Where to Begin???

     I have so much catching up to do on here! I posted Cannon's Birthday, but before that we went to Lake Powell and played in our kickball tournament. This may be a little out of order, and probably a lengthy post, but oh well! Here we go.
     Lake Powell was great as always. I was warned that Lake Powell isn't "the same" with a baby which was true because I was constantly concerned about Cannon's safety, entertainment, and sleeping arrangements, but having Cannon there and seeing him experience his first Lake Powell trip of many was so much fun! Cannon did great. He mostly loved to just play in the sand and walk and walk in the water. This was the first year that our whole family decided to rent a houseboat. Our family is getting too big and we only have three boats between 40 of us, so we got a houseboat so that half the family could play on the beach and houseboat while the rest were out boating and tubing and wakeboarding. Of course my ultimate favorite part of the trip was tubing. I was lucky and got to tube several times, but my favorite was when it was just the girls (Which included Syd, and a few of my aunts). I swear my dad was trying to kill us. We were all screaming the whole time and I couldn't help but yell out loud multiple times "I'm having so much fun!!" I didn't want that ride to ever end. Besides tubing we wakeboarded, (I slalom-skied sp?? because I hate wakeboarding). We played a badminton tournament, played card games, buried a cousin in the sand and went cliff jumping. With each year I get whimpier and whimpier with cliff jumping. I used to be so brave... What happened? Anyway I didn't get that great of pictures, but here a few.

Did somebody say haircut?... Yes Cannon desperately needed a haircut which he got shortly after... haha

Gotta love Cannon's long thin hair blowin in the wind!

     A few days after we returned from Lake Powell we had our kickball tournament. Here's how it went, Lost the first, barely won the second, lost the third. Pathetic. Especially since we practiced and actually thought we were going to make it to the end. Oh well, we still had fun playing. During the first game I was actually super nervous, like heart beating nervous because I wanted to win so bad. haha. And one of the girls on our team ended up breaking her hand when she caught a ball! We tried our best, but failed. Syd did make us some pretty sweet T-shirts though.

The coolest losing team ever. I may have said a few bad words while playing, that tends to happen when I'm in competitive mode. But Elizabeth even had a word slip... Never knew she had it in her! :)

    Between kickball and the next big event Marc and I finally played tennis for the first time this year! I finally got to use my new racket! It was so much fun and I so wish that we had more time to play. Here's a picture of my dashingly handsome tennis-playing husband. (Ps this picture was his idea, so he must pay the consequence of me posting it).

    

   Next up, my 25th Birthday! My birthday was on a Sunday this year so I basically got to celebrate for two days. Marc said I could do anything I wanted and of course I chose shopping. I got to buy a new outfit and afterwards we went out to eat at Carrabbas. Then after a fine meal we went to Nelson's park to play because we knew Cannon would love it. Now that Cannon is walking he can actually play at the park. He loves swinging and feeding the ducks and going down the slides. We brought a frisbee and threw it around and Cannon thought he was catching and throwing the frisbee and thought he was pretty cool. It was fun. Then that night I woke up around 1:00 am and noticed Marc wasn't in the bed. So I got up to find him and accidentally ruined his surprise. He was going to decorate our whole kitchen in balloons and streamers and confetti. Sadly I caught him in the act and he had only just begun. I told him that it was super sweet of him to do that for me, but to come to bed! He always tries to do something special for me, he's so thoughtful! Then Sunday after church we went to my parent's house and my mom cooked a delicious meal as always and we eat, played a card game, I opened up some presents and then had cake and icecream. It was lovely and I truly feel like an adult now. Not.

My half decorated surprise!

Another one of Marc's brilliant picture ideas

My cute boys shopping!

Eating at Carrabbas

My arm looks super awkward...

    

     Next on the list was a little Seven Peaks and a hike to the Grotto up Payson Canyon. The little hike was perfect, we were able to carry Cannon most of the way and let him walk a little bit. We went with my aunt Kristin and her family. The trail was easy and beautiful and it ends at a little waterfall.

The Vantassells

     Last but not least, probably my most favorite part of the summer so far was celebrating mine and Marc's 4th anniversary on August 14th. Every year, but last we have gone to Park City and stayed in a bed and breakfast called The Washington School Inn. It is perfect in every way. We didn't go last year because Cannon was only a few weeks old and besides that the Inn was closed for renovations. So about a month ago I went to book a room (every room has a different name for example, "Mrs. Larsen" and we had a goal to stay in every room throughout the years) and the entire place has been redone. Nothing looks the same. AND the prices changed from $170 a night to $460 a night! (and that was for the cheapest room!). I couldn't believe it, we were so incredibly disappointed in the changes and especially the price change because we may not ever be able to afford that! So I wrote them an email and told them how I felt. Not knowing that they would even respond, they emailed us back and told us that they were sorry that we were disappointed and wanted us to come give the new renovations and changes a try. They let us stay in a room for the same rate that they used to charge us. Although we still love how the Washington School Inn used to feel, the changes are amazing. The rooms have super high ceilings with chandeliers, a king sized bed and the whole room is basically white and very elegant. They served us refreshments and dessert which was amazing, but the breakfast was by far the best. It was the breakfast of royalty! :). They also added a pool and a hot tub which was fun to swim in. It is absolutely beautiful inside. We truly miss how it used to look and feel, but apparently the new renovations were necessary. So we may or may not be back there again.

     While we were in Park City we went shopping on main street, ate at a Thai Restaurant, went swimming, watched a movie and shopped at the outlets the next day. Marc's mom and dad were wonderful and spent the night with Cannon and then my super awesome sis, Syd watched Cannon the next day until we came home around 2:00. It was the first night away from Cannon and I thought about him the whole time, but I knew he was being taken care of and having lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Syd. 

     It was so great to have time just Marc and I. We haven't had that kind of time for quite some time (any guesses why? :) ). We enjoyed every minute together. Marc is seriously my best friend and I love spending every minute with him. He still continues to make me laugh and I know he loves me. For our anniversary I gave him a picture of us from our wedding with translucent paper on top of it with a quote that says, "Out of all the moments in my life, the ones I've spent with you are my most favorite." That quote says it all! I love my Marc and think we have the greatest love story of all time. We had a perfect anniversary and can't wait for the next 50+ years of marriage.

Not only did our room come with chocolate strawberries, carrot cake, and homemade chocolates, it also had lip balm, relaxation spray for our pillows, and the best part was this "facial spray" for keeping us hydrated and helping us look younger. Just what I've always needed!

Breakfast of royalty. Peach waffles, raspberry smoothie, potatoes, perfectly cooked bacon, scrambled eggs and a fruit bowl.

    

    Phew. And that wraps up what we've been up to the last month. So much fun! I can't believe summer is ending. Boo. Even though I don't have to go back to school I always feel bad for myself when school is starting. Weird right? I guess it was from all those many many years of going to school and being devastated when summer was over. To end on a cute note, here is an adorable picture of Cannon and his cousin Ellie. Two little bucket babies.