Andy's 2nd Birthday - September 24th, 2011

Birthday Cake!

New Tools! (before his haircut)

Excited to see his cake!

The girls!

 The new haircut!!

 Andy is turning into such a little man. He is not a baby anymore. He loves to play with trucks, & tools, and is always trying to fix things. We got him a little tool set. The drill makes noise, and he loves carrying it around. His sister, and girl cousins all want to play with the tools too!!He is saying lots of words, and lets you know what he wants. His expressions remind me so much of his dad. (Brad) Stephanie made him a darling cake with little trucks, etc. His hair was getting pretty long, so they cut it all off after his party. He is so cute!

Petroglyphs - September 10th, 2011

 Granddaughters after exploring the Lava Caves!

 Scott, bringing the girls out one at a time!

 Scott and Alex!

 Playing in the shade!

 Izzy

 Scott, Luann, their kids, and Mike!

Scott and family (including his father-in-law Mike) came to visit us so we could show him the beautiful area we live in. We took him to Snow Canyon, and some of  the kids explored the lava caves. Then we played at the sand dunes for awhile. We also hiked on the Dixie Red Hill. We toured downtown and showed him the Temple, Brigham Young Home, and looked at all the bronze statues (made by my good friend and neighbor Annette). Then we drove on the Arizona strip to the Little Black Mountain Petroglyph Site. There are over 500 designs on the cliffs. There were also a lot of very interesting shapes of rocks all around. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the state.

Camping, Fishing, & Hiking!!!!

 Izzy Waiting...

 She caught one!!

 Us on our hike!

 Mandi & Emily

 Doug 58th!

 Mandi, Ali, & Izzy

 Crossing the River!

 Our favorite spot to rest!

 More hiking!

 Field of giant Dandelions!

 Double rainbow!

 "2 at once"

 Sun setting on the Lake!

As you know by now, we LOVE to go camping, fishing, hiking and exploring. We go every chance we get. These pictures are some of my favorites from Pine Valley. The girls were out running around the camp, when a guy came over and told us that there was a Rattlesnake  in the next camp. We all got to see it before the Host came and hauled it away. I couldn't get any pictures of it, but it was eating a squirrel. I guess since they moved the campgrounds, they have stirred up a few snakes!!!

Labor Day - September 3rd-5th, 2011

 The top of the big tree!

 Alex, at the base of the tree!

 New life!

 Doug, Andrea, and Mike relaxing at camp!

 Mandi

 Ali

 Ellie

 Ali

 Ali ...putting her first worm on the hook!!

We had a very busy weekend. We went camping with Scott and family ( and Luann's dad from Wisconsin).We were at Duck Creek. Scott's family took off for the day to Bryce Canyon, while we came back home for Izzy's baptism. The rest of the time, we managed to get in some hiking and fishing, and lots of good food, and good company. A couple of years ago, we hiked to a geocache that was by a huge dead tree. We didn't mark the spot, and so this year we went hiking to find it again. Alex has a good memory and took us right to it. It is one of the biggest trees I have seen around here. While the guys went fishing alone, I stayed at the camp with the girls, and we went hunting for firewood. We came back to camp and I let them all take turns learning to use an ax. I told them that women can take care of themselves if we need to, and they needed to learn how to do this kind of stuff. They loved it. Doug cringed when he came back to camp and watched them chopping!!! On the trail, it was great to see that there is new life already growing  after the devastation in the spring. The Aspens had new little branches starting to grow. Nature is so Awesome!!

Izzy's Baptism - September 3rd, 2011

 Izzy in her new dress!

  Hairbow

 Izzy & Grandpa Keith

 After Baptism (check out the shoes)

 Izzy & Grandpa Doug

 4 Generations!

Izzy was so excited to get baptized. She was baptized by her grandpa Keith, and confirmed by her grandpa Doug. She had a lot of family and friends there to share this day with her. A couple of weeks ago, she and I spent the day shopping for her new dress. She tried on LOTS of different ones. I knew right away which one she wanted, but she had to make sure. She had a "no" pile, a "maybe" pile and a "yes" pile. It was so fun watching her face light up when she tried on the ONE. We found a hair bow and the perfect shoes. I am glad she made the decision to be baptized! If you notice, in the top picture she is wearing a little bracelet. She wore the same one at her baby blessing, her baptism, and will also wear it at her wedding! At her house after, I was able to get a 4 generation picture of Douglas R., Douglas L., Brad and Andy Hawker. (as many of you know, it is almost impossible to get great grandpa to be in a picture. So this is very rare)