Florida 2011 {The Lake}

Austins grandma and uncle each have a house at Star Lake- the same place Aus and I honeymooned nearly 7 years ago--yikes! We left Disney super late and drove to the lake and stayed with his uncle Brett and aunt Sandy while we were there. This was the first time I'd ever met them and I'm so glad I had the chance to get to know them. They are such great people and alway so generous. Austin was glad to have a chance to spend time with them as well. He hasn't seen them in over a decade.

While we were getting ready to grill for lunch, Elena and Sandy found a tree frog. He was so cute. Chanel had to get in close to get a good look at him. She even wanted to hold him, but we kept him in the net until everyone had a chance to see him, then Elena let him go. Not without naming him "Froggy" first.

We rode around the lake and uncle Brett even let Elena drive the boat. She looks so big in this picture.

Everyone having a good time on the lake:) We had to watch Chanel really close on the boat. She would lean over so far and even tried climbing the gate to get into the water. Silly girl:)

Elena and the boys wanted to play in the water, even though the water level was pretty low and it wasn't ideal swimming conditions, they didn't let that keep them from getting in...

Elena and Emmett playing so cute together. They were such good friends the whole trip!

Bug showing off what she has been learning in swim lessons.

These next pictures are really dark and I'm kinda bummed but it shows how pretty the lake is and how silly the kids (and adults) can be:)

I'm glad we had a chance to spend a few days at the lake and show the girls. We took Elena back when she was around Chanels age and she didn't really remember it so it was fun to spend the time there.

Florida 2011{The Beach}

Our last day in Florida was the warmest one yet so we decided to make a trip out to the beach. Elena had been asking "When do we get to go to the beach?" pretty much the whole trip. This would be Chanel's first time at the beach and in the ocean. She was a little hesitant at first but then didn't mind the water...

...then she decided she just wanted to chill on the blanket or in the sand the rest of the time.


The cutest dog came over and wanted to play fetch with the ball he brought with him. Elena was in heaven throwing the ball and watching the dog get all excited about it. She is a natural born beach-goer. She even tried to ride a wave with the body board. I'm bummed I didn't get pictures of that:(

It was such a great trip. We were able to do and see pretty much everything we wanted to. We are so glad we were able to spend time with family. Especially since we only see them every few years or so. Thanks to all the fam in FL for great memories!

Catching Up!~

We were really lucky this year and won free tickets to the Circus! I've never been, and Elena loves tigers so much that this was a great opportunity for us:) We (the huge Brough clan, including Nona, Boompa, Mike, Karla, Jackson, and Fred) had Dallen go with us too! We met up with Seth and Natalie who happened to score some tickets the same day. We were able to get there early to see the animals before the show.

Poor Chanel was cut out of this picture... But this was {most} our group.

The show was awesome. The tigers and elephants were my favorite, I think Elena's, too. The music was pretty cheesy and would leave Austin singing the songs for weeks after {driving me crazy!} Fire it up!

Even Chanellie had a good time. :o)

Elena started swim lessons in September and LLLOOOVVVVVEEEEES IT! She goes two days a week and has learned so much already. She is such a doll, and the cutest fish you've ever seen...

I was invited to join some friends and go to the General Relief Society Meeting at the Conference Center. We left early so that we could get an early dinner at The Garden Resturaunt. It was yummy and so fun to be out with friends, especially in this setting. I really enjoyed listening to the talks given and to feel the spirit in that live atmosphere. Thanks ladies!

I came home that night to find a tent set up in the backyard with sleeping bags, pillows, and a TV set up. Austin and Elena decided to have one more camp out befor the weather got cold. Chanel thought it was the coolest thing EVER! We watched Harry Potter and had popcorn. I opted to sleep inside with Chanel where we were safe and warm, while Aus and Elena slept outside.

Chanel pretty much ate most the popcorn...she can't get enough snacks, that girl:o)

Just a random photo of my silly girls!

Summer's End

Sadly, our summer has officially ended. We tried to make it last as long as we could. We spent every free day at the pool...


...and had a back-to-school campout in Nona and Boompa's yard. We set up a tent and the kids had a blast roasting marshmallows and hanging out by the fire. We ended the weekend with horseshoes. I am NOT very good. We had a tournament and I lost every round I was in...oh well!

My beautiful Elena Bug just started Kindergarten(*tear). She was so excited to go and has been loving it ever since. We set everything out the night before so that she would be ready to catch the bus--that is what she was most excited for:o) I went with some of the other moms and followed the bus to school. We were all there with our little entourage taking pictures of the kids while they played on the playground until the bell rang to line up for class. The night before I felt the most anxiety but the first day of school was more fun than anything. Seeing how excited Elena was and how grown up she has become made it more of a proud moment than a sad one.

We spent Labor Day weekend with my parents and Dallen camping (well not really camping, we stayed in a friend's cabin). We did lots of four-wheeling, in my dad's new RZR, which Austin couldn't get enough of, and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it myself. The girls had so much fun. Chanel has never really been before, so she learned to love the speed and wind in her face. Elena's favorite part was seeing some of the animals on the farm (typically, my dad couldn't get away from work completely, so we enjoyed going on rounds with him:) We met the dog, the cat and her kittens, and then, while on a hike, Austin and the kids found a few horney toads. A large one and a few teeny tiny ones. They were pretty cute and Chanel couldn't get enough of them. She loved petting them but I didn't allow her to actually hold one. Who knew what she would do...put it in her mouth, maybe?!?

We took a ride up to the red cliffs, this is where Austin had proposed to me so we wanted to show the girls and find the tree we had carved our initials in. That was almost 7 years ago! Holy Crow! You can read more about that story here. The tree says:

KD
+
ACB
10/9/04

Last weekend, Austin and I enoyed a weekend alone in Park City. We stayed at the Westgate Resort and thoroughly enjoyed the amenities:) We got up early Saturday morning and hitched a ride on a hot air balloon. SO MUCH FUN!!! And the views were gorgeous! Austin helped unload the balloon and get it into the air. It was alot of work...but obviously so worth it:) We spent the rest of the weekend eating lots of yummy food, fun shopping, and plenty of pool time;)

FHE @ Herriman Beach

For FHE two weeks ago we went with a bunch of our friends/neighbors out to Herriman Beach. We had dinner and let the kids (young and old-er) play in the sand and water.

What is everyone looking at?

Austin and some of the others who swam out past the buoy.

The group. Pretty much...