The Great Outdoors!

We have been trying to enjoy every last ounce of summer that we can before it disappears before our eyes. So, we took the kids up to Bridal Veil Falls and let them play in the water for a while. They all loved it. Even Brielle loved to stick her tiny toes in the water. I was shocked she liked it so much because the water was freezing! Luke and Tanner had a great time, but of course they wanted to be a bit too adventurous for my taste from time to time. They would have hiked all the way to the top of the falls if it wasn't for their paranoid mother.
They have also been running through the sprinklers on a near daily basis. They absolutely love it! I figure it is a great way to run off some of their energy, and it waters the grass, so how could I complain. Launey and I have decided that to them, it really doesn't matter whether we spend money on a trip to Disneyland, or Lagoon, or if they are playing in our own backyard for free. They seem to have just as much fun splashing in the water at home as they do on vacation, (I on the other hand am a different story ;). I kind of miss that about my own childhood, it is so easy for kids to find such pleasure in simple things.
It kind of reminds me of Elder Ballard's talk in this past conference where he encourages us young mothers to find joy in the moments. Every time I really try to concentrate on that I find little moments of joy everywhere. They are certainly fleeting, but they are there.
A few weeks ago, Launey took Luke to get a "quick haircut" which he paid 14 BUCKS for, and it was terrible!! That alone put me in an incredibly foul mood which I was not about to get over. Then, I was sitting outside listening to my boys play. They were throwing rocks from our yard into the field behind our house and Tanner would say, "Good frow Wook," then Luke would respond with, "Thanks buddy, your throwing really far too." Their little words of praise to each other was enough to get me out of my melodramatic bad mood. It really was a simple little moment that brought me great joy.
Sorry for the tangent, I had no intention of making this such a long post, but when things come to my foggy brain, I better write them down because it doesn't take long before I forget them. Anyway I will quickly wrap this long obnoxiously boring post up with a few recent pictures.
These are of Brielle and Me. I took the picture of Brielle on our front yard because of the funny face she was making from touching the grass. Then I remembered the picture of myself as a baby making a similar face. I just thought it was fun to compare the two. The rest of the pictures are from Bridal Veil Falls.