Once Upon a Summer...

Once upon a summer the Barton family moved to Salt Lake City to do an internship. This was the first time since its formation that the Barton family had not been enrolled in school for the summer! We tried to do just about everything, and pretty much accomplished that goal. Now we are back in good ol' Rexburg.There are lots of great things about being back, even though we do miss spending so much time with our families. One of the first things our friends and neighbors in Rexburg said when they saw Kayley again was, "Wow, she's really tan!" When we look back on all we did this summer, it's easy to see why! (As a side note, our camera was dead all summer with no sign of the charger anywhere, so we are missing quite a few pictures. All the ones we do have, we have borrowed from family--thanks family!)



I. DUDE THATS NOTHIN-MINI GOLF EDITION

The summer started out with another great video from Jeff and his brother Derek (if you've yet to see the original, click HERE)

II. REUNIONS, REUNIONS, REUNIONS

Next came the family reunions. The first was for Jeff's Grandmothers side of the family down in Midway, UT.  These "Hall" reunions are usually every four years. They are always fun because everyone comes out, and we all get to remember the roots we came from. This included Kayley "Irene" who got to meet Aunt "Irene" for the first time. We had a lot of fun swimming, playing, visiting with family, and riding the carousel they had there. Katie also went to a yoga class that she loved.

Irene and Kayley Irene

 Kayley on the carousel (with her cousin Jayden in the background)

Jeff's brother and sister-in-law, Kurt and Katie, and their two boys, Christopher and Jack, came to visit this summer from Boston. It was great to see them again! Kayley and Jack (in the picture above) are only 4 months apart. Cute kids :)

We also had two family reunions on Katie's mom's side. One was a barbeque at her cousins house and the other was a swim-and-eat at her aunt's. Both were full of fun, food, and family--what else could you wish for? It was so great to see everyone there.

Our final family reunion was for the Averett side of the family down in Bryce Canyon. Jeff had been to the canyon once as a child, but it was Katie's first time. What a beautiful place that is! There was a 5K run - we cheered very loudly for those that ran, :) - and a wonderful hike down into the canyon. Hiking with a one year old strapped to you isn't all that easy, but we split up the work and made it through! We had so much fun!

 Our family looking out into the canyon

 Down in the canyon on our hike. It was shady and cool the whole way down. Too bad the sun decided to come out for the whole trek back up!

 Taking a water break

 Made it to the end!

III. INTERNSHIP & BEAR LAKE

Jeff's internship was great. He loved it and we are so grateful for all the experiences he had there. Towards the end of the summer, his company had a Family Bear Lake Trip. We got to Bear Lake Monday night and left Wednesday afternoon. In between then we had a blast! Jeff played some tennis, we got to go out on boats and wave runners, play on a huge playground and they had an awesome ATV trail that Jeff got to ride. Kayley loved being in the boat. She would smile in the wind and try to touch the water. She looked so cute in her too big life jacket and her pink sunhat. We played at the beach, found seashells and dug in the sand. Kayley also got to ride a pony and she and Katie lounged together in the hammock eating teddy grahams and drinking lemonade-- ah life is grand!

 Jeff covered in dirt after his extreme ATV ride

 Katie and Kayley going down the playground slide

IV. RODEO

The Coopers went to a rodeo with family down in Nephi and we got to tag along. They had great ropers and riders, as well as an awesome motorcycle show. Kayley loved to stand up and look at the big bulls down in the stalls below the stands. We ate delicious funnel cake (Jeff's first one!) and really had a great time.

Katie's brother Christian, happy as always :)

 The whole crew

 Ready to see the show!

V. KAYLEY TURNS ONE!

One very special event of the summer was Kayley's first birthday! The party was at Katie's parents' house and we had cake, ice cream, and a Happy Birthday sign for everyone to finger paint on. Kayley didn't like the cake. We stuck her hands in it, she licked them, and got cake all over, but after one or two bites, she was done. On the other hand, when we gave her a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream she couldn't stop eating it! Thanks to everyone who could come out, it was sure great!

It's crazy to think that in one year Kayley grew from this cute little girl ...

... to this cute big girl!

 The cake (made by Katie)

Kayley playing with a doll she got for her birthday. She is such a sweet girl!

VI. EVERYTHING ELSE

Other fun things of the summer included Lagoon with the Coopers, Cherry Hill mini golf, lots of croquet, and making apricot fruit leather and freezer jam.

 Kayley found the box of apricots--boy was she happy!

 Katie's brother Forrest left for his mission right around the 4th of July. We sure do miss him! Kayley loves her Uncle Forrest, so we had to snap a photo before he left for her to remember him by.

As the summer came to a close the Cooper family loaded up the truck and helped us make our way back home. We got to experience some of the fun things in Rexburg together like the ducky park and famous Teriyaki Trailer.

Summer was incredible, thanks everyone for all the memories! Best wishes to you all everywhere, We'll see you at the next reunion, hike, rodeo or farewell!  Until then we'll be studying hard, and having fun as a family here in our home of Idaho.