HaPPy 12th BiRTHDaY aNSLeY!!!

I can't believe it. It can't be true. Where has the time gone?

My baby girl is grown up...she is a "young woman". She is one year away from being a teenager. She is interested in clothes and hair and music and BOYS!!! Yikes. I pity the first boy who attempts to take her out on a date...imagine the poor boy coming face to face with Kyle at the front door. I look at Claire and it is like watching Ansley when she was a baby. I just can't believe 12 years have passed.

Ansley has been such a precious gift to us. She has been such an "easy" child. She has been the second mom to her brothers and sister and she is definitely my right-hand man. We would be lost without her. She is now old enough to babysit for us and other people's children and she does a great job. We are starting to see glimpses of teenager-like attitudes from her, but overall she is a wonderful daughter and sister. She is excited to be growing up and is thrilled to be going to Young Women's. I wish I was as happy about all of this as she is.

We had a little family birthday party for her on her actual birthday (24th) with her dinner of choice (chicken parmesan), cake & ice cream and presents. Last night, she had her party with her friends. She had 6 friends over for dinner, swimming and games. The party lasted late into the night (10:30...that is late for a 12 year old) and was a huge success. The girls had a lot of fun together, even when Kyle was able to sneak up on them outside in the dark and scare the crap out of all of them!

We love you Ansley!!! Thank you for all you do for our family and for the wonderful young woman that you are! We hope you had a great birthday!!

Front: Tahnee, Makendie, Ansley, Mary, Jessi
Back: Naomi, Lauren

Cute cupcakes that we made.

*UTAH TRIP

There's no place like home...

EXCEPT Utah!!!

We got back last week from our annual summer trip to Utah. It was 10 fun-filled, jam-packed, crazy-busy, cram-it-all-in, wonderful days. We managed to get in almost everything we had planned. Our trips to Utah are rarely relaxing because we have to squeeze in so much into such a short amount of time. Wish we could go more often. Sigh. We decided that next summer the kids and I will stay for a whole month and Kyle will come and go as work permits. The kids had a BLAST. They loved hanging out with their aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins and even some friends. Can't wait until next summer!!

For the sake of time and space, here is the breakdown of everything we did (believe it or not, this is the condensed version of the trip):

Sunday family dinner

Discovery Gateway (children's museum)

Clark Planetarium

LAGOON (It's what fun is!)

Playing in Grandpa's garden

Boys' movie night

Jill's swim meet (GOOD JOB JILL!)

Shopping

Cousins' day

G.N.O. (Girls' Night Out)

Pedicure (for me, Janna, and Rhonda...thanks Rhonda!)

4th of July BBQ and fireworks

Visiting Grandma-Great Lowell

Visiting with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Carol and kids

Picnic lunch at the park with my best friend, Lisa and her family

Playing in the stream at picnic

Visiting Kathy, Alan and kids

More shopping

Playing P-I-G

Eating at yummy Japanese restaurant with Kyle's parents

Baby Miles' blessing

Luncheon after Miles' blessing

Sitting in the yard watching the kids play and enjoying the lovely temps

Water fights

Dinner with Dave, LaNeace, Gavin, Cherise, Janna, Andy and no kids...except Miles!

Catching up

Lots and lots of fun!!!

And NOW the pictures (in no particular order):

Eli and Jennie playing in Grandpa's garden.

Jennie, Claire, Elle and Eli picking and eating peas.

Eli playing in the dirt. Heaven.

Andy, Kyle and Dave playing another exciting game of P-I-G.

Claire loved picking and eating peas out of the garden...even the pods taste good!
TOO CUTE!

Josh, Elle, Claire and Eli at the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum.

The ball section was everyone's favorite part.

Josh rock climbing at the museum.

Cute Elle on a horse.

Eli in timeout at the museum. Par for the course.

Josh, Eli and Elle anchoring the news.

Brothers waiting in line for a ride at Lagoon. Aaa-dorable.

Ansley and cousin Cameron waiting for a ride. Remember when these 2 were babies? Help!

Mom and Eli waiting to ride "The Bat". The only roller coaster that Eli was tall enough to ride.

Ans and Nate less than thrilled to be riding the kiddie rides.

Everyone on the good old train.

Elle and Eli out for a leisurely drive.

We saved Rattlesnake Rapids for the end of the day so that everyone wouldn't walk around soaking wet all day. There were no lines, so everyone rode it 5 times...except me. I decided I would rather stay dry and take pictures than to ride all the way back to Orem soaked and cold. This pic was taken right before they went under the waterfall and got drenched. I love the look on LaNeace's face!

Under the waterfall.

Elle decided one ride was enough, so she and Dave waited with me while everyone else went 4 more times!

The whole soaked group. They loved it!!!

Kyle and Ans at the end of the day.

Lunch at the park with Lisa and her family. This is 9 of our 10 kids. Poor Elise was sick and stayed with her grandma.

Cute little Stella (Angus is in the background). Look how big that can of soda looks when she is holding it!

The kids playing in the creek that runs through the park. They had so much fun building a dam (and being able to say the word, dam), exploring, swimming and just playing with friends they don't get to see very often.

Eli and Stella really hit it off and had so much fun together. Lisa and I think they are destined to have a future...wink, wink.

Kyle, Claire and Nate watching all the creek fun from above.

Me and Lisa. We have been friends for a long time. Long before there were any kids or husbands. We still talk almost everyday and can always find a million things to talk about...even if we have already been on the phone 3 times that day. We can tell each other anything, she can make me laugh about absolutley nothing, we usually agree on most subjects, but when we don't...watch out...we aren't afraid to fight and she knows things about me that my husband doesn't even know and vice versa. We have seen each other through A LOT in the past 15 years and it has only made our friendship stronger. She is a great friend and I would be lost without her...and probably really bored. I didn't mean this to turn into a tribute to Lisa and she is probably going to kill me for posting this picture...but I love ya, Lisa!

Miles Henry on his blessing day. Precious.

Uncle Dave making sure the kids have fun at the blessing luncheon.

Dave and Kyle at the luncheon.

Grandpa and Claire at the luncheon.

Miles and Eli. Thanks to those strong Cox genes, Miles looks just like my boys.

Nate and Josh playing pool in the garage. A favorite pastime of the boys.

Eli loves the pool table too, but his is banned from using it since Grandpa found all the balls rolling down the driveway and into the street. Balls are for throwing and rolling, right?

In conclusion...we had a wonderful time. Kyle's parents feed us, let us take over their home, tend our kids and wish we could stay longer. What more could we ask for? We loved visiting with everyone and can't wait to see everyone at Thanksgiving.