Sweet Summer is Slipping Away

I spend the winter months curled up in the fetal position, rocking back and forth, head under a blanket until those first rays of sunshine finally come to save me. Ok, that's an exaggeration, (with a sliver of truth behind it), but truly I live and breathe for the summer. So much so, that I strive to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible to make the most of this time.

I've been trying to take Alex to the park, on walks, swimming. We spent a day in Park City. Last weekend we went on a hike to Donut Falls, which was really pretty, but we couldn't get very close due to how much water there still is.

Do you like his new haircut? It wasn't what I wanted, but it's nice for the summer. My mom thinks he looks like a Marine. Stephenie thinks he looks like "The Situation" from Jersey Shore. I like my mom's comparison much better.

Alex just finished his first swimming lessons ever. He did really well and never complained about going. His lessons were at Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center, where they have a huge outdoor pool area. I was excited to go catch a few rays for half an hour each day during his lesson. I was disappointed (although my skin will thank me) when we got there and found out lessons where indoors at the competition pool.

Excited to have his certificate of completion... on to Tots 2!

After his last lesson, he and I celebrated by spending a few hours at the outdoor pool. We went down the little water slides about a million times.

This is what too much summer fun will do to you... he's taken more naps lately than he has in ages. This wasn't too much summer fun for Steph, just a typical day in the life of a 19 year old! (ha ha, she's going to kill me when she sees this picture posted!)

Camping in Cal

We took our usual journey to the Sierras a few weeks ago for our camping get together with my family. It is always stressful and tiring to try and get ready for not just a camping trip, but a camping trip that is 10 hours away. But, we continue to do it because it is always worth it once we're there.

One of my favorite memories... seeing my very white, returned missionary-BYU coed nephew sporting cornrows (compliments of his girlfriend). I'm sure half the fun was to see the reaction from his parents and brothers.

Alex and Uncle Brett...

One bummer about this year's trip... The waterfall we always hike to and jump into was like a raging tempest due to a more than usual snow pack that had freshly melted and was way to dangerous.

Wonder what everyone seems to be so intrigued by? Take a look at Jake's shoulder. It's a lizard that became a part of the family for a few hours. The olive green metal box in the background is called a "bear box", where you MUST keep not just food but toiletries, anything with a scent to it, so as not to attract the bears. Sounds unnerving, but we're all so used to it that nobody worries about it too much. Except for Steve, when he has to get up to pee in the middle of the night. (tee hee!!)

Hanging with the cousins, one of the best parts of camping and where some memorable stories are shared.

The creek was also too rough to play in this year, but one of the great things about this campground is that it has a swimming pool, one regular pool and one filled with water coming from the hot springs. Alex could have spent hours just finding rocks to throw in the water.

It's always so nice to be in nature, spending time with family and making memories. I always have a let down feeling when it's time to go and get back to reality. At least there will always be a next time!

Alex's 4th Birthday

Surprise, surprise... Alex wanted a Thomas cake for his birthday. The day before his birthday we got together for a little family party with some cousins.



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On his actual birthday, I took him to see Cars 2 in the theatre, then we did a quick opening of the presents before I had to go to work. Alex thinks that being 4 means he's pretty much grown up now. The other night he declared, "Me and Dad are teenagers so we can stay up all night. But Sissy is just a little sister."

Taylorsville Dayzz 5k

My sister Lorna and I are 10 years apart in age. That means that at the dawn of a new decade in our lives, we may be slightly traumatized, but at least we go through it together. This year, I turned 40 in March and she turned 50 in April. (I feel slightly guilty for divulging her age, but she looks fantastic for a 50 year old who has given birth to 8 kids, so I don't feel too bad!) Feeling the effects of time on our figures, we've both been trying to get into running lately. I thought it would be fun to do a race (I use the term "race" quite figuratively...), so we signed up for the Taylorsville Dayzz 5k. We certainly weren't frontrunners, but we ran the whole thing without stopping which was our goal.

We stayed afterwards to watch the parade. Being a citizen of Taylorsville, I was slightly embarassed at the quality of this year's parade. Soooo drawn out and boring. At least Adam and Alex didn't seem to mind. I guess as long as candy gets thrown at you at some point in time it's considered a success!

Lorna and I didn't realize until that morning that we have matching running shoes, we both had decided to use our birthday money this year on new shoes. Here's to many more miles!

19th Birthday Bash

Steph decided she wanted to have a bbq with her friends for her birthday this year. Steve and I obliged, thinking it would be a "quaint little gathering" (translation: not too much work and easy on the pocketbook). However, as the preliminary figures began rolling in as to the number of invitees, I quickly realized it may not be as quaint as we had primarily thought.

But then again, you know teenagers, they tend to be a bit flaky. So I figured, "Oh surely not all of the kids invited will show up!" We figured 24 hamburgers and 16 hot dogs would be plenty, but just to be safe, Steve and I held off eating as there seemed to be a steady stream of stragglers, and we wanted to be sure everyone had a chance to eat.

Son of a gun, wouldn't you know that by the time the last 2 friends ate, their was barely a crumb left. Steve and I rushed our growling stomachs home to feast on a quick meal of Taco Bell (yuck) before I had to run off to work for the night.

But I digress. Aside from forgetting just how much teenage boys (and some girls!) can eat, the party was a huge success. We were at Murray Park, and the kids set up a homemade slip and slide on a big hill. They made it even more slippery by adding dish soap. Hope the groundskeepers don't hate us, but everyone seemed to have a lot of fun, and most important was that Steph had a great 19th birthday.

Steph on the slip and slide...
Alex giving it a try...

3 siblings...

She didn't see it coming...

Most of the party-goers...

Can't believe it's Steph's last year in the "teens". Live it up girlfriend! (but not too much, of course)

Kickin' Off the Summer

A few good ways to get the summer started off with a bang... Going to a high school graduation.... (my niece surprised everyone by showing up from Montana unexpectedly, we were so excited to see little Abram).

My nephew Jake, the graduate.

a barbecue with family in the mountains...

including Grandma and Grandpa here visiting from California and doing lots of spoiling of a certain unnamed 3 year old.

And Alex's last soccer game of the season. Can you tell he's excited to have his very own trophy?! Hallelujah for summer!

A Day Out With Thomas

I was sooo excited to surprise Alex by taking him to Heber Valley Railroad for "A Day Out With Thomas". We didn't tell him where we were going, we just let him figure it out as we approached the railroad and he saw the signs.

It was pretty cool, they had the inside of the train decorated with Thomas characters and had Thomas music playing. It was so cute to watch Alex sing along.

Alex got to meet Sir Topham Hatt. We were pretty impressed that Alex wasn't the least bit apprehensive about going up to him.

One of Alex's favorite parts of the day was going to The Dairy Keen in Heber for lunch afterwards. They have a miniature track that runs the perimeter of the wall of the restaurant, with a Thomas train chugging along.

Alex sporting his new Thomas "ink".

I'm so glad we got to take Alex, he is more than ever completely obsessed with Thomas and trains, and this is such a perfect age for this sort of thing. Alex's only complaint was that as we were leaving, Alex said goodbye to Thomas, but Thomas didn't say goodbye back! I told Alex that I saw Thomas wink at him. Next year I'll have to have a talk with Thomas about his manners!