Fourth of July 2009

For the fourth of July weekend we went up to Ben's Dad's house. We all enjoyed spending time with all of the family members that could be there! The kids loved spending time with cousins! Here are some of the pictures:
The parade:
On the morning of the fourth, we went to the Clearfield parade! It was an awesome parade, and the kids enjoyed seeing the floats and horses!




Playing in Huntsville at Pineview:
We went up in the afternoon to Pineview Reservoir and had a picnic and played in the water.



The fireworks:
In the evening we watched the Clearfield city fireworks! My Mom bought the kids some glow necklaces a week ago, and so they really enjoyed playing with them while we waited for the fireworks to start.:

Lagoon is so much better with little kids!

Last week we went to Lagoon with my family and Ben's brother Stephen. It was so fun! At one point it started to pour rain, but instead of going home, we decided to wait it out under a pavillion! It was pure genious, because by the time it had stopped raining, a lot of the people had gone home. So, it was much easier to go on the rides that we wanted to go on! The kids were having so much fun the we ended up staying until 11:30 PM! Ben and I were so exhausted that we could barely drive the hour and a half up to my parent's house! It was so much fun! Here are some of the pictures that I took that day:

T-Ball!

This year the kids were so excited that Benson and Julia were going to be playing on the same T-Ball team! On the day of the first game they kept on saying, "We are on the same team! Yeah!" Everyone was very happy until Cecilia realised that she was not going to be playing. She was so happy when I told her that she actually was on the team, she is the team cheerleader. Anytime you talk to her about T-Ball she will inform you of her very important role!
Julia is playing for the first time this year!
This is Benson's second year of T-Ball, and he has enjoyed both years so much!
Benson had just hit the ball in this picture! He really loves to play. I can't decide if his favorite part is hitting or throwing the ball.

This picture is so fun because Julia really tries hard, but sometimes this is what happens when she comes up to bat!

Baby Nathan

My newest little nephew, Nathan Andrew Graves was born on May 24th. It was one of the most miraculous things that I have ever seen. I was lucky enough to be able to be there with Erin when he was born. Here are some really cute pictures that I took:

Times of Change

Recently Ben's Mom passed away. Since this happened we have both been in a state of shock, we have been having a hard time picturing our lives without her here. I have really had a lot of time since this happened for personal introspection. I have remembered that no matter what else is going on in life, my family will always be the most important thing.

Julia's Dance Recital

Julia had her final dance recital of the year about a month ago. I have not posted for awhile, and have been behind. She was in four different dances. The auditorium that the recital was in was so dark that I could not take very good pictures of her dancing, but here are some pictures of her in her costumes:

Julia's Mommy Preschool Graduation

This some other Mom's and I taught a Mommy's preschool! Julia had such a great time throughout the year with her friends! Here is a picture of them on the last day!

Benson's Preschool Graduation

This is a picture of Benson right after the graduation! He really loved going to preschool this year! Now he is ready for the next great thing....Kindergarten!
Here is a picture of Benson, his teacher and two of his friends that he went to preschool with.

Ben's Graduation! Yahoo!

After three long years of very hard work, Ben has finished his Master's in Social Work from the Universtiy of Utah! We are so excited about this! On the night of his graduation we had a lot of family that came to support him! It was a neat night. Here are a few pictures:


A little smooch!


Cecilia and Mommy


Benson with his Dad


Julia and her Daddy


Cecilia and her Daddy


Ben and his parents


Ben, his Sister Emily and his Brother Stephen