4th of July

One of the biggest reasons we flew out to Utah was to experience this holiday like I remember it. (I haven't been super impressed with how they do it out East) And it did not disappoint! It was everything I hoped it would be. It was perfect weather too...overcast skies with a few raindrops. The day started off with a neighborhood 3K race that Jake and I did, followed by the annual pancake breakfast, then the parade.

Tommy and I enjoyed looking at all the cars and trucks getting ready for the parade, and he was obsessed with this monster truck
I hope this old guy didn't mind me taking his picture. I thought he was just too great.
The parade was great, a tad long though. The kids loved it and got plenty of candy

Oh the excitement

This girl LOVES to create!!! We had some down time in the afternoon and Rachel made this little creation which she called marshmallowy colorfully (marshmallows on skewers topped with whipped cream and sprinkles). She was so proud. Isn't she the cutest?!
These boys were really well occupied with sidewalk chalk.
The girlies
That evening we headed to my grandma's house for dinner and the carnival. Or, as Rachel calls it, the "carnivore." Basically we play games and earn tickets for prizes. However at this game, if you get a hole-in-one you get $5
By the way, doesn't my grandma's yard/garden look AMAZING. Someday I hope to be as awesome as her.
Mmmmmm...cotton candy!
And back to my home for some fireworks. The cul-de-sac of fire was resurrected complete with the cotton candy and popcorn machine. My favorite!
Tommy was hysterical last year with fireworks, so I wasn't expecting him to enjoy it this year. Before they started he kept saying things like, "Fireworks don't make me sad!" He tried so hard to be brave and he did a great job!


We finished off the night watching fireworks all over the valley from the view out our backyard. The big fireworks were legalized this year which made for an amazing show.

What a great day!!!! There's something really fun about seeing your kids get a small taste of your own childhood and reliving those memories through them. I love it!

A Dream Come True...

Snow skiing and waterskiing
IN THE SAME DAY!!!
Roomates, you can back me up on this. It has been a dream of mine, for at least the past 10 years, to go waterskiing and snow skiing in the same day. I knew it was possible when we went waterskiing once in January (it was a exceptionally warm winter, but it's true there were still ice chunks in the water...crazy? I know. I don't know if I'd ever do it again). Anyway, it was made possible on this trip due to a crazy Utah winter that brought LOTS of snow and Snowbird still up and running. So, on July 2, 2011 we headed up and caught the tram at 8am. I was expecting to be skiing on slurpee snow, but it wasn't that bad. We had a blast and it was SO BEAUTIFUL up there!
WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just LOVE how green it is down there.
I got such a kick out of these patches of rocks and the water flowing on them. I also loved how the snow would rain off your skiis on the lift.
We finished around 10 and crowds of people were starting to make their way up. And there were people in binkis, not kidding. We heard that the fourth of July was a mad house...we picked the right day!


LOVIN' IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She had this thing down...or up rather :)Yeah, I'm doing this by myself!
My camera was having trouble with the zoom, so the next pictures are kind of pink and bad quality, but I just love this smile on the Tom Bom. And that's not him blinking, turns out his eyes are closed in most the pictures. I don't know what it is about this kid and water in his eyes.
"This is even more awesome than even more awesome!"
Fun moment captured

Go Daddy!

Utah trip: Part two

Church History Museum and the Temple

These missionaries won't be going home hungryDancing...they were following the moves on the movie screens. Pretty funny.

Lovin' the flowers. You can often find this girl with a yellow-tipped nose.

Cousin buddies
These two were hit and miss this trip...they'll be best of buds soon though. Jack and Rachel seemed to bond and had blast playing together.
Aunt Brooke brought over a slip n slide and it was a big hit. My kids would go like 50 feet back to get a good running start. Can't you tell how fast the Tom Bom is running
Oops...kinda missed


This crazy girl got addicted to the game apples to apples. She was actually really good at. My favorite was when Jake was holding the card "school" and waiting for her turn to put out the adjective card. She put out the word "strong." When everybody's cards came in she looked at them all and said, "hm, I'm going to have to go with school."Still LOTS more to come...

Utah trip: Part one

I took way too many photos and videos on this trip that I've overloaded the memory on my computer (again) and I'm in the process of saving and deleting files to make more room. So I'll be posting snippets throughout the week...

These are all from our first day. That morning the kids were up before sunrise and running all over the yard, chasing Mowgli (the dog), swinging on the swing set, going down the hill, picking berries in the garden. I was loving it! And there's something about bare feet on the grass, and the cool, dry, fresh air that just feels so good. Ah, SUMMER!


We ate LOTS of popsicles
Living in swimsuits all day and playing with neighbor friends...reminds me of my good ol' days.

This kid fell asleep in the car a lot! He's definitely not used to this much physical exertion.
And then there's the amazing sunsets!!