Happy 1st Birthday Addy-Cakes!

Addy, it is so hard to believe that you are already 1 year old. This year has passed far too quickly. But I love the little girl that you have turned into.
I love your smiles and your laughs.
I love your persistence and your exploring spirit, even when you get stuck in places you can't get out of.
I love how you get so excited when you see Cole and Emily, even when they give you a little too much love!
I love how you are willing to share, even if it's an already sucked on piece of food!
I love how you get so excited when your Dad comes home, how you kick your legs and grin at him until he comes to see you, and how you "read" the NCAA manual so you can know exactly what he is talking about when he comes home from work.
I love your little grin that you get when you realize that you are doing something you shouldn't be doing!
I love how you like to "help" me, even when it's not all that helpful!I love your zest for big people food, even though it meant you shunned baby food at a young age.
Addy, I love you so much and though I'm sad you are getting bigger, I can't wait to see what is in store for us next!

Seven Peaks Party

As in the past, we got season passes to Seven Peaks Water Park this year. We spent lots of time there this summer, but a few weeks ago, we had the best time ever!
The BYU Athletic Department rented out the whole park for its employees. So, we were in the park with a grand total of about 500 people. It was lots of fun. The longest line I think we waited in all night was 2 people!
This meant that Cole and Chad got to go on more rides than they could count!
And they talked Emily into going on a few rides with them.
Although Emily much preferred to go on her own little slides.
And they talked Addy into going on a big slide with them. (Ok, she didn't have a choice. They made her go. But she didn't protest too much!)
They even fed us dinner, pizza for the kids and Bajios for the adults. (Yet another great plan to feed the kids pizza and the adults decent food!)
Addy really like the pizza. I think she had 3 pieces! (I'm not sure how she is still a runt!)
And because it's an athletic department, they had to have a competition (or a who is manlier type event!) Any employee who went on Free Fall (a very high, straight down slide) got a prize. But, mostly I think they just wanted the bragging rights that they went and others didn't!
Here is Chad at the top.
And here is proof that he didn't wimp out!
There was also time for the kids just to hang out in the baby pool, which was significantly less crowded than normal.
Addy loves the water, but sometimes she forgets she can't just take off crawling wherever she wants to. She gets in a little over her head (literally!).
We had so much fun. We hope this becomes an annual event!

Celebrate Utah!

In Utah, the 24th of July is a big holiday. So, since it's so close to the 4th of July, we use it as a second chance to wear our cute 4th of July outfits!
Dad and his girls!
Emily, Addy, and cousin Kira. So cute, they can get anything they want!
How can you resist this cute face?
Around the 24th of July, Spanish Fork also celebrates "Fiesta Days" with a rodeo, parade, and various other activities.
The parade is always entertaining because it's mostly baseball teams and beauty queens! (100 entries. It was a long morning!)
At least they throw lots of candy to keep the kids entertained! Emily and Cole caught on pretty quickly how to run out and get candy. Although Emily also figured out that if she didn't get any, all she had to do was cry and the big boys would rush over and hand her some. (That was much easier than fighting the crowd!)
Apparently the candy throwing entertained Chad also! (Again, 100 parade entries makes for a long morning!)
Addy was ecstatic when she found out that some of the parade people even throw Otter Pops !
The big boys were too cool to do anything but sit on the curb and pretend to be uninterested!
And one more of Addy because she is so cute and looks very patriotic with her outfit and flag!

After recovering (sort of) from our trip to KC, we headed off to Park City to spend some time with Chad's family. We started by taking a family picture. (It didn't turn out too bad all things considered!)
Cole much preferred exploring the fallen trees and the stream to posing for pictures!
Ok, so he didn't mind posing when HE wanted to!3 Generations of Gwilliam women. Watch out!
Cole's favorite part of the trip was when we headed to the Park City Mountain Resort. After some initial reservation about the rides, there was no stopping him! He had a great time on everything. Every time he got to the bottom, he wanted to go back up to the top and go again.
The Alpine Coaster was his favorite.
Whew. They made it back down!
But, he didn't mind going down the Alpine Slides either. (Although he didn't really like it when Grandpa and Emily beat them in a race!)
Or when Emily and Chad beat him and Grandpa!
Emily was ok on the big kid rides, but she was happy to spend some time in the Little Miner's Area on the Merry-Go-Round and Airplanes.
Her favorite part though was the suspended trampoline. She could have jumped on it for hours, if they would have let her!
Cole also liked to jump on the tramp.
Addy loved hanging out with her Grandma. Especially when Grandma got the hint that Addy wanted a snow cone!
Emily and Aunt Alise also rode the coaster. We're not sure who screamed the loudest coming down the mountain!
Waiting for the lift up to the top. (Notice my rule following children who have to have their feet exactly on the pictures of the feet on the ground!)
Whew! They made it on!
Rock climbing was another of Emily's favorite activities. She was much better at it than Cole was!
Addy also got to take a little ride on the Merry-Go-Round.
When the big kids decided to go do the Zipline, Cole and Emily settled for playing a little miniature golf to pass the time.
When we got back to where we were staying, there was lots of time to spend in the pool! (I'm not sure where my pool pictures are. Oh well!)
Who needs flotation devices when you have a Dad!
After all of this fun, then we had to go home and collapse on the couch!
What a great vacation! Now it's time to go home and recover from our summer!