Marshall & Chelsea came up to go camping with us this weekend! Awww, look at those cute newlyweds. We found a little oasis in the desert near Camp Verde. You almost forgot you were in AZ, almost. There were still plenty of lizards, cacti, and one little scorpion to remind us! But it was seriously one of the prettiest places and we had a blast!

Marshall celebrated his 22nd b-day on the campout. Here he is with his huge birthday cake...a hostess cupcake. Ha, ha! At least we brought candles!

I don't think Gabby stayed clean for more than 2 minutes the entire time. The kid loves dirt, what can I say.

The boys showing off their cooking skills.

My version: The girls and I took a walk down by the creek.
Carter's version: We took a walk through the "spooky forest" and found a "magical creek" where we looked for "mermaids".
She has read a few too many princess stories!

We got to make a quick trip to the valley to see this little beauty! Happy Birthday Raylin!

Robert with his new niece and his sister, Melina.

The girls "helping" Grammy make cookies. They thought the mixer was a little loud.

Playing with Auntie Amy, as usual!

about taking Gabby to swimming lessons today. We woke up this morning to this:

and there's just something wrong with wearing swimsuits and flip-flops when you also need to wear a parka. By the look on Gabby's face, I think she agrees.

This has probably been my favorite Mother's Day yet and I think that this quote from Elder Ballard's conference talk summarizes why:

Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: "The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less" (Loud and Clear [2004], 10-11).

I have really taken this message to heart and have been trying to enjoy the little things more. That's why today has been such a good day, we just enjoyed being together!
Happy Mother's Day to all our wonderful Mother's/Grandmother's! We love you!

Well, in exactly one year from today, Robert will be done with school! Hooray! Since his last final was this morning, we decided it would be fun to take the girls to the lake to go fishing/look for bullfrogs this afternoon. You can see below that our plan didn't go that smoothly. Here is Robert fishing alone...