This year our annual Bear Lake trip was over the 4th of July. I was a little worried that I wouldn't enjoy the 4th if we weren't in Salt Lake to enjoy the fireworks show. But it turned out great. We were able to get in all the fireworks we wanted throughout the rest of July.

Bear Lake will always be one of my favorite places to camp in the summer. The Rendezvous State Park has a perfect beach for the kids to play, and shallow water so we parents don't have to worry excessively and you can have a campfire right on the beach! Here's some pics.

The Tiller side great-grandkids getting pulled on their floaties.


Playing in the sand


Eli posing for the camera.


Jackson trying to be "cool" like Eli. :)


Brooklyn


Sunset on the beach


Grandma Tiller

This summer has flown by so fast, I can't believe it. Hopefully over the next few days I'll be able to catch you up on all the fun things we've been able to do this summer. First up, my youngest brother, Michael, graduated from Alta High School. Here's so pics from our celebration at the Olive Garden afterwards. We are so proud of him! If you haven't seen them already, check out Mikey's Senior Photoshoot. http://jsmithdigital.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/mikey-g/

Mikey with Grandma Gregerson

Next up is Jackson's 4th Birthday! We celebrated it with both sides of the family at the Smith's house.

Opening his slip-n-slide from Aunt Michelle

Jackson with Grandpa Gregerson

Uncle Matt putting Jackson's new "Cars" scooter together

Giving Uncle Mikey a "thank-you" smooch for helping put the scooter together.

By now you're probably thinking I'm going overboard with the Disneyland posts, but they're some of my best memories! So obviously, I want to preserve them! Hopefully you enjoy the pictures as much as I do.

Jackson with Grandma and Grandpa Smith

Isn't my mother-in-law beautiful? My mom lovingly calls her "movie-star grandma" because she is always dolled up and looking so pretty!

Aunt Michelle and Jackson on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Aunt Chris and Aunt Michelle on Peter Pan's Flight

Me and Jackson riding Ladybug Boogy

I've come to really enjoy Bug's Land at California Adventure. It has great rides for little kids and it's rarely crowded, which is always a plus at Disneyland!

And to finish it off-here's some cool photos Justin took. Justin always captures a side of Disneyland you don't normally see. Isn't he awesome?

This trip Jackson was very interested in meeting all the characters so we decided to spend more time doing what he wanted to do. He met Mickey at least 3 times.



We were a little late getting into the line to meet Woody, but a really cool cast member let Jackson hug Woody as he left. Sometimes the cast members can be little strict with the end of the lines, but this one was awesome. He even made sure Woody knew Jackson was waiting for him.

In California Adventure, Jackson met Mater and McQueen. And the cast member thought Jackson was so cute she even gave in a rag to "wash McQueen". Jackson totally loved it.

This trip was also an "all things Spencer" trip! Jackson was Spencer's shadow all week! He especially loved going to Pirate's Lair (formerly Tom Sawyer's Island) with Spencer.

After our cruise, Justin's family met us in California for a week at Disneyland. It was so good to see Jackson! I missed him so much while we were gone. We did Skype with Jackson once during our cruise and I just cried and cried afterwards because I missed him so much. It felt good to have our little family back together again.

This first picture is actually from the same day we boarded our cruise. If you didn't know it, Justin has lost his mind when it comes to all things Disney. He drove through the night to get me to Disneyland on Mother's Day. He is so sweet! It was kind of bittersweet though because Jackson wasn't there with us.

My Mother's Day cinnamon roll! Hmm. Nothing compares to the fresh baked goodies from Main Street USA!!!

Tomorrowland Rockets

Big Thunder Railroad. He loved the "fast choo-choo train"!

Jackson also went on Grizzly River Run for the first time. He saw it and talked all of us into it. We were hesitant because we didn't want to get wet. But it was so worth it to see the look on Jackson's face. He would squeal in anticipation of getting splashed.

After a long day at Disneyland, is there anything better than playing DS with Spencer?

After Cabo, our cruise went to Puerto Vallarta. I miraculously talked Justin into doing the zip line that everyone was talking about. I'm so happy that he was willing to try it! It was really fun. No cameras allowed though. :( But I did get pictures of the ridiculous jeep ride we had to take to get there. I felt like I was going to die. The streets of Mexico are pure chaos. There were pot holes, random speed bumps, huge missing segments of the streets, forks in the road and then there were no street signs! And Justin's seat belt didn't work. I just held on for my life, and said a prayer! That yellow jeep in the background of this picture is our death trap!

After visiting Mexico I feel very grateful to live in America! The experience humbled me and reminded me of all the blessings Heavenly Father has given me. Here's a few more pics from the cruise ship.

Formal night.

Next up....Disneyland!

After graduation, Justin and I went on our very first cruise! It was amazing. We got a whole week to ourselves thanks to our families watching Jackson. Thanks so much to everyone that helped! And a special thanks to Aunt Stacey for driving us to port and picking us up. We are so spoiled. Our first stop on our cruise was Cabo San Lucas. This was my favorite port because of how beautiful the arch formation was at the end of the peninsula.


The first day in Cabo, we went on a boat tour that sailed around the Land's End Peninsula and then the tour took us to a beach where we could swim. I had a blast, but Justin didn't appreciate the water being so clear that he could see the fish swimming between his legs.

On the second day in Cabo, we hired a water taxi to take us to Lover's Beach which is by the arch.
Stay tuned for Puerto Vallarta, us almost dying on a jeep ride and Disneyland!!!