Coronado Island, San Diego

This was the brig on the ship. I wish I had one of those at home. The perfect time out!




This is the second time we've gone to the Midway Museum Aircraft Carrier. It has been two years and the kids didn't remember much. I enjoyed it just as much the first time. I actually got to listen to all the commentary on the headphones. It was amazing what the soldiers had to go through.


We rented a buggy bike that was enormous. I made the kids promise to help pedal. It was very heavy and bulky. It was really fun riding around with the ocean view all around. The kids did a good job pedaling. Except Payton who has short legs.
We only rented it for one hour. We were so tired when the time was up!



We got to tag along with Tom while he went to a company retreat. We stayed on Coronado Island! I've never been there. I didn't even know it existed. I always thought it was just shoreline. We had gorgeous views of the ocean from our room. It was so pretty that a wedding was held right behind our balcony! Our first day we walked around and explored the area. The first thing they did was go climbing on the dangerous rocks. Why can't we be safe?

The Tooth Fairy

The tooth fairy came to visit Payton! He finally lost a tooth! His two bottom teeth have been loose for about two months. He kept asking when I could pull them out. I didn't think he would like it after feeling the pain. He was getting so impatient. All through kinder, his friends were losing their teeth. One day I realized his adult tooth was growing in behind it. So I got the dental floss and yanked it out. It hurt a little bit. Two days later we were swimming, and he bumped his face into the edge of the pool. It bent his top tooth inward. He was so upset and said he didn't want to be ugly. I said that nobody would even notice that it was crooked. He couldn't eat any food because his top tooth was hitting his bottom one. (candy and gum were the exception) I told him I could just yank out the other bottom tooth because it was already loose. Problem solved. Now he has no bottom teeth and two dead ones on top. They are nice and gray. I can't wait to pull those out too!

Happy Father's Day!

This father's day I wanted to do a special blog just for my daddy. I want to tell him how much I appreciate him and love him. He is the best dad in the whole wide world. My dad was always so supportive of me. No matter what decisions I made in life, he always was there by my side. He taught me the importance of education and that I need to keep on trying. He taught me about the gospel. We were always learning new things in Family Home Evening and scripture study. Of course, it wasn't always the most fun. But now I appreciate it and realize how hard it was for my parents to raise us. He's been a great example to me by being diligent in his church callings and going on three missions! Wow, these are some tough shoes to fill! My dad likes to joke around. He always has some funny saying or story. I remember sitting at the dinner table every night - And there I was... He liked to share with us about his day. The best part about dad is that he is an excellent photographer. He knew how important it was to take pictures of us for cherished memories. I love all the DVDs and pictures he has made for us. They are priceless. I love you Dad! Happy Father's Day! Don't move away too soon. We want to keep you here for a while.

Hunsaker Family Reunion

Hiking to the waterfalls. We had difficulty actually finding the unmarked trail.



We had an awesome time at our family reunion. We've started doing them every other year. Mark and Brent's family couldn't come. We were sad to not be able to visit with them. We stayed at Twin Peaks Pine Rose cabins. Melinda did a great job planning everything. We love you Melinda.



We love baby Sawyer. He definitely voices his opinion. He didn't like it when my kids kept trying to hold him. He likes to do his own thing.



When we got to the waterfall, it was a little chilly. Suzanne was the brave one to show us how it's done. Then all the kids followed. The hike was a little more difficult than we thought. We were worried that one of the kids would fall and get hurt. No, only Uncle Tom fell. Ouch!



Uncle Brett had a game for the cousins to play. It's called the candybar game. Basically, you're trying to get as much candy by rolling the dice. Some kids weren't as lucky as Carter, who kept rolling 7, 7, 7, 7,... Thankfully there were no tears at the end.

Chicago, Illinois

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

We went to the zoo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On the way back, we had a picnic at Lake Geneva. The water was freezing, but the kids insisted on dipping their feet in. You know where that lead to. In the winter, people drive their cars on the frozen lake and go ice fishing. It's a good thing we came in the summer. Mark was teasing me every time I said it was getting cold.


Shae and Austin

As you know, Austin loves babies. He became very attached to Shae when we were there. All of my kids kept fighting over who got to hold her. Then Mark's kids wanted to have a turn too! She was so adorable. How could anyone resist.



The infamous fire pit

We've all been hearing about Mark's fire pit in his backyard. He built it himself and cleared out some trees to make room for everything. Of course, we had smores one night and told ghost stories by the fire.

Vacation in Chicago

Mark and Andrea's house.


Navy Pier in downtown Chicago


River and Payton playing in the "backyard".


A view from the Sears tower in Chicago.

I have been wanting to go to Chicago for so long. My awesome brother mark lives there. I finally convinced Tom that it was necessary to go visit. The boys and I ended up going without Tom because of vacation schedules and money. We had such a blast. Uncle Mark kept us busy every day doing fun things. They live in a suburb of Chicago to the northwest. I loved every minute of it. Mark has lived there for 3 years. He has a huge house on a big plot of land. My boys were outside playing in the woods everyday. The house is surrounded by trees and shrubs. It's like having a forest in your backyard. Each day Austin would ask Beau "Do you want to play tag?" She's probably thinking what's so great about her backyard.

Kindergarten Graduation

Payton graduated from kindergarten. He is officially a first grader now. The graduation was so cute. Everyone was in their cap and gowns. Before the graduation, they performed a play about farm animals. Payton's part was a dog.