Every July, we have the chance to hang out with some good friends from our previous ward. They go camping about 20 miles from our house, every summer. And so, of course, we are so excited to drive over and spend time with them. Our friends, Misty and Mike, have 3 boys and 1 little girl. We had another fun day at the lake with them.In July, I had the opportunity to babysit for my friend Cindy. Cindy and I went to Seminary and Girls Camp together back in the day. We haven't seen each other until this last year (about 10 years later), when our girls ended up in the same dance classes. Anyway, we discovered that we named our daughter the same exact name, first and middle (but the middle is spelled differently.) So here is a picture of the two Auroras.
This is a picture from a family gathering of my family. We are playing one of our favorite games-- Apples to Apples. Fun times!! I sure love my family!! (Karina's arm, Me and Aurora, Riana and Sariah, my sister Liz, my brother's wife Jolie, my brother Dan, and my other brother Tom's face.)
The girls really wanted to have a Tea Party, with their Tea Party set. They were so excited (check out Karina's face in the picture--priceless!!) to have us all dress up in fancy clothes and eat cute little treats. I have to admit, it was pretty fun. They are turning me into a girlie-girl little by little. LOL! ;)The next 9 pictures are from our hike up Lower Lena Lake with Grant's family. It was Grant and I and our 5 girls, plus his little brother Phil, wife Michelle, and their 3 boys, and his little brother Brian and his wife, Shannon, and Brian's best friend Gavin and his fiance, Katherine. It was a lot of fun and I was very impressed with the kids for making it all that way!!! Some pictures to note-- Down on the right-- Karina loves her aunties and was buddies with Auntie Shannon, much of the way. Down a couple on the left-- The cousins together with a lion growling on the right! LOL! Some more explanations to come...
...Picture on the left-- an awesome brother's picture, plus a nephew, looking over the lake. Picture above right-- At one point, about halfway down, Grant decided to carry Karina, when he was already carrying Aurora. He carried them the rest of the way down the mountain. It was truly impressive!! Picture below-- The kids showing how tough they are!! SO adorable!! 
The same weekend as the hike, we celebrated Grant's grandfather's birthday with a party at the park and with some of his Mom's yummy cake!! Pictures below: Left-- Grant's uncle, Grandparents, Mom, brothers Brian and Phil, sister Jill, and Dad. Middle-- Playing Apples to Apples with Grant's family (they love that game too!), Connor loved being a big helper and pushing Aurora around in the stroller.
We also spent July cheering on Riana and Sariah's soccer teams (and Grant coached also.) A few girls were missing in these pictures. It was a fun season and both girls improved a lot. Sariah had the opportunity to play with my friend Carie's daughter, Aubrey. That was neat for them to get to know each other. Riana, in particular, really had to step it up because her coach really counted on her and her friend Alexis to carry the team. She ended up playing the entire game, for most games. It was a lot of pressure for a 9 year old but she improved because of it. It was especially fun when Riana and Sariah's teams played on fields that were side by side. We were able to turn around and around, cheering for each of the girls. It was actually a bit humorous too. :) We had a pretty busy July, but a fun one!!