Sunday, July 29, 2012

24th of July, Temple Square & Hogle Zoo

It was fun this year to be living in a state where the 24th of July is a BIG holiday. There were all sorts of  fun things going on all over the city. We decided to head over to the Union Pacific Depot where we got to ride on a little train for free and eat a free cupcake. We also got to watch some cool fireworks that night.

While downtown we decided to head over to temple square. We hadn't been there for a really long time so it was neat to see the temple and the visitors centers were awesome!


The flowers on the temple grounds were soooo beautiful and it smelled so good all around there
Dal took this picture for us - not too shabby :)
The other day we went to Hogle Zoo with Collin, Tiff & kids and Chase. It was really fun. We had never been there as a family.(Jake had been there a lot when he was younger)

B-Rae was really excited to hold Mckayla like this after Dal got to in the previous picture. She did a really good job but afterwards she said to Tiffany "Whoa, she was heavy!" :)
I think my favorite part was watching this awesome polar bear do his swim exercise routine. He was amazing!

Here he is bringing his head out of the water before he goes for a back dive


After his swim he walked a few laps and then got back in the water to swim again

Chase showing B how to take a picture of yourself
Braelyn & Landon were really cute holding hands 

Dal was so excited about this "baby acorn" that he found


I think giraffes are so cool
We had a great time at Hogle Zoo!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Hilton Family Reunion in Flagstaff, AZ

On the way down to Arizona we stopped for a driving break to check out Lake Powell, Glen Canyon dam & the visitors center

We all stayed in a huge, nice house that my parents rented for the week.
We played lots of tennis, some basketball, darts and board games (especially Wits and Wagers which is a really fun game)
Here are some of the kids playing trains with Grandma
Hot tub time with Grandpa
One day we drove to Rock Slide State Park which is near Sedona. It is an awesome place to play in the water with a bunch of natural rock slides.

Braelyn holding tightly to Uncle Chase's neck as they go down the rock slide with the current
Dal & Grandpa going down. Dal loved it (you can see from the smile on his face)
B & I going down. It was pretty cool!
Braelyn, Tiffany, Mckayla & Landon chillin'
We also did a little cliff jumping. Here's Jamie & I --its obvious that I am all about plugging my nose :)
Conrad & Kylie (she's a brave one)
Chase, Mckayla, my mom & B-Rae
Collin, Landon, Dal & Kylie 
Dal thought it was just the coolest place-he could have stayed there all day.
We all had a total blast!
Since we were there on the 4th of July we decided to go check out the local parade. Nothing too special but the kids did get a little candy and some flags so they liked that
I just love that little Mckayla, and she loves me (and my camera strap :)
At one of the parks in Flagstaff they had a 4th of July celebration with some bouncy houses that the kids could jump in for free. They loved it!

Braelyn so happy to be holding Nixon, Con & Jam's new baby boy. We got to meet him for the first time and he is so adorable.
The five of us.
It has been like 6 years or something since all 5 of us siblings have been together, so it was so much fun to get to play and hang out and chat. Loved it!
Our kids.
The cousins (11 of them now) had a great time playing together!
Dal & B had to get another pic with Mckayla
Pinata time! The kids had a great time hitting the pinata and running after the candy
Dal wanted to use his bow & arrow that his dad helped him make :)
When that proved rather ineffective he decided to take his "arrow" and hit the pinata with it. It worked much better :)
My mom sat with the kids and helped them make some cool creations out of  play dough. This is a pony she made that Braelyn and the other girls loved playing with
Our reunion finished up with us driving to Glendale to help Conrad and Jamie move out of their apartment and into their new house. It was fun to see their old place and their new place. Here are some of the helpers. As you'll notice they all have otter pops stuck in their mouths-I think they 
cleaned out Conrad & Jamie's supply of them :)
Chase just makes me laugh. 
The seven of us.
It was seriously so fun to all be together.
Hopefully it won't be too long before it happens again!