Playing in the rain!

Residency Social

Here are some pictures from our most recent outing to one of Luke's attending physician's farm in St. Clair, MO. The girls had a blast riding horses, going on a tractor haybail ride, and catching toads. Carrie and Luke had a great time socializing with friends. Luke even snuck in a canoe ride on the Bourbeuse river. Good times were had by all!

Catching Up . . .

Here's a slice of what we've been up to lately:

Here are Abby and Katie petting the beautiful Clydesdales at Grant's Farm.

Alex is getting so big and loves to pull himself up next to things (especially the poor gerbil's cage). His other hobby is crawling up the stairs as fast as he can, then slamming the gate at the top behind him. (He knows he only has a few minutes to explore his sisters' rooms before getting caught!)

We enjoyed having Adrian and Natalie Dayton and their son, Taylor, visit us from New York for a few days! Adrian and Luke grew up together and have been friends for years. (In fact, Luke's and my first date involved flooding the kitchen of Adrian's BYU apartment . . . but that's another story. I think Adrian has forgiven me!)

It was fun to show them some of the sights of St. Louis. Here we are visiting the zoo.

Taylor, Abby, and Katie had a lot of fun together!

Pops and Grannie Boyer visited for two days! They took a Church history tour with some friends that just happened to end in St. Louis (lucky us!). It was so great to see them, even if it was a quick visit.

Katie has started Joy School with three of her friends from church: Aurora, Chloe, and Charlotte. The other moms and I take turns teaching in our homes, and the girls love the chance to get together! Here are three of them making gingerbread cookies at our house.

Life is busy but good!

Our Kindergartener!

Abby started school on Wednesday and loves it so far! Our district only offers full-day kindergarten, so she is gone for 7 1/2 hours. I've missed her but am excited for her to have exciting, new experiences. It's nice to give Alex and Katie a little extra attention, too.
I can't believe how fast our baby girl is growing up!

More Balboa Coverage

The quirky little spot where we stay in Newport is called Balboa Island. My dad's family started going to Balboa when he was two years-old, and they have returned every summer since--for over 60 years. The tradition of a young couple with five small children has ballooned into a massive invasion of around 100 of us every August. Of course, we're too big for formal get-togethers now, but we meet at our traditional spot on the beach to catch up as cousins. It's a great way to stay connected. I love going back to a place with so many magical childhood memories. This was my 26th trip (I think) to Balboa . . . what a lucky girl I am!

The best part of Balboa is always hanging out with family. Here is Alex with Grannie (my mom, Lori); Abby with her cousin Sam; my sister Melba with her nieces Marian, Abby, and Baby Emily (whom we loved meeting for the first time!); and my sister Jennie with her nieces Katie, Marian, and Abby.

Katie and Abby loved playing with their cousins! Here they are with Sam and Josh . . .

. . . and with Lizzie . . .

. . . and with Lucy--wading here with Pops (my dad, Richard) and Katie.

Ben, Abby, Jen, Katie, Joe, Marian, & Adam

Marian, Martha, and Adam

Uncle Sammie with his nieces Emily and Katie

We had the added bonus of seeing Luke's sister, Lara, who lives in Santa Monica, and her boyfriend, Mike . . .

. . . and also (briefly) Luke's mom, Nora! (She and Lara were passing through after a road trip to get Lara's new car from Utah to California.)

Although I don't have pictures of everyone, we got to see all seven of my siblings with their spouses (except Anna's husband, Spencer) and their kids. What a great trip!