Bear Lake

We took a quick weekend trip to Bear Lake with my family. The majority of our days were spent digging, building, swimming, jet-skiing, trampoline bouncing, and visiting at the beach. My generous parents provided several meals for the family, and then most other meals we ate out.

Other highlights included:

• Elements Restaurant in Logan (and their ooey-gooey mac n cheese)
• Willow Park Zoo and the kids squealing while feeding the reindeer
• Bunk beds for Kate and Cole, and 2 queen-sized beds (one for each of the parents)
• Feathers in the down comforters stabbing our legs every time one of us rolled over in our separate beds;)
• Cole swimming on his own with his lifejacket/Kate digging the diving board

Reindeer Feeding

Phin and Ferb Style

This summer was dreamy! Instead of surviving, we were thriving! Kate and Cole were the perfect sidekicks for every adventure (probably due to their ages). Each night, Cole needed a summary of the day’s events. He’d then say, “And now we’re going to go to bed. And then what will we do when we wake up?” This question always kept me on my toes with planning out another day.

I feel like my days are numbered as far as having my kids hang out with me all summer without complaint, so I better remember that it DID happen! Love these two munchins, and this third little one (growing inside me) that ensures for a few more fun summers ahead.

V Chocolates Factory Tour

Gilgal Gardens

Cathedral of the Madeleine

Three!!!

We are officially a large family, but we’re so happy about this new little boy coming our way! Feeling so blessed and excited for January 19th, 2015!

Art Show

Kate participated in a little art camp this summer and her teacher encouraged the kids to enter the upcoming art show. Like any obedient student, we followed her request. Kate entered two pieces: her rose window from class, as well as a salt dough creation she made at home. Coley, too, entered; but just one piece. He called his salt dough art, “Strawberry Donut and Apple Donut and Chocolate Donut.” A perfect title.

In the end, Sissy’s sculpture earned a Third Place ribbon and a whopping $4 cash prize, while Cole’s sculpture earned an Honorable Mention ribbon. I will say that Cole was robbed because the pieces that won were CLEARLY not (solely) created by preschoolers/kindergarteners, unlike HIS piece. I mean what 4 year-old can saw styrofoam into the shape of a robot? Yeah, right. Now we know the tricks for winning next year’s show;)

I tried to snap a pic of the kids with their winnings, starting with Cole. This is what we got:

GRUMPY FACE!!!!!

 

I guess we were done with pics. So proud of BOTH my babies anyway!

4th of July

Ryan and Adrienne hosted a party for the Lehi Fireworks. Dren pulled out all the stops and rented a cotton candy machine. We had a delicious dinner, blew bubbles, and made glow stick creations all while scarfing sugary, sweet clouds of cotton. We got to watch our own fireworks, which were pathetic compared to the bishop’s across the street (who coincidentally is an attorney and had probably $thousands$ worth of aerials). So nice of him to share his bags of money in the form of fireworks with us!!

It was all one big party leading up to Lehi’s fireworks show, which BTW, I did not think was all that great this year. Also not great, was the hour wait in the car to exit Ryan’s neighborhood at the culmination of the evening. It all made for a great memory, though, and I can’t wait to do this again next year!!

Cedar Hills Family Festival

We’re not usually big participators of our city’s celebration. This year, however, was different. First of all, our friend, Shannon, was put in charge of the Family Fun Run Event. This event goes to support someone in Cedar Hills who needs it. Second of all, the young man from our ward, Rocky Rhiddlehoover, who was killed while volunteering at Boy Scout Camp, was the person selected to benefit from this year’s run. Our whole ward pulled together to put on a bake sale and attend the event so it was really quite neat. And, honestly, I just have a special place in my heart for Rocky! I was glad to bake and run for him, and was glad the whole ward showed so much support! What a neat day for such a neat kid!

Team Rocky, wearing mostly red, which was Rocky’s favorite color

It was just a mile long run, and I have to say, I was so proud of little Sis! She ran most of the way, with a few little walking breaks in between. Physical activity is not our family’s strong point, so it was nice to see that it could be done! And she was just so proud of herself running through the finish line! What a moment!!

We did a raffle after the race and the kids won several prizes so that was fun too!

Later in the week, we hit the parade with Grandma Sandra and a couple of cousins. The kids got some pretty serious bags of candy.

After the parade, Sissy went swimming at Bella’s. Cole was sad. To ease the blow, we took him to the Carnie because a creepy carnival always cures sadness? Luckily, best friend Trey was there and it made for a most joyful afternoon.

Cole and the kids getting squirted by the fire truck:

And to finish off a day of pure fun, we hosted Cedar Hills fireworks at our house with Dave’s family. Dave made homemade root beer, and we ate and ate and ate. Didn’t even see if the fireworks were good, but the food and company certainly was!

Victoria, BC

Okay, so it was the last day of the cruise. The last day also meant the final show. on stage. in front of the whole cruise ship. I awoke with a slight ulcer in my stomach. We did our usual workout in the morning, had breakfast in the Lido, and then it was off for a 30 minute rehearsal. This was necessary because I learned the dance like 4 days earlier and remembered absolutely none of the dance at this point. We had a few minutes to practice with our partners and then a few minutes to run through it all on stage.

By the afternoon it was time for the real deal. I had my trusty family there cheering me on. I had my moment on the big screen, and the show began. AND just guess who was lucky enough to be first on? Yep, me. Death sentence right there. I was surprised because I was able to pull out the dusty, long-forgotten Cavette in me. I hammed up my performance with full-on facials, and even remembered (most of) the dance. In the end, I placed third. 2nd place went to the stinky Liz, and 1st to a nameless man (Travis?), though I was happy he won. The winnings were based on audience appeal, and that’s how it all went down. Nameless dude had a family of 35, Liz had a group of like 16, and I had a group of 12. Everyone else who didn’t place had smaller numbers.

Dancing with the Stars at Sea

The performance. You’re welcome.

My partner and me

Losing was no matter because the winner won a gold star paper weight. Lame. BUT…I will say, I was quite bummed to lose to that darn Liz! She was the worst! The rest of the competitors were all buddies, and offered, “Good luck’s,” and, “Good job’s!” But not Liz. She said nothing. Well, until she started feeling pressure to do so. And finally spit out a very underwhelming, “You did it…” to the very last competitor.

Anyway, I was happy it was over. I was also happy to have several old men stop me after the show to tell me I was robbed. I hugged each one of them and said, “Bless you!” It was just heart-warming. I’ve always dug old dudes.

And then it was time for a night a fun in Victoria!!! Brian, Andra, Sandra, Dave and I hired a taxi driver and drove to Butchart Gardens. We saved serious $$$ doing it on our own, instead of through the cruise line.

What a beautiful place! I’m so glad we got to go there!

The Sunken Garden

 

Awesomeness in the form of pics

After the gardens our driver took us on a scenic tour through the city. It looked like a fun place to visit with a lot of restaurants and such. We boarded the ship and hit the Lido for a late night supper to be greeted by the rest of the lame family who didn’t participate in the Butchart Gardens excursion. They all shared a big story about how they went to a coffee shop and saw Mike Myers, and how we just missed out! Big, fat lie. Turns out they didn’t even get off the ship.

So, yeah, fun day. Good way to spend our day of the cruise. Sad it was over!

This last pic was taken earlier on the cruise when Dave and I got dressed up in our cruise wear. Previous to the trip, I had searched high and low for some 1980’s bridesmaid and best man wear (for formal night). You’d be surprised by how impossible it is to find such a thing anymore! Everything at DI and Savers was either quite contemporary, or did not fit. Lots of size 20 dresses that would have done the trick, but nothing smaller. So in short, we ended up with these Tommy Bahamas pant suits. I think we looked the part.