a new cousin

Over the summer the girls' newest little cousin was born.  Little Luke Ryan Nimer has stolen our hearts.  We just had to see him.

We made a day trip out from St. George to go see him.  

The girls were just smitten and so was I. 

 A perfect little bundle and the sweetest addition to our extended family.

summer and sunshine

I was so giddy when Halle was finally out of school for the whole summer.  Goodness, I miss her when she is away. We love having the freedom to come and go as we please, with no school attendance to answer to.  The girls are always up for anything water or swim suit related. 

 In the summer, otter pops become our favorite afternoon snack and we ride bikes and scooters with the neighbors until the sun sets.  

We love parks, splash pads, museums, and hanging out at the pool. 

 This is the stuff childhood is made of.

end of kindergarten

As the school year came to a close, Halle's school hosted a couple of fun events.  The first was a school 5k.  They didn't make the kindergarteners run the whole 5k, but they were required to run or walk a chunk of the race course.  Halle surprised us all when she finished the race with some of the fastest kindergarteners.  I had no idea she had that kind of drive in her.  Our dear friend snapped this picture of her.

The school finishes the year with a dance festival.  Every grade learns a dance and then performs it for the school and parents out on the field.  Halle has really loved her kindergarten class. She has some wonderful friends.

Please notice how her chicken is colored mostly blue but with shades of purple, pink and red.  Every art project she brought home was covered in blue and other jewel tones.  She marches to the beat of her own drum and I love it!

My halle is the tall one in the shorts.

I was so happy when the last day of school came.  I missed having Halle home all the time.  She is a joy to be around.  She is never in a bad mood and is a little light in our family.  She however loves learning and socializing at school.  

She enjoyed her teacher Mrs. Parsons this year and especially being with her friends.  

She says her favorite thing about school is recess and PE.  PE days were her favorite days. 

Goodbye kindergarten!

disneyland in the spring

I love when Wes gets the itch to go somewhere after busy season at work is over.  This year he planned a trip to Disneyland during May.  It was our first time driving and the girls did great.  Thank goodness for the movie Enchanted and marker boards. On our way we stopped in St. George to see family and Las Vegas for breakfast with more family.  

Before we headed to Disney we stopped in Santa Monica to visit aunt Andrea.  The girls loved seeing where she lives.  

 We went to the Santa Monica pier to grab a quick dinner and check out the beach.  

It was packed with people, but that didn't stop our girls from pulling out their swimsuits and heading out to the ocean.  

We said goodbye to Andi and drove to Anaheim.

The next day we were off to Disneyland.  That place just gets more and more magical all the time.  

The girls were loving the parades and I just love watching them.

We spent the next day in Cars land.  It was our first time there and even though we eat sleep and breathe princesses the girls loved spending time here.

Every night when we pulled our car up to our hotel, the back seat looked like this.

We took another half day in Disneyland before we started the drive home.  Lily just loved meeting all the characters, while Halle found a love for fast rides.  

I just didn't want it to end.  Our girls are fantastic travelers and all day long party-ers. But of course, all good things must come to an end and we drove back to reality.  These lovers of mine sure make life grand!