nine pictures a day...

as promised, here is the utah portion of August. For this post, my "picture a day" project has gone to the "nine pictures a day" project. I try not to do that, but I know these pictures of my family will be the ones I will treasure the most in the years to come.

we had an absolutely delightful time. it is so refreshing to be with family. and, what could be better than being surrounded by my cute little nieces and nephews?

here's the rundown:

August 11th

went to a park with this little fallen angel (notice the broken arm :) ).


fed these guys...


and this little guy (if you've ever wondered why he's so big, now you know).


some of us ran non-stop (I don't have one picture that is in focus of this little girl)...


others laughed a lot....


some asked lots of questions...


and others were generally sneaky (notice Mack's food in front of Bekah. I told her it was Mack's 'special food,' and she had her special food. so, instead of trying to eat it in front of me, she snuck over to a distant table, and enjoyed her feast there. :) ).


all told, it was a magical day.

August 12th
Hogle Zoo:

met this mom and her baby...


and this funky zebra. check out those bold stripes. sometimes I wish I were so bold. I'm working on it.

the kids loved it...








and lafe did this:


and of course, Mack was angelic... kind of.


post-zoo, we made our way to the park for pizza and obstacle course races.

michael was a maniac and was absolutely determined to beat his best time each time he did it. isn't that an amazing attribute? go michael!

August 13th

took photos of this perfect little girl who is the daughter of one of my favorite people in the whole world. to see more, click here.


DJ and I spent the afternoon all by ourselves on a date ... to the cougareat. don't judge. we miss L&T okay? we then made our way upstairs in the wilk where we played our newly discovered game. we've been hooked ever since.

August 14th

discovered that mack loves basketballs...


and is not such a big fan of spurting water...
he came around.

August 15th

enjoyed an evening here...


and dinner at our favorite provo restaurant. notice we are literally the only ones there. they allowed us in right at 10:00, and closed the doors. all dressed up, and all by ourselves, it was quite the romantic evening. perfection.

August 16th
made our way down to st. george, and spent the day at Zions.



met up with the boys after their bikeride...


which lafe did not feel so happy about.


isn't this the sweetest picture of my dad? he loves his grandkids, and they love him.

we spent some time playing in the river, catching frogs, taking in the scenery, and enjoying each other. what could be better?

(notice once again, I cannot get a focused picture of her...)






hannah is loved by all the nieces and nephews, especially the twins. Isn't she the perfect picture of a perfect aunt? awww...





August 17th
more family pictures... this time of my side. it's a little more difficult to get pictures when you have six little kids all not wanting to look at the same place at the same time, so we have slightly fewer than DJ's family. :) however, I love what we came out with:

I can't believe how big my family has gotten. soon the only family pictures we're going to be able to take are the ones on the stage at the church. :)


the paul&amy family (notice how abby STILL isn't in focus)


the jonny&mel familiy.


the lafester.


the libby&dj family.
*photo taken by the incredibly talented Stevie*

and the sisters (minus amy & mel who had already left to put kiddos to bed):







I just love this girl with all my heart. I couldn't have asked for a better sister. isn't she beautiful?
*once again, photos taken by Stevie*

August 18th

before "Footloose" at Tuacahn (a re-creation of a picture taken six years ago, which I cannot find...). the show was awesome, and I loved seeing some old friends from college and my performing days. hooray for byu mdt!

August 19th

drove back down to Mesa before flying out. mack got an awesome haircut from grandma jones. someone recently asked if I ever put non-processed pictures up on my blog. well, here you go. not one ounce of editing in this picture. he's just naturally that cute. :)

...but I couldn't resist. the black and white just melted my heart a little...


and with that little guy to brighten your day, I'll leave you.

thanks for stopping by. :)