America the Beautiful!

Who else LOVES the 4th of July? Aside from the sweltering heat, I love everything about this day! I love the parades, the food, the fireworks, and the feelings of patriotism that stir in our hearts especially on this day. My kids are finally getting old enough to enjoy all of the festivities, and each year it gets more and more fun. We started out our day early with a parade down-town, followed by a breakfast, and games/rides/activities in the park. Then after naps, (whew! I don't know who needed it more, me or the kids,) we went over to our new friends house and had a good 'ol fashioned 4th of July Bar-b-que. We finished up with some simple but exciting, especially to the kids, fireworks. Here is a little visual documentation of our holiday.

The kids were super excited about the parade. Claire is funny about loud noises though
so she spent most of the time with her ears plugged.

Nice. This is how Paige spent most of the time. I'm glad
I know a good dentist.

Just a little sparkler fun. An artist, I am not.

Clairesie, again with the ears....

Well that was pretty much the extent of our day, but before I go I wanted to leave you with an inspirational thought for this inspirational day:

“What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? … A patriotism that puts country ahead of self; a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." - Dallin H. Oaks

Blaaahg!

It has been so long since I blogged that I actually put off blogging and my problem just perpetuated itself. Well, shame be danged! I am actually doing a post. I know this doesn't make up for all the lost time, but I thought if I actually caught it before a whole year was past then it wasn't too bad right? Well, it has been a busy year for the Stevens Family. We moved..again! Bu this time it is permanent. And we are all a little bit older and hopefully wiser. Here are a few highlights. Enjoy.

It has been so great being a 3 kid family.

We spent an absolutely unforgettable fall & winter in Holden, Utah.

Enjoyed living in a house that you could literally sled out the front the door and down a hill.

We had a wonderful Christmas. (Anyone else?) I can't believe that was 6 months ago.

We also enjoyed some of the non-winter activities the town had to offer.

Then we moved to St. George where we were able to experience "Swinter." (This picture was taken in April when it was still snowing up north.)

Now we spend our days enjoying our new neighborhood and loving our sweet kids. I will try to blog again soon. (Hopefully within the next year ;)