Pioneer Day

For Pioneer Day (July 24th), our town goes all out for celebrating the Pioneers coming out west.  Our Stake (church) holds a morning breakfast and then the Primary children have a parade around the church.  Then the town has a big parade and then lots of fun activities for the rest of the night.

 Here are our pioneer children.  While most children ride their bikes or dress up and walk like pioneers, our children wanted to ride their 4wheeler and tractor.

 Jacob was still a bit young to be in the parade so instead he just wanted me to take pictures of him while we were waiting.

 Aren't they cute!

 During the big town parade, we joined the Girl Scout float.  Boy it was a hot parade time.  The morning was threatening rain but by parade time it was beautiful and hot.

Yes this is me as a Thin Mint.  I swear I shedded about 10 pounds (I wish) during this parade.  I was a big sweaty mess when all was said and done.  But it was a lot of fun.

Happy Pioneer Day!

Crested Butte CO

My cousin and his (now) wife decided to get married at Crested Butte CO.  So for 4 days Brian and I (without chicklets) and my parents went for a vacation there.  We stopped at a lot of places on the way and got to see country I haven't seen before.  The place is like Park City... a cute little ski resort.  It was warm but a lot of fun.  The wedding was beautiful despite all the rain.  On the last day I was missing my kids and was excited to see them.  My in-laws kept the kids for us and they said they were really good.  They had a lot of fun at Grandma's but seemed to be happy to be with us again.  It was a nice vacation for us.

 This was the view from our hotel room... okay suite.  This place was beautiful.  We had a 2 bedroom, 3 bath suite and as you can see... had a beautiful view of the mountains.  There was a ton to do up there if you were the athletic type.  You could mountain bike, hike, play mini golf, zipline, disc golf, etc.

 Friday night the bride and groom had a dinner for everyone.  It was at a park and these parks are nothing like our parks here in Logan.  I was trying to find a park in Logan that was small enough to compare it too.  It was a nice little park though and barely held all the people that were at this dinner.  The house behind the park was part of the party so we had somewhere to go if need be and it housed all the alcohol.  And when I say alcohol I mean a bar.  Jeez they had a lot of booze to drink.  Luckily there was normal pop and water for those of us that refrain from that kind of stuff.

Here we are getting ready to go ziplining.  It was a blast.  They had 5 platforms that we ziplined to so it wasn't just one big zipline and you were done.  It was 4 little ones and one big long one at the end.  Our zipline guides were fun and made us try different ways to jump off each platform.  I am quite a chicken and so I didn't do all of them but Brian did.  He isn't afraid of anything.  I was pretty proud of myself for trying this... I have become quite chicken in my old age.

 This is the video that Brian took of me on the last zipline.  Yes I am a dork but it was fun for our kids to see what we did.

 This was the beautiful wedding location.  It was up on the mountain at Uley's cabin.  We were supposed to ride the chair lift up but as you can see the dark clouds by this picture... it wasn't the best of weather.  An hour before we were supposed to go up, it downpoured.  Then it started lightning and thundering.  This put a halt on the chair lift so we had to bus up to the cabin.  My cousin was determined to ride the lift up (I think he needed the thinking quiet time before he got hitched) so he was all prepared to bribe the chair lift people.  They made a few phone calls and agreed to letting them ride up.  Luckily through the entire wedding and a couple hours of visiting and pictures afterwards, the weather held up and was beautiful.  Then when it was time for dinner in the big tent, the rain came and didn't stop all night.  It didn't dampen their spirits though.

 Here is the happy couple and their dog Penny Bean.  Penny Bean was the ring bearer/flower girl.  I am so happy for my cousin Brian.  He is such a good guy and has met a great gal.

 Here are my folks just hanging out waiting for dinner.

Here we are.  Poor Brian couldn't wear a hat so he looks bald.  haha.

We had a great vaca and we were so happy to see Brian and Kelsey get married.

Matthew's Preschool Graduation

Matthew graduated from preschool this past July.  All year he did a government-sponsored preschool called Upstart.  It was free and on the computer 5 days a week for at least 40 minutes a day.  He loved it.  It was his cup of tea.  He is the type of kid that loves video games and what not and this program was designed to learn but have a lot of fun while doing it.  When we started the program, Matthew knew 10 letters, a couple of numbers, and that was about it.  Within the first month, he learned all 26 letters, 10 numbers and was starting on the letter sounds.  By the end of the program, he was reading books and recognizing power words like the, and, is, etc.  I was very impressed with this program.  Matthew aced his Kindergarten assessment tests in the spring due to this program.  We were really proud of all the hard work he did.

 The kids had to go in and take the final test to show what they learned throughout the year.  When they finished, they got their diploma and hat and a goodie bag.  Then they introduced them to all of us and we gave them a cheer.  As you can see, Matthew hates that kind of attention and wasn't too thrilled to be put in the spotlight.

This is Rusty and Rosy from the program.  Matthew looks like a dork but I still love the kid.

Now on to Kindergarten and new adventures!

20th (ugh) High School Reunion

Yes I am that old.  This summer marked my 20th class reunion.  Some people like reunions, others could do without.  I frankly am in between.  I came from a graduating class of 70ish people and I am probably still friends (thru facebook) with 50 of them.  I have enjoyed keeping in touch with everyone but wasn't too sure about going to see everyone.  But my besty from high school was partly in charge so I kind of felt obligated to go and support. 

The first night was a couple night at the high school.  We had a nice dinner, lots of reiminiscing, and just visiting.  It was kind of neat to go back into the high school after all these years.  My high school has changed a bunch so it was hard to remember it when I went there.  There were about 25 different couples.

The second day was a family picnic.  Less couples came but we still had fun.  We enjoyed a nice lunch and then a couple games.  The pictures below are kind of fun because it shows just how many kids we have all had.

Not sure if I will make anymore reunions but I do hope I can keep in touch with my class.  It is fun to see where everyone has ended up.

July 4, 2012

4th of July is our day to spend at my parents' house.  My home town does a big parade and carnival for the 4th and so we enjoy going up and seeing the festivities.  Thank goodness this year no one got sick beforehand.  The parade and carnival was fun.

 Jacob in his new chair from Grammie.  He wasn't too sure about the parade but he loved that they threw him candy.

 This is my dad in the Army truck.  Normally he martches but with a total knee replacement last year and a bum knee this year, he opted to ride.  He said it was pretty uncomfortable and would have rather marched.

 Kimberly and Matthew enjoying the parade... well sort of.  This was the part of the parade with the loud fire trucks and as you can see, Matthew isn't too happy about it.

 Smile and wave is what I have always taught the kids and it seems to get them more candy.

Jacob is guarding the candy bag... haha.  Well actually he is just eating candy like crazy.

We had a lot of fun and it is something we look forward to every year.
Happy 4th of July!

Girl Scout Backyard Campout

This summer we had a Girl Scout backyard campout at Stephanie Guerrero's house.  It was super hot but we had a blast.  Earned a few patches in hiking (around the neighborhood with a scavenger hunt), sleeping over (silly girls do not like to go to bed), and first aid (these girls know their bandaids).  We also learned some new games, learned a new craft, and had a ball around a campfire.  It was a great success.  Can't wait for next years!

 Making their team signs.  Our theme was Treasures in the Wild and we had a treasure theme throughout the entire campout.

 Having fun with glitter.

 Happy smiles after getting our tents up.

 Hanging out around the campfire.  Yes we had smores and sang songs.  There was some dancing involved.

The morning after.  Some of the girls have some serious bedhead!

T-ball for Matthew

My sports freak Matthew got to do T-ball this year.  He loves to play baseball with daddy every day so I knew he would have fun playing ball.  Sure enough he had a ball.  He is a pretty good player too.  He is a great team player and enjoyed playing first base and front base (his version of pitcher).  We are proud of him and what he did in T-ball.

 Playing catch with daddy before the game.  Kimberly took the pictures and was going for an action shot.

 He was an Oriole and loved looking the part.  He was so good to listen to his coach and not play around.

 His teammates.  Most of them were stinkers and did some crazy things.

Waiting to bat.  Luckily we were in the shade this day.  Whew it was a hot season (all of 1 month).

Swimming 2012

Our annual swimming lessons at Sports Acadamy this year didn't disappoint.  The kids learned a ton and did a great job.  Both loved their teachers.  They are little fish in the water.  I am so grateful for their love of the water.

 Kimberly swimming and cheesing it up.

 Matthew in his class.  He is in his alien green goggles.

 Kimberly side swimming.  This is the one thing she learned and did great this year.  She may not have the best form but she still gets to the other side of the pool.

 Matthew cheesing for the camera.

Matthew doing his back float.  He always asks me if he looks like a dead fish when he floats.  I tell him yes he does and I am so proud.  haha

SLC with friends

We took a fun trip to Salt Lake with our friends the Guerrero's.  The trip was basically to get out of Logan and do some shopping.  It was a very hot day but we had lots of fun.  Shopped around City Creek for a bit while the kids had fun playing around the mannequins and clothes.  Walked around Temple Square and saw a bunch of brides and grooms.  The girls loved that one.  Then we cooled off at the Book of Mormon exhibit and let the kids play around.  Lots of cool things to do there.  We are so grateful to have made friends with such a fun family.  Can't wait for more adventures with them.

 Our crew in front of the reflection pond.  I love Max and Matthew looking so big.  And of course my cheeser on the bottom.. Jacob.

 Nephi's boat he built.  Jacob loved this boat.  He could have played here all day.

 Max and Matthew building towers to knock down.  Ok, maybe just Matthew was knocking them down.

 Jacob's favorite truck.  I had to drag him out of it so other kids could play in it.  He takes after his father!

 More stuff to play.  I caught Stephanie... hahaha

 Max and Matthew being great buddies.  Glad they found each other to play with.

 Kimberly and Ashlie showing off their dancing skills.  We could not get the boys to put on the boy outfit and dance.

 Two peas in a pod.  These girls are the cutest!

Ended our hot day at the splash fountain at City Creek.  The kids got so wet but it felt so good after our hot journey.

Dinosaur Park

This summer we decided we needed to do more things with the kids.  One of the first things we thought we would try was the dinosaur park in Ogden.  The kids love watching Dinosaur Train so I knew they would love to see the dinos.  Kimberly was a bit scared until she realized they were not real.  Matthew and I were naming all the dinos we saw from Dinosaur Train.  Jacob really loved the playground.  It was a great way to beat a few hours and it wasn't very hot the day we went so we didn't sweat to death.  Lots of fun.

 I wish you could smell Kimberly fear in this picture.  It was all she could do to sit under this fake dino and take a picture.  She can be a little scaredy cat sometimes.

 Jacob didn't want to stand for a picture.  He wanted to crawl in it and see what was inside.

 This slide was a hit for my children.  If you can't tell, it is a dinosaur.  But it was fast and fun and they all loved it.

 Even Jacob wasn't afraid of it.  He loves the slide and this one was so much fun.

 Kimberly looks like a giant on it but she enjoyed it too.  I love Brian in this picture cause he is laughing at how much Jacob loved this slide.

 Aren't they cute... I mean the family, not the dinosaur!

This picture has a story behind it.  We went up to this one to take a cute picture and it started making noise.  Well Kimberly and Matthew thought it was scary but funny.  Jacob freaked out.  He wanted far away from this dinosaur.  In this picture you can see he is dragging me away from it.

We had a great time here.  Just one of our many adventures this summer.