Twistle Summer

The cool air is starting to settle in, we still may have a few warm days left, but they are numbered. We had a great summer, full of friends, family, and water! I am looking forward to fall weather and sweaters, but will miss our summer. It was one to remember. Here are a few pictures of what we did:

LOTS and LOTS of popsicles and ice cream! 

We painted. We painted a lot! There were a few days where it was just too hot to go outside, so I thought it would be fun to paint. It sure was "fun" to clean up afterwards! These girls made a huge mess, but it was a fun time regardless.

Emma's first movie in the big theater. We watched The Croods and she LOVED it! She sees the picture everywhere of the advertisements for the DVD release and she gets so excited.

Family lake day! Thanks to everyone who came, it was a fun time. Except for the wind. and the bees. Oh, and the huge thunderstorm that threatened to strike us with lightning. Other than that...

And lastly, our Charlotte. She's been extra cuddly the last month or so, and we've been loving it. Her little baby teeth are wreaking havoc in her mouth, so she's been a little bit more on edge and has needed more cuddles. We don't mind one bit :) She will be 1 year next month!!

Happy "almost" Fall!!

xoxo

The Twistles

Jessica is 9!

Happy Birthday Miss Jessica!! 

Last wednesday we went to Jessica's 9th birthday party. 9!!! Holy crap, I can't believe she's 9. 

I was able to check another Mommy accomplishment off my list: Taking the girls by myself to a swimming pool and leaving there without incident. 

CHECK!

Luckily for me three things came in handy:

Emma's life jacket floaty thing

The kid pool that was the same depth without another pool in sight

Grandma :)

The party was during the day, so Matt was working and couldn't make it. Emma LOVED the water and so did Charly. They both didn't want to leave! It was so much fun. I love spending time with family, and I LOVE seeing my girls have fun. Success!! We love you Jessica!

As Destiny's Child would say, "I'm A SURVIVOR!!"

xoxo
Rachel

Mountains

I've lived in Utah most of my life. The mountains are magnificent, but have always been the backdrop of scenery for me. I have never known anything different. I definitely have not taken advantage of our mountains, so Matt and I have decided to change that!

Every weekend, we want to go on  a new family-friendly hike that we have never been on before. We also plan to take vacations to places close to us, like Moab, while we are here in Utah. It's only a few hours away, and one of the top visited places in the world! We've got some fun vacations ahead!

Last weekend, we hiked up to Rocky Mouth Falls. It's right off of Wasatch Blvd and only a 20-30 minute hike up to the waterfall. The falls weren't so huge considering it was July, but Emma and Charlotte LOVED being in nature. We took some great pictures, too. 

Next weekend we will be discovering Secret Lake up Little Cottonwood Canyon! All I did was google "family friendly hikes in Utah" and it came back with about 7 hikes we could do. So exciting!! Yay for new adventures!!

Until next week!!

xoxo
The "hiking" Twistles

Lava Hot Springs

Us Esau's have a family camping trip each year in July. In the past, we have gone to Bear Lake (which I LOVE), but in recent years the water has been too high to enjoy it. Last year my family tried a new location, Lava Hot Springs. We were in Illinois for the trip last year, so we didn't experience all the crazy fun they had. 

This year, we didn't miss it, and had a great time! Emma loves her cousins and was beside herself when she realized she could play with ALL of them ALL day. 

Both girls did surprisingly well sleeping at night in the tent. I did catch Emma sleepwalking one night, which was so crazy. She was crouching on the side of the pack n' play just staring at it. Then I saw her get up, and jump into her sleeping bag and pull the covers over her. Then she was out. That girl, she is too funny. 

We went to the pool on Saturday, where they had an amazing splash area for toddlers. Emma would have stayed there all day. It was so much fun. Poor Matt had to stay out of the water because he couldn't get his incisions submerged, but he was a great sport and played with Charlotte in the shade. 

Sunday we packed up and headed to the river where we rented tubes and had a BBQ. Some of us were lucky enough to ride the river once before a heavy thunderstorm blew in and ended our river fun. We were going to wait it out, but the girls were so sleepy and after an hour of rain, it hadn't let up at all. Kind of a bummer, but it was still a good time with family. 

I got some great pictures this year, and I am so glad we were able to spend time with family. My girls have the BEST Aunts and Uncles in the world, and I feel so lucky that they will be able to bond with them as they grow up. 

Great time family! Love you!!

Soda Springs Geyser, waiting.

Emma LOVED the river. She keeps asking me if we can ride the bumpy river with waterfalls again!

waiting for the storm to pass...

Jessica is such a good mommy cousin :D

These two. They hung out a lot!

Making us some breakfast!!!

Twins... I mean mother/daughter

Mitch got cornered by Zurie!

Emma wanted me to go down the slide with her for the first time; after that she instructed me to, "stay here Mommy, stay." She happily went down all by herself after that! 

Apparently these two like to feed each other, it seems to happen every time they are together!

Smiley Ben 

Matty and me <3

Such a poser this girl!!

Can't wait until next year! Yay for successful camping trips!!

xoxo

The Twistles