Happy Birthday!

On Wednesday, July 29th, I celebrated my 24th birthday! I had a really great day. Mckenna and I hung out most of the day together because Chris had to work. We went shopping and went out for ice cream. =D It was fun. My next door neighbor's little girl that is Mckenna's age happens to share my birthday too, so later in the afternoon we went over there for a small birthday party for her. She was turning 2! It was fun. Chris came home early for work. (That was a great birthday present!!!) Later that evening, we went out to dinner at Bajio's with all of Chris' family. It was really fun. I am so blessed and thankful for my family and friends. They made my special day even more special! Thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes and gifts!!

One of the best presents I got for my birthday was from Mckenna. She sang me Happy Birthday...the ENTIRE song!! It was so cute I had to record it! So enjoy..... it's pretty cute!! Oh and sorry it's hard to see. It's pretty dark, but listening is more important that seeing it. And if you are wondering what she is doing at the end of the song...that's her blowing out candles. Apparently she things a great big blow at the end is part of the song!! =D She's cute!

Camping Attempt #1

Yesterday after Chris got off from work, we decided it would be fun if we just took off and went camping. We have never been camping as a family (or couple for that matter) before. It has been so hot in St. George lately, so camping in the mountains sounded really cool and relaxing. We headed off to stay at Chris' sister's in-laws camping site at Duck Creek (which is up past Cedar City if you were wondering). We were grateful for knowing people that had an empty camp site reserved because it was full everywhere else...guess that's what happens on the weekend of the 24th of July.

Well, we got up to the campsite about 6 or so in the evening. We unloaded and Chris started a fire. We made dinner on the fire, hiked around a little bit, and just enjoyed being together as a family with no distractions like cell phones, internet, or TV. (That was my favorite part!! =D) It was really nice and a much needed break to be together! As it got later, and it got darker we decided it was time to go to bed in the tent. We put out the fire and headed to bed. Mckenna was pretty tired by this point. I thought that she'd fall asleep fast and we would all be to sleep in no time.

Well, right when we all got into the tent and changed into our pajamas, Mckenna started to be really fussy. She was whining and crying and kept reaching for the door of the tent. She wanted out! To our surprise, she was scared of being in the tent in the dark. We tried to lay her down in the middle of us to calm her down, but nothing seemed to be working. She was seriously scared. It was really sad. She just kept saying "go home" or "leave please." She did not like being there. So after about 20 or 30 mins of attempting to get to sleep, we decided it would be best for everyone (the other campers, included!) if we packed up and just headed home. By this time it was well after 10 pm and we had about a 2 hour drive home too.

So we got home late last night and thus ending our 1st attempt at camping as a family. Not exactly how we imagined the night going, but oh well, such is life! We did have fun together while it lasted. We will have to try camping out again when Mckenna gets a little older. Maybe by then, she won't be so scared of being inside of a tent. It was a fun family outing, nonetheless!!! =D At least we have a story to tell!

Summerhays Happenings!!

Wow!! It has been an eventful summer! We just finished up June and started July with a Summerhays' Family Reunion. It was fun to finally meet most of Chris' extended family. We had a lot of fun with everyone. It was nice to be able to spend time with Chris especially. He doesn't get too much time off from work so Mckenna and I were so happy that he was able to get the weekend off!!

One of the activities we did at the reunion was bowling!! Oh my goodness Mckenna LOVED it!! I would have never thought she would be at the age right now where she would like it so much but it was absolutely adorable watching her!! She got so excited about bowling. It will definitely have to be a family activity we do more often now.

Bowling with mommy (above) and with daddy (below)!! So much fun!!

We were able to take some family picture with everyone too. It was so hot we all opted to take the pictures under the shaded pavilion rather than on the planned grassy area in the sun. Here is a cute picture we captured while we were waiting.... Mckenna and her Auntie Nicole with the giggles! =D Makes me smile!!!

Mckenna and her cousin Charity and Chris' cousin Andi. All of the little girls had matching white daisy flower clips for their hair. (I made 12 of these clips total! =D So worth the time.) They looked so darling!!

Chris' family picture...There was a lot more people there but this is just the immediate family picture. The large family picture had so many people in it, it looked like a where's waldo picture. We were all in white shirts and jeans....So instead of posting it...I'll let you all imagine what it might look like! =D


Most of our evenings at the reunion were spent at the park. It was really a nice park. Chris' aunt planned lots of fun activities for the kids to do. Both nights, they had 4th of July pinatas for the kids. Mckenna was excited to hit it. I told her there was candy in it so she got super excited. Although the time I told her that, the pinata was actually filled with little toys and stuff...no candy. She was kind of disappointed. But the next night, the pinata was filled with plenty of candy!! =) She was happier that night!!

The 4th of July was the last day of the reunion. That day was spent at Chris' parents house. There was plenty to do to keep everyone....of all ages....busy!

As you can see there was a bounce house. Chris and Stephen apparently thought it was ok for them to bounce in it with Mckenna. I'm pretty sure they were over the age/height/weight/etc limits but oh well...it kept Mckenna entertained and also kept them from playing xbox or being on the computer inside so it was perfectly fine with me!! After all...they are really just big kids at heart!!


Chris' cousin has a little boy named Brendan who is just a few months older than Mckenna. They had a blast playing together. It was really cute to watch them. Brendan is small and so is Kenna...they practically looked like they could be twins. They loved playing in the little pool and slide together.


It was a fun week, full of lots of family laughs and fun! I was happy to meet and re-meet most of Chris' extended family. I was especially grateful to spend the time with Chris. I enjoy the little moments I get with him these days. He works so hard and puts in so many long, long days. I don't get to see him that much so I was thrilled he was able to get the time off to spend with us!