Friends in Town

This weekend some of our very best friends from Utah came down to visit us. Both Brandon and Riley served missions with Eric, so it's really great that we have stayed so close with them and their wives. We took them downtown to visit the Strip, where we saw the garden room at the Bellagio, the lions at the MGM, and ate at the Cheesecake Factory in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. It was a great weekend! 

Larkin Family Reunion

Every year we go camping at Duck Creek for the Larkin family reunion. This year the family brought up five of their old MG cars and we were able to have fun driving them all over the mountain. Connor absolutely loved going on these little car rides, and when we weren't driving, he wanted to sit in the drivers seat and push all the buttons he could find. We had a lot of fun spending time with our family and camping out in the woods! 

Vacations

Duck Creek

This summer we were able to take a camping trip with our wonderful friends Riley and Jessica Griffin. We camped out at Duck Creek and had an absolute blast hiking down trails, making dutch oven meals, playing horseshoes, riding the rhino, and relaxing in the great outdoors. 

Surf n Sand 

Right after our camping trip we headed down to Laguna, CA for our annual trip to Surf n Sand. We spent a week on the beach with the Smith side of Eric's family. We had a great time going to the beach everyday and soaking up the sun. Connor loves the water and wanted to go surfing with the big boys. He also loved playing with his cousins and falling asleep while watching movies at night. It was a great week and we were sad to leave the beach and the amazing weather of Laguna! 

Parenting the Strong-Willed Child

When my mom got me this book a little while ago, I didn't think it would be as good as it turned out to be. It was surprisingly informative and gave me great ideas on how to better raise my strong-willed child. Connor is definately strong-willed, but he is also so sweet. This book simply gives you good advice on how to help channel your child's strong-willed personality into good activities, and how to encourage your child to do the right things. This book was written by an LDS author, so it gives some really great gospel insights as well. I would definately recommend this book to any parent, but especially to those who have strong little spirits in their homes! 

4th of July

This year we spent the 4th of July at Huntington Beach with my family. This little town is very patriotic, so it is a lot of fun to celebrate there. We first went to an amazing parade, with lots of great floats, performers, and even jets and helicopters soaring overhead. We then had a big barbeque and spent the day at the beach. That evening we watched fireworks on the beach as they shot off the pier. It was so beautiful to see the fireworks and their reflection off of the ocean. It was a great holiday!