D-E-L M-A-R

Our girls belong on the beach!

In fact Brandon and I do too. Too bad we live so far from that fabulous ocean air. We stayed Del Mar which is just north of San Diego. We absolutely fell in love with this hip and friendly beach town. We couldn't get enough in the 5 days we were there so it's in the works to go again next year. Hopefully, there will be no emergency surgeries that get in the way - Chad and Karen. We missed you!

Halle was OBSESSED with the sand crabs, shells and seaweed. After stepping on a bee and being stung, Taya loved the feel of the sand between her fingers and toes ~surprising.




That's my hunky man after his boogie boarding stunts.



A HUGE highlight for me was meeting up with my girlfriend from the old days. Ashley Johnson (now Dunaway) and I were best buds when we were growing up in Salt Lake. Now, Ashley lives in a beach house in Del Mar just a block from the beach...SPOILED!!! Ashley was our own personal travel agent - giving us beach gear, tips on where to go and eat - yum, and even offered to watch the girls so Brandon and I could have an evening to ourselves. YAY! Thanks Ash!





Ashley suggested we go to Quail Botanical Gardens with the girls. SO FUN! I wouldn't have missed it. It was BeAuTiFuL and there was even an area just for kids to play and learn about plants.

One day we biked around Coronado Island. We strapped the girls into the trailer and took off. We had no idea where we were going - could have been better prepared - but it turned out great. Unfortunately I forgot the camera that day. Too busy I guess....

The last day was spent at Sea World. I can't believe how well the girls did running from place to place. It was tiring but well worth it.

Goodbye HOT Desert!

Tomorrow we leave for the beach
Our destination...beautiful Del Mar, California
See you in a week

H-A-V-A-S-U-P-A-I

Besides a couple blisters on his feet and a huge bruise on his thigh, Brandon and the boys returned safe and sound from a great trip to Havasupai.


Along the trail, random horses wandered and welcomed hikers.

One of the steepest descents to a waterfall.

This hike is definitely on my to do list. We'll leave the H and T at home for this one.

Wish I was there too...

Missing my man!

Brandon and the young men of our ward set out for Havasupai last wednesday. How lucky is he?
The trail is approximately 8 miles long to Supai (Indian reservation), with an extra 2 miles added on in order to reach the campgrounds, and descends some 3000 vertical feet. They hiked down on thursday, and today I imagine they're swimming in that beautiful water.

~Jealous~

They hike out and drive home tomorrow. I think I'll plan a girls trip next month. Who's in?

Can't wait to get the full story on Sat!!

Peer Pressure

So...lately I've been having some ~crazy~ thoughts in my mind about a Triathlon. I say ~crazy~ because never have I thought seriously about doing one of these. To be honest, every time I think about it I kind of chuckle a bit. Yes, I love working out and staying as fit as I can... but am I a swimmer? No. Am I a runner? No. Am I a biker? Not really. So..... why am I training for this Triathlon in November? I'll tell you what it is - PEER PRESSURE! I have some friends in a spin class I attend and all they talk about are races. It's such a positive fitness environment I can't help but be hooked. In fact, ever since we moved to St. George I've felt the exercise bug. The bug runs thick here. The more I attend the class the more I think about this race coming up. And, having a set goal in my mind like this Triathlon has kept me going day after day. The training so far has been fun and very addictive, so hopefully nothing will get in the way of me crossing that finish line in November.

Walk

There's a long story as to why this hasn't been documented until now. Don't worry, I'll spare you the boring details and skip to the good part. About a week and a half ago Taya took her first steps on her own. Soooooo exciting for us!! She is walking and LOVING IT!


(Not a great video but it does the job.)

Catching up

Can you tell she liked the cobbler....or was it the attention...

It's been a busy few weeks since Taya's birthday so I'll quickly recap. We held a little get-together for Taya's day and enjoyed a little peach cobbler with our badmitton. We ditched the traditional cake and tried out our dutch oven. Thanks to all who came to help us celebrate...it was a fun night!

Here's Macky about to take a swing at it. Too bad our yard isn't a little wider :( I love this picture because Peggy looks like a little kid standing next to Hayden. Man...he's tall!

Here's me and my cute dad (Halle snuck in there too). Silver Lake was pretty and the temperature was just right.

We attended a Pratt family reunion in Salt Lake at my Aunt and Uncle's house. How fun it was to see my family again!! I love them so much and enjoyed the relaxing evening watching the kids run from the bounce house, to the putting green, to badmitton, and of course the delicious food. It was also great to catch up on those Pratt giggles.