Braces, bikes, friends and showers

      McClane, a.k.a. 'brace face', was a trooper getting his braces Monday morning. He's such a cutie!

     Isaac was out for a joy ride this week. No one can resist a spin on Charlie's bike.

     Last night we made a late night trip to the local Street Taco joint and these cute girls tagged along.

    And today was Kayli's baby shower in our backyard. We had plenty of food and yummy cake to enjoy during and after the party. It was an overall success and she got a lot of great stuff. Baby Beau has some cute clothes to wear and needs to hurry up and get here. (Only 7 more weeks!)

    Now on to the 4th of July festivities!

Tent city/hiking

     Tent City was a success! Lots of yummy food, peach cobbler, home made ice cream and a traditional breakfast. We spent the majority of Saturday hanging out. Greg, Josh, Nathan, Brock and Carter went on a hike and Greg took some amazing photos. They found what they were looking for, a recent helicopter crash in the mountains just north of us, and found lots of crazy helicopter parts. It was amazing to me that Greg was able to locate the crash site after only seeing the general location from our front yard through a scope. Greg's sense of direction is quite impressive.

Always a view worth hiking for.

Lots of helicopter parts to sort through and try to piece together.

    While the guys hiked the cousins played at the park/splash pad. Charlie was in heaven spending so much time with her cousins.

     Father's day was also a success. Greg got to take a nice long nap and Charlie even squeezed in a nap and snuggle with her dad.

    The oldest three kids purchased this fun little camp chair for Greg. It may look like a mistake but it's supposed to be that tiny and it actually holds up to 350 lbs. so it's definitely the right 'size'. Greg also got a fishing license earlier this month so he's a happy 'camper'!

     McClane got to attend Day Camp and had a blast. Luckily his leaders the best and took some great photos that she shared with me.

    And Isaac is working hard with two jobs and anytime he lays down he falls asleep. The best part is he's 'rich'!

     Charlie made a new friend recently but unfortunately she was just visiting so she had to head back to California today, which was kind of sad. Believe it or not, this cute girl is nearly 10 years old and Charlie's just a few inches shorter then her.

     Well that's our weeks worth of fun. I'm enjoying our easy summer schedule and have been reading several books by Susan Meissner, which have all been good. The kids are starting to pester me a little about going swimming so maybe we'll squeeze that in next week but first McClane gets to have his first set of braces put on Monday morning, which should be 'fun'!

House favorites!

     It's been a little quieter this week but I did get to tour a few houses with Greg for the Parade of Homes here in Utah County. I bought my ticket solely to see my friends FABULOUS house but we've seen a few others as well. Our friends house is beyond description. I took a few photos but they just don't do it justice. Their views alone are breathtaking and I could go on and on about all the other amazing things/details inside the house. I took a few photos, but again, they just don't do it justice! It's just an AMAZING house! I plan on walking through it a second time and the real hope is we get an invite to swim or something so I can really take my time admiring all the cool features.

This is the view from the cool reading room, there's the mountain view and then the view of their resort like backyard. So incredible!

Their backyard really is a resort! So AWESOME!

Their dining room and the light above it were spectacular and the theater room were just two of about a 100 things I couldn't stop oohing and aahing over!

    So far we've walked through a total of 7 houses out of about 40 and these are just a few things I found that I had to take a photo of.

Those glass doors were so cool, the metal and wood shelf, AWESOME, cool light fixture and a cool metal and wood table in some lucky persons workout room.

     I love seeing different design ideas and house layouts. Most of the houses are beautiful and well put together but I can honestly say I'm happy to come home to my very modest home and not worry about outrageous utility bills or trying to keep these large homes clean. A pool in the backyard wouldn't be the worse thing to live with, but again, maintenance would be a chore. Oh and I wouldn't mind double washer and dryers like several houses had.
      This weekend we're hosting 'tent city' and if I'm not too busy I'll hopefully get a photo or two to share next weekend.

Birthdays, puppies and Youth Conference

    We helped Kayli celebrate her 22nd birthday Sunday. I never say no to Costco chocolate cake!

A little cash and cacti!

      And Kayli became a 'Grandma' the day after her 22nd birthday. Her dog Belle had a litter of 9/10 puppies. One wasn't fully formed but 9 made it and they're adorable!

      Greg and Carter had a blast at Flaming Gorge this week with the youth from our ward. Greg took some great photos.

Floating the river.

He only had jeans to wear and had no intention of floating down the river but you do what you're asked!

Such a pretty place!

Carter couldn't do enough fishing.

     And this evening I went with Greg to do his water chores and there's just a 'little' run off!

Crazy!

    We were supposed to host tent city this weekend but it was not a good weekend for the majority of the Kmetzsch family so we'll try again next weekend. It's been a good week and we've all survived our first full week of summer break.