Idaho Fun!

After our crazy fun filled days, we all slowed down. On Sunday, we all walked to church.

After church, we picked strawberries and said goodbye to Jonathan. He had classes to get to while I stayed in Idaho for the rest of the week.

Dad with his 2 other daughters and Clara photo bombing with a marshmallow.

Monday morning, we had a doughnut run along with a trip to the smelly dump. The little girls had pink sprinkle doughnuts while Ty had a churro.

On Tuesday, Andy's family (except for Ryan) packed up and left for California. Before they could leave, the boys had to do summersaults and everyone needed to pick more strawberries.

After they left, we played in the backyard for awhile and even had a picnic lunch.

While the kids were in and out of the house playing, my mom and I ended up staying outside for about 7 hours just talking. It's been a very long since we've talked that much since I'm terrible about talking on the phone.

The next day, Annie took the kids to the park while my parents, Chris, and I did a session at the Idaho Falls temple. The kids had a great time and so did we!

The Idaho Falls temple is a very special temple for my family. My grandpa helped with construction of it after he came home from his mission and before he moved to California. My mom said that they were hauling 50 lb sacks of concrete up to the temple and my grandpa, being the ox of a man he was, would carry two sacks at a time. It was such a wonderful experience to be inside of temple that he helped build.

That same evening, I went to Rexburg to visit one of my good friends. It's been over a year since the last time I saw her. It was so much fun to catch up with her and see her preparations for her little girl that's coming next month!

Here's a picture from her maternity shoot. Gorgeous!

After our visit, I took pictures of the Rexburg temple for over an hour.

Even though our days were slower and we had to say goodbye to some of the group, we had a wonderful time.

Idaho Temples

While we were in Idaho, I had to go and visit a couple of temples! The first one I took pictures of was the Rexburg temple.

No crops were damaged in the shooting of this picture.

As a family, we walked around the Idaho Falls temple. My mom shared some stories about her dad helping with building it.

I love how different these two temples are on the outside. They are both beautiful, but very distinct in the architectures style.

Pioneer Day

Growing up in California, pioneer day wasn't very important. I remember only one activity as a kid. Now that we're in Utah, I'm realizing that it's still a big deal. Jonathan even has the day off!

My mom was ready to celebrate Pioneer Day in California!

Its gotten me to think about my own pioneer heritage. I feel so blessed to have ancestors that gave up on all that they had to follow the prophet to a new land that no one had ever seen. I feel strength from them as I face my own challenges and know that I am just as strong as they were.

I'm doubly blessed because along with having pioneers that crossed the plains, I have modern pioneer heritage as well! My grandma and grandpa Patterson left behind their old family traditions and took on a brand new way of life. The blessings from their decision are still flowing and helping their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren be better.

Pioneer day is for everyone. Sure we mostly talk about the pioneers that crossed the plains, but everyone has a pioneer story that is filled with the same kind of faith and perseverance that the pioneers in the 1800s had.

Price Family Farm

One of our family's favorite parts about visiting Idaho is visiting the farm. This year's visit did not disappoint! 

Within just a few minutes, Tyler caught the first fish.

Not long after, Andy caught his fish.

We had a hayride.

After the hayride took off, Kyle's fishing pole went crazy. Luckily, Jonathan was there to grab it.

Kyle's fish got stuck in the weeds, so farmer Wayne and Jonathan got into the boat to rescue it.

By the time the hayride was over, the fish was freed from the weeds and Kyle was able to reel it in.

Kyle was so proud of his fish.

Lyla loved exploring the farm and she even found an egg in the chicken coup. Right after this picture, she dropped it.

After lunch and lots of exploring, we pulled out some guns while the little ones played inside the house.

After we finished up with the clay pigeons, we pulled out the .22 for Ryan and Tyler to take a turn.

This was Tyler's first time shooting and he did a great job as a lefty.

Ryan got to help clean up the shooting range.

It was a great day, the only thing missing was the Wadman's.

Farm days are always great days!

Independence Day

We started out the day with preparations for another water balloon fight. This time we had around 600 balloons. The kids ran around and tried to grab as many balloons to play with before we were ready.

The most important thing we did before the fight was for everyone to take a nap.

Andy was snoring so loud I'm surprised Ty could sleep through it!

After naps, we were all ready to play!

We had a great outdoor dinner.

Chris was in charge of the grill.

Two cute brothers and their little sisters!

As the sun started to set, we made our way toward the river to watch the fireworks show. According to the radio, it is the 2nd largest 4th of July fireworks show in the country.

Clara helped Jonathan set up the camera.

Waiting for the show to start!

Jonathan took a few pictures of the fireworks and then realized he should just take video of it. Something really unique about this firework show is that there is music and patriotic quotes that go along with it playing on the radio. The show was 30 minutes long and was simply amazing. Jonathan said that we will be coming up to Idaho Falls every year for the 4th!

It may look like this is part of the finale, but we were only a few minutes into the show!

I am so grateful to live in this country. There are plenty of things that are wrong with it, but the foundation it was built upon is good. I am grateful to be in a land with so much freedom and am grateful that there are still men and women that are willing to fight to preserve those freedoms. I love that I was able to spend this Independence Day with so much of my family.