She had a ton of fun with her friends… they had a picture shoot (thanks Britta)! Then they moved on to cake, ice cream, and presents. Then they were able to scrapbook the pictures from the photo shoot.
The pictures were all so great and they loved getting to keep a memory of Emily!
The winter months came and much fun was had.
Halloween fun
pumpkin patch with cousins
NEW toy —- Kinect (so much fun)
then the ultimate sign of winter… 36th ward Christmas Skate Party
What more can be said…. except no one was hurt this year (from our family anyway) ;)
After we landed in NYC from our wonderful Bermuda Cruise…. we weren’t done yet! We wanted to see some of our Church History sites since we were so close and Niagara Falls was on the way wo why not stop by there too. 
the falls were so beautiful
though the highlight of our time was Mike going over the side to rescue his phone he dropped.
We loved seeing all the sights!
Mike and I took Emily and Brandon with my parents (Jerald and Judy Dastrup) on a cruise to Bermuda.
Back story : My mom grew up in Bermuda …. she was born and lived there til she was 18 when she came to the States and met my dad. They were married and didn’t return to Bermuda for many many years.
We thought it would be fun to go see where my mom grew up and take the kids along. :) It was so fun! Many pictures to follow.
the family room in our suit
thought the towel animals were fun
Bermuda is in sight
Steel drum player on the sided of the road
moon gate
finally internet….
inside Crystal Cave
the original entrance that my moms great grandfather helped find
the house my mom grew up in
Sign for Al and Dorothy Millers home (My Grandparents)
Over all it was a great trip… the cruise was great! All the food and ice cream we wanted and then we got to play on beautiful beaches…. try snorkeling and spend a great week with Grandma and Grandpa Dastrup
The second week we were graced with the company of more family!
The Carbines came to join us in our fun at an awesome beach house on Mission Bay.
the beach house had so many great toys to play with
and the beach was so close
Rex was such a great sport at trying everything first
then he taught everyone else
the neighbor was so nice to come out and teach us
both Mike and Bobby tipped the boat when out with Rex
the girls however did a fine job :D
the water was fun!
and the beach was fun
cute Megan
and the all necessary burying of people
it was all so new and interesting to Leah
a friendly battle ensued in which Amelia lost
Emily trying her hand at kayaking
she did good and loved getting to try it all on her own
then Brandon had to give it a go
then Evan and Emily
no South California trip is complete without a visit to Sea World
born surfers?? ….. maybe not
these guys tried…
this board was much easier
than this one
in the end this was the best it got
it was another new expeience
just a bit big
and the sand got tons of use
the kids loved the water in the bay
do you think he ater enough sand?
a little Manta Ray that Rex and Bobby spotted
Enough of the beach. So we went to see the USS Midway
In the Brig
getting set to fly
inside one of the many planes
how many buttons can you push?
I can push more than you.
the week would not have been complete without taking everyone to see tide pools
we saw lots of these anemones
tons of little crabs
taking it all in
touching the anemone
but mostly there were tons of these muscles
muscles among the muscles (silly boys)
to cute to not post
the crew sporting San Diego shirts
There were tons more pics that couldn’t be posted.
We went to Old San Diego and the Mormon Battalion.
If your interested in seeing more check them out on flickr
We thought our summer had been “just to much fun”. Then we came to the highlights of our summer.
We spent two weeks in Sunny Southern California. It was so much fun…. we had a blast. In fact there was so much fun had and so many great pics taken that this post will speak for itself.
and we’re off
the first of our sleeping escapade
Rex came with us to help drive
We played on the beach….
made sand castles
tried out some boogie boarding (yes we did figure out the strap after a bit) :)
played in the sand some more
what a cutie and a cute hat too…
and enjoyed every moment of it
the kids tried out the boogie boards too…
they weren’t huge fans…
they thought the water was too cold!
The adults had a grand time … though we weren’t fabulous at it.
Another great adventure we had was Whale Watching
on our way we ran into a pod of dolphins
it was an awesome thing to see
they swam right up next to the boat
then there was the whale!
he was huge!
and quite simply… amazing to see
I know… how much better could it get?
everyone on the boat… hiding in the back… from the wind!
and of course Emily made fast friends
and Alyssa was our drama queen
thanks for the grand adventure!
we also found it was fun to hang out on the rocks…
can you spot the crab?
checking out tide pools
loving the beauty
and making unforgettable memories
to many great pictures to post them all
and that’s only the first week.
There were tons more pics that couldn’t be posted. I left out soooo much.
We went to Disneyland and California Adventure.
If your interested in seeing more check them out on flickr
Not really…. I am sooo far behind. This summer has just been way to much fun with lots to do! Time to catch ya up.
What? Summers not just all fun and no work…. nope!
But this is the fun kind of work. We started finishing our basement.
Like I said we started…. and then we left.
For some summer fun we spent time…
throwing water balloons
smiling big and cheesy like
wearing cute hats
and laughing at silly daddy
spent time swimming
did more gymnastics
missed naps
played more baseball
learned to walk
finished baseball with a medal
All in all a fun full summer!
First of all… sorry about the poor quality of pictures… I only had my cell phone! But they are pictures non the less so here we go.
Click the above picture to open a video of Emily on the balance beams.
She was pretty nervous but it was her first meet!
