day, we drove to Grand Teton National Park.  The drive was insanely beautiful- we couldn't stop commenting on it, and pictures don't do it justice.  At one point, we just had to pull over and take pictures!  :)

We made it to Grand Teton National Park and did some hiking.

Preview of our Christmas card photo for the year.  :)  

The next day, we went to Yellowstone!  It's hard to describe the beauty of the scenery there...  it was like nothing we'd ever seen before.  I.e., a bison just laying around near a bubbling geyser.  :)

Old Faithful in action!

We did so much hiking and saw so much beauty...

Bison siting right from our car...

We spent the next day doing some hikes closer to our house. 

Eli got to do some fishing, which is his favorite thing.

Back to Yellowstone the next day for more hiking and more scenery...

The next day, we stayed local again and did a gorgeous hike at a state park close to our house.

More fishing!

It was Eric's birthday, too!  We enjoyed celebrating with little gifts from home, a carrot cake from the grocery store, and burgers and fries for dinner.  We couldn't love him more!!

Back to Yellowstone for our final day.  This is the "Lone Star Geyser," appreciated by these Texans.  :)

More beautiful hiking...

Elk siting!  This female elk was a stone's throw from us in the woods, just looking at us.

Sorry for the picture barage!  I assure you, I have many more where that came from.  :)

The rest of June has been spent just enjoying the slower pace of summer, with plenty of swimming and family time.  I have zero pictures except for this one of Eli and Cooper at Braum's, which is what Cooper picked for his fancy birthday lunch.  :)

On to July!  Much love to you!!!