This year for our vacation we decided to spend it in the area and see some of the sites that we have not got to see before. The first thing we did was visit with Monica and her family. We went up on Ayden's birthday. For his present we gave him battle stuff like helmet, shield, arm shields, sword, and axe. But we figured it would not be too fun to play by himself without someone else having the complete gear as well. So we brought two sets, Gavin and Ayden had fun playing together with it. The next day we went to the Primary Sacrament meeting program. Ayden had a speaking part and he did such a great job at it.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole vacation. Gavin just took a bath and wanted to cuddle with his Grandma under the blanket that I made. It was fun and a very special moment for me.

Everytime we go up to Idaho Falls to visit with Monica and her family we always say that we should go to the Craters of the Moon and see what is there. So after the visit we went by Craters of the Moon. It was amazing. The whole landscape as far as you can see is lava rock. You can walk down into the crevices of the lava flow into big tunnels and caves. It was fun to explore this area. Here is Daryl on one of the paths going out in the lava flow.

After the Craters of the Moon, we drove up to Sun Valley to see what was there. What a disappointment. All we saw was a couple of hotels and biking paths. I did not even think the area was that pretty. It was not like I imaged at all. So after a quick drive through of that area, we went down to Twin Falls. The entrance into the city is awesome. You go over a big canyon with water falls. It is really beautiful. We spend the night there and then explored the area some more before driving home. Once we got home we went to the movie "Avengers" it has been out for some time, but we haven't had a chance to see it. It was great, we both enjoyed it. Then we went to the Quirrh Mountain temple - what a beautiful place (aren't they all). Then Daryl wanted to walk through some camping trailers to see what is new. Did you know they are making trailers with fireplaces in them now. We saw some amazing ones and very expensive. Daryl and I have always wanted to tour the gardens at Thanksgiving Point, so we decided to make it one of our stopping points on this vacation. It was so worth it. Here are some flowers that I thought was so unique and fun to look at. Who knows maybe I will plant some in my garden next year. There were a lot of different gardens with themes and a ton of pictures we took, but these are just two that I liked.

Here is a picture of Daryl on a bridge at Thanksgiving point

The gardens at Thanksgiving Point were beautiful and a fun place to walk around and see all the different,interesting plants and landscapes. We sure enjoyed ourselves.

Easter and Emmetts blessing

Introducing Emmett Marec Allen the newest addition to our family. He was born on February 19, 2012 weighing in at 10 lbs (can't remember how many ounces). The middle name Marec is taken from the first initial of his aunts - M is from Mary, A is Amber, R is Rebecca, E is Elizabeth and C is Candis - so he is named after all his aunts. On Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012 Emmett was blessed. He received a great blessing and all the family was able to make it. What a great weekend!!




Emmett and his grandpa already for church.




Penn, Logan and Audrey taking time out from playing for a quick picture of them in their new Easter outfits.




Alexis and Drake already to go to church




Aunt Becky giving Drake a ride on the scooter. what fun!!




Mary Elizabeth and Emmett meeting for the first time.




Gavin and his Grandpa talking strategy before the Easter Egg hunt started.




Gavin with his mom and Aunt Becky during the Easter egg hunt.




My parents with Daryl and I


Daryl and his dad.

We had such a great weekend with the family enjoying each other and the doing fun stuff. I look forward to the next family gatherings.