Visitors!

YAY! We finally had visitors for our first time since we left Utah (almost 4 years)! Well, I guess Daniel's Mom did come when Josh was born, and they also helped us move out to Iowa. But as for family visiting just to visit, we have never had that privilege. So we were super excited when Daniel's parents and sister came to visit us last week! We had a lot of fun, and hope they did too. Here is some photo documentation and proof they were here:

Our beautiful chef!

 Day 1: We traveled the 6 hours to Kirtland, Ohio to view the LDS church history sites there. It was rainy, but we still enjoyed our time and the spirit we felt there. Our kids started acting out pretty early on in the tours, so we called it quits for the day, ate, and went to the hotel to swim. I am pretty sure that was the easiest time we've ever had putting the kids to bed!

Josh and Mommy outside the Whitney store. YAY! He's smiling!

Aww...

Yep...our kids were pretty much done after the first house.

Josh: Hmmm....What is this thing?

Looking at the almost flooded river.

In front of the store.

Day 2: We visited the Kirtland temple and the Johnson and Morley farms. It was amazing to see inside the temple and realize all the sacrifices the saints who built it made. It was beautiful inside and out. By our last farm (the Johnson farm) the kids were done with tours, so we settled in for the long car ride home. We stopped in Amish country at a little shop, admired their handy work, and enjoyed some fruit pies. Yum!

 At the Kirtland temple.

Heather and Mommy.

Kirtland Temple

Heather did this on her own. Luckily I got it before the moment was gone.

Johnson Farm. Fun Fact: when I was younger, my family piled on that rock and took a photo. I thought it would be fun to do the same with ours. :)

After the tour...maybe the photographer (also the tour guide) was trying to be artistic? Or maybe he was just trying to hurry because he was sick of our kids...who knows?

 Days 3-5: We stayed around B-town and showed them the beauty around us. We went on a hike, toured campus, ate yummy Indian food, went to the farmers market, browsed the antique mall, and had a generally good time! Thanks for visiting! Come again!

Leonard Springs Park

PS. If you are ever in the area, look us up! We'd love to have you!

July 4th

We definitely got lucky on the Fourth of July this year. The weather was nice and warm, but it was slightly overcast and so the sun and heat were not oppressive. We had a lot of fun together as a family, inside and out. We started the day off with a pancake breakfast over at the church, and then went directly from there to downtown to see the city parade.

The kids loved the trucks and cars and dancers and gymnasts, etc. Heather thought the fire truck was just a bit too loud though...

Can you sense the anticipation?

Heather sporting a really cute star-shaped hairdo (a credit to Stephanie's unlimited reservoir of patience).

The fam

Wow, Heather is intensely waving that flag--you can see it in her face!

We snapped a few more photos when we got home.

Some glamor shots of Heather's hairdo.

I guess Josh wanted to glamor shots too.

...aaaaaaand some not-so glamorous shots...

Proof that I was there.

The kids took a fairly good nap, which gave us time to bake some cookies and throw together an Independence Day feast.

The kids were pretty big fans of the red white & blue kabobs.

We followed the ancient Standage family tradition of buying some extra egg nog at the end of December and freezing it until July. It was hidden in our chest freezer downstairs so we almost forgot about it. We managed to thaw it in time, but between a large dinner, a trip to the park, fireworks in the parking lot, putting the kids to bed, eating cookies, and almost finishing a movie, we were just too pooped for egg nog. Don't worry though, we made quick work of it the following day!

Honestly, the best part of the day was just having lots and lots of time to be together as a family!

Shaving with daddy

The other night I decided to shave while the kids were in the bath. They were fascinated with the shaving cream I use.

He's not trying to be adorable, it just comes naturally.

All lathered up.

Ever since, Heather's been asking when she'll be old enough to shave. We better not leave her alone in the bathroom any time soon...