Boating at Deer Creek Reservoir

Thursday, July 9th--Oh what an amazingly fun day! My Aunt Maureen owns a boat and stores it at Deer Creek Reservoir in Provo Canyon. She invited the kids and I to go boating today. Also coming along was my cousins, Cindy and Carly. I knew we'd have a blast and we did! When we got there I lathered the kids and myself in sunscreen, we got our life jackets on and then all got in the boat so it could be launched. Oh, and Maureen had a HUGE tube the employees blew up for us. Maureen took us out to the middle and the first on the tube was Cindy, Elise and Carly. At first, Elise had a very nervous smile but eventually her smile was just pure enjoyment as Maureen drove the boat all around and they bumped and splashed. Next was my cousin, and Maureen's daughter, Catherine and her friend Kimmie, with Elise in the middle. Again, they had lots of fun. But then it was just Catherine and Kimmie's turn. Maureen drove really "nice" while my kids were on the tube but when only adults were on she went crazy and it was hilarious to watch those on the tube screaming and laughing as they splashed and bumped really high. The tube never flipped though...phew! It took Brady a while to decide to go on but once he did he had a really good time too---he insisted he ride with Catherine! Carly and Cindy were up next and they got flung all over the water! Then it was my turn to muster up the courage to go on. I am a total wimp, like I've mentioned before so I was really nervous. Maureen told me she'd take it easy. Once I was on and riding around I realized it was totally fun and she could have even sped up a little more. We were having so much fun and then the wind picked up and the waves started to get higher which meant we had to come in to shore. It was a bummer but it was also lunch time and we were hungry.

There is a restuarant next to the dock so we got out of our wet clothes into dry ones and sat down to eat. The food was excellent and we spent plenty of time visiting. Again, it was a truly awesome time at Deer Creek Reservoir. And we get to go back in two weeks....this time with Nate and we'll make sure there are no kids on the tube when he rides....MUUAHHHHAHHHH!

Happy Independance Day!

Saturday, July 4th--My dear neighbor friends and I planned our 3rd annual Gullane Road 4th of July party. We had fun water games, delicious smoked pork, home-made root beer, plenty of side dishes and desserts and then home-made ice cream during the fireworks. We had a pretty good turn-out and were happy to see brand new neighbors come and get to know how awesome a road they chose to live on! We didn't take many pictures this year--we were too busy having fun and visiting! It was a great party and the weather even cooperated. As always, the fireworks were great and the men enjoyed having their yearly turn of being pyro's! We are truly thankful for this country we live in and the freedoms we enjoy!

OUCH!!

Monday, June 29th--And no, I don't mean when Elliot touches E.T.'s finger at the end of the movie and says "Ouch...". No, no, I mean a sunburn like no other! I had to work today so I took the kids outside for about an hour before I had to head off. I figured, eh, I wouldn't be out long enough to really need sunscreen and I turned my back to the sun. Well, my decision ended up being quite stupid. Halfway into my first massage I started feeling some serious burning on my legs. I lifted up my capris and sure enough, bright red and hot! Then halfway into my third massage my arms started burning and I lifted up my sleeve to find the same (my intention was to start to get rid of the farmers tan!). Yowsers! Come to find out, there's a UV ray scale and it was pretty high this day which means your skin burns faster than usual. Had I only known! So here is a pic of one of my legs:
.....yep, it hurt as bad as it looks.

Salt Lake City Pass--Day 3

Saturday, June 27th--This day was by far the busiest! We started the day out by watching the Lehi Parade with friends. The kids got TONS of candy and we had a great time. It was a long enough parade that by the time it was over it was lunch time. We headed to Sweet Tomato's (one of our family favs) where we ate till our stomachs were tightly loaded with delicious food. After that we headed to the aquarium in Sandy. It was, eh, okay. I expected it to be a lot bigger with many more exhibits--much like the ones in Washington. The exhibits they did have were pretty cool and the kids enjoyed watching the sting-rays in the pet tank, they wouldn't touch them though. Once we got them away from the gift shop (and believe me, that was quite the task!) we headed up to Snowbird Ski Resort to ride the tram.
Snowbird's weather was perfect, just slightly cool. There were plenty of things to see on our walk up to the tram station. At the tram station the operator loaded up the tram and then we headed up to the top of Hidden Peak. I HATED that ride! It was slow, we were high above the ground, the tram would swing and I realized there's a massive amount of people on the tram and it's hooked onto some pretty thin wires. Once we got to the top the view was quite beautiful. We could see the Salt Lake Valley on one side and then, we think, Heber Valley on the other side. The kids really loved playing in the snow but freaked me out one too many times as they got a little too close to edges where there were pretty large drop-offs. We stayed on Hidden Peak for about 30 minutes. I was thankful, kind of, to get back on the tram and head back down to Snowbird. While on the peak my legs shook the whole time. I felt like such a wimp! I hate having such a fear of heights. The tram ride back was much better and faster, I was able to relax and enjoy it. I know Nate and the kids really loved it and I was happy to see them enjoy the experience. Next time, I may just stay at the bottom and shop!
I bought the kids a Snowbird t-shirt and then we were off to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point, in Lehi. Brady and Elise were fascinated with the dinosaur bones and how tall they are. There were plenty of hands-on experiences, including playing in sand and water and creating little islands for the plastic dinasaurs. There was also an area they could "dig" for bones.

We left the dinosaur museum exhausted. What a day...what a couple of days! It was sure fun though. Something we'll love to do again. It didn't take long for Brady and Elise to fall asleep at the end of the day.

Salt Lake City Pass--Day 2

Friday, June 26th--Today I had to work so I was not able to go with Nate and the kids. He wanted to take them to the zoo and he knows I'm not a fan of the zoo so he decided this would be the best day to take them. They also went to the Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah.

As you can tell, Nate and the kids never seem to get tired of going to the zoo. On this day they were able to enjoy a show involving various birds including a bald eagle--something Elise and Brady talked about non-stop when they got home. One of the birds took a $5 dollar bill from someone and brought it up to the trainer. The person didn't realize he was actually donating that $5 dollar bill and had a look of surprise when the trainer asked if he would donate the $5. Being put on the spot like that, I would have told the guy to keep it too.

After eating lunch they headed over to the museum where they were able to enjoy various activities for children and look at several dinosaur bones.

Either this day was an eventful as the day before or the kids could only remember the bird show because I couldn't get much out of them. I'm happy the pictures seem to speak for themselves!

Salt Lake City Pass--Day 1

Thursday, June 25th--Nate had a BRILLIANT idea--he found that Salt Lake has a City Pass you can purchase and it includes several amazing places around Salt Lake Valley, and even beyond, for an very affordable price. He purchased a 3-day pass and from there we chose what we wanted to do every day. On this day we went to This Is the Place State Park, Lion House Pantry and Clark Planetarium.

This Is the Place State Park was AWESOME!! We had so much fun as we walked around and experienced the pioneer life as it might have been in the mid-1800's as the Salt Lake Valley was being settled. Our first thing we did was ride a train and make a stop at one of Brigham Young's homes. This home was mainly for a few of his wives. It was also surrounded by a farm. It was a pretty amazing house--one with a floor plan I wouldn't mind having (of course, with modern conveniences included!). Elise and Brady were quite intrigued by the childrens areas and the toys and other things a child of that time would use and play with.

From there we caught the train again and headed up to a main street where we went into a school house and a house where the kids sifted through dirt to find beads to make a bracelet with. Next was a walk through a petting zoo. We went into a barn where there was a brand new baby goat, the kids thought he was so cute. At the end of the petting zoo was a pony ride. Elise went on but Brady didn't want to. Then the newspaper press and from there a stop at Huntsman Hotel for a few sugar cookies--yummy! After a sweet treat we caught the train up to where there were several teepee's and clay/wood huts. Right next to them was a small train that the kids and I took around a large pond. It was pretty fun but Brady had fallen right before and seemed okay till I noticed, while on the train, he had scraped his knee pretty bad and was bleeding. Good thing mom always comes prepared for anything and had wipes and band-aids. After he was all cleaned up and bandaged he was in happy spirits again and ready to move on. In the Native American area a lady took us into one of the clay huts where the kids made arrow-head necklaces (Elise would wear hers for days afterwards!). From there we walked over to the Tithing Building where we made candles. It was SOOO cool! I really enjoyed it. Nate and Elise did too. Brady was content to just watch. I kept thinking how fun it would be to do this kind of thing at home, it was so easy! We got to shape ours. The lady helping us, Darcy, took Elise's candle and shaped it into a heart. This was the funnest activity, in my opinion. One of the things Elise was looking forward to the most was making handkerchief dolls in the Mary Fielding Smith house. Sadly, it was closed and I could tell her heart was broken. I had mentioned it to Darcy and she just happened to have a finished handkerchief doll and gave it to Elise. She was so happy! She carried that doll all over. After our fun candle-dipping we walked around a little longer and then it was time to go. There was plenty we didn't do but it was so hot that we felt we had done the things we would have enjoyed the most and it was time to sit somewhere cool and eat lunch.
Part of the City Pass included a meal and the Lion House Pantry. We were happy to be in an air-conditioned place enjoying lunch. For the most part, the selections weren't all that great but we did enjoy the fresh fruit and home-made rolls. After our tummies were full we set out to get to Clark Planetarium where we just barely made the showing of "Under the Sea" narrated by Jim Carrey. It is an IMAX 3-D show. It was pretty cool. We enjoyed the various jokes Jim threw in there too. Brady had never tried 3-D glasses before so this was his first experience. It was so funny to see him reach out his hand to things or duck. At the end there are bubbles that are on the screen and both he and Elise kept putting their hands out to try and "pop" the bubbles. Nate and I just laughed and laughed. After the show, the kids had fun walking through the planetarium and seeing various exhibits on planets and surfaces of planets. They liked predicting the weather for Channel 2 News (just for you Lindsay!).

All in all a great day!

Happy 8th Father's Day, Nate!

Sunday, June 21--I can't believe we've been parents for 8 years! Wow! Nate's Father's Day started out with a delicious hot breakfast of eggs, sausage and toast. He and the kids wanted, very badly, to open presents but I insisted we all get ready for church first and then do so. Once we were all showered, dressed and looking fabulous Nate ran over to his gifts like a giddy child and opened them up. I'm surprised both kids let him open them on his own! First, he opened a new Wii game--it's a Six Flags amusement park game. The kids were over-joyed to find this game was a 4-player game and reminded Nate and I many times over! Next was a DVD with two of his favorite horror movies on it. Then a HUMONGOUS bag of cinnamon bears. His next present was a pineapple corer (kind of a weird gift but you have to know Nate to understand his love for fresh pineapple and what a pain in the toosh it is to cut a fresh pineapple!). And finally, Nate got a t-shirt with pics of Elise and Brady on the front in their baseball outfits. He seemed pretty happy with his Father's day haul!

So then off to church where he got a fun treat (you rock, Kerri!) from Relief Society, a paper tie and a card from the kids. Then we got home and I started getting dinner in the crock pot. Nate's Father's Day dinner choice--homemade beef stew. YUM! And later on we cut into a lemon/raspberry cake, which we, uh, just had to sample last night........just to make sure it was good and all. Boy, is it ever!

Nate you are the best dad I know! It's rare to see a dad so involved and genuinely interested in his children, without-a-doubt, you are. It is amazing to witness and be apart of! Elise and Brady know how much you love them and they absolutely adore you! I am truly blessed, more than I ever expected I deserved to be. I hope we've made your Father's Day very special! Love you TONS!

I'm SOOOO thankful for all the amazing dads that touch my life everyday, especially my dad and Nate's dad. We are blessed to have strong examples of how to live life worthy of all our Father in Heaven has to offer and bless us with. I'm thankful for a dad who reminds me to remember who I am and the precious gifts I've been entrusted with (my children). I'm thankful for Nate's dad who is the best example of what a bishop and patriarch should be. Both of these noble men are amazing priesthood holders and my awe and amazement never ends as I watch and witness their faith, trust and committment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They KNOW families can be together forever and I know that's their goal for their families. Love you both!