Zootah

We spent yesterday morning at the local zoo. I wish all four kids came, but the older two really wanted to go off on their own.  They’re just not as fun. The two littler kids are still easily excited and wide eyed about most excursions. So I had Dallin and Julia time.
It was the funnest trip to the zoo I’ve had in a long time. A few things have changed since I last went and the kids loved it. They gave a little paper worksheet to match up where different species originated. It got the kids excited to read about each animal. They have a petting zoo portion now too!

We got a whole bag full of duck food. I think that was Julia’s favorite part. She laughed when they ate out of her hand. 

My favorite is always the monkeys 😊

Here they are with their little work sheet, dutifully marking things down. 

There was a zoo worker demonstrating a salamander. He walked right up to us and we got a quick private lesson in salamanders. He showed us one, and told us it was called a mole salamander. He asked, “Do you know why it’s called a mole salamander?” Dallin quickly said, “Because he lives underground!” Dallin was right! How does he know this stuff? He’s got a great memory.

It was a pretty great day with my two youngest. They are still at that magical age. When we got back into the van, Julia said, “Dallin, I love you.”  It was a sweet moment. I sure love these two. 😊

Breakfast in Bed

I wanted to make Dallin feel special so I brought him his favorite breakfast, fried eggs and toast. It’s funny, the other kids like to just cereal. But not Dallin, he loves a big breakfast. So this was how I woke him up this morning. He was so surprised he gasped! Then he gave me a hug and a big “Thank you!”

Pioneer Day

We celebrated Utah’s Pioneer Day with a parade. Got lots of candy!

We got a shady spot so it wasn’t too hot.  Blake and Dallin each got a frisbee.  We love the parade!

Home

Look!  We have siding!  Woo!

 And...a basement.

Only a few more weeks!

Cache Valley Cup

For about 5 years now, Blake has been wanting a medal.  It almost hasn't mattered what they medal was for.  He just wanted a medal, preferably gold.  When he would run in school, or participate in basketball camp or even scouts things he would ask, "Could I get a medal for this?"
Blake recently changed soccer teams.  They participated in the Cache Valley Cup and played up an age for better competition.  When he heard about the tournament, guess what Blake asked me.  Yep, he wondered if he'd get a medal.  I told him to work hard, be aggressive and maybe he would.

These were some of the hottest games he has played so far.  It was 96 degrees, played at 2pm, and he was running hard.  His little face was red.  We brought a spray bottle and his teammates all fought over it!  :)

He got fouled pretty good a few times, but jumped up and kept at it.  He mostly played goalie and made some great saves.  I get so nervous for him!  But he loves it.

The championship game was one of the funnest sporting events I've ever watched.  It was intense!    It was full of strategy.  They had a good lead to start, then tied at the halfway point.  Finally, they broke away again and finished with a win, 6-3.  After some pretty good battles, he finally won a gold medal!  He was so happy! 

Slurpee Day!

July 11th is free slurpee day for those of you who didn't already know that.  Course my kids know this, and keep track of when it's coming up.  They get pretty excited.  I got the kids their slurpees, and realized that Julia wasn't excited about it at all.  I realized that when she had been saying to me, "My eyebrows hurt," she was actually saying that she had a headache and felt achey.  She had a fever too.  :(  

So we just rested for the day.  It was nice to just hang out with this little lady.  Life gets pretty busy and it's easy to miss snuggling and just hanging out.  So even though she was sick, we still had some quality time.  

Yellowstone 2018 Part II

I had no idea there were so many waterfalls there.  The most amazing was in the mini grand canyon.  That was quite a walk, but totally worth it.  This picture was on the Firehole river.  

My favorite part was probably the Grand Prismatic Springs.   Pictures don't capture how cool this area was.  

This place almost doesn't look earthly.  It was just strange, but beautiful.  

The kids really liked this area too.  The water was just slightly bubbling, like it was not quite hot enough to boil.  It's funny how just a few feet away, this hot water joins regular looking forest river.  

 We had an easy lunch, crackers turkey and provolone cheese.  And of course a pepsi for me. :)

I love this photobomb of Kyle!

We got so lucky with the weather.  It rained while we were driving, but usually cleared up when it was time to get out.

Overall, it was an amazing trip.  Can't wait to go again!

Yellowstone 2018

 We made it to Yellowstone this summer!  It was amazing.  We live so close, but have never taken the kids before.  What a great vacation it was.
We went with Aunt Dixie, who provided the trailer that we all slept in.  We were right by West Yellowstone, only a few minutes away from the park entrance.

What a beautiful place.  The rivers are so beautiful.

The kids have been reading all about Forrest Fenn.   He set a treasure somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, and we think it is in Yellowstone somewhere.  So we kept an eye out for a bunch of gold coins.  

Aunt Dixie!  It was so fun to go with her.  We always make good memories together.  

Kids are always happy by the water.  She mostly just got her hands and feet sandy.  Good thing everything is washable.  

Since the park itself only allows fly fishing (for the most part), we did a little fishing outside the park with the kids.  Didn't catch anything, but it was still fun.   There's probably a reason everyone fly fishes.  We were just using a spinner and had no bites.

Concrete

We got so lucky that we were able to put handprints in our new home. From the beginning, our project manager asked if there was anything special we wanted done, and this is what I told him. Handprints in the concrete.  But right when they were pouring concrete, we were in Yellowstone!  I was really sad that we were going to miss it.  But they held our driveway till this morning.  We woke up early and headed over.  

Look! Kyle and Blake's hands are bigger than mine!  Ha!

Smores

The kids have been begging for smores.  Not just any smores, but smores made with reeses peanut butter cups.  Well, I can't say no that.  After a dinner of hot dogs and bratwurst, we had dessert by the fire too.  

Does it get better than this?  Melty.  I put the peanut butter cups just close enough to the fire to be warm while the marshmallow roasted.  Wow.  Dallin agreed!