Camping & Partying

For the 24th of July we took our new tent out for the first time up at Spruces! It worked great and we had tons of fun up in the mountains. We wished we could have stayed another night, but the sites were all booked for the weekend.

Our first hike was called Stairs Gulch. It was fun going up because the trail followed the river so we got to stop and play in the water a LOT. Which the boys loved.

Logan and Dustin had so much fun throwing rocks in the water and tromping through the icy water.

We found many patches of raspberries along the trail, and we picked and ate as we hiked.

There were also many butterflies along the trail. Logan and Dustin loved spotting the different colors (yellow, orange, green, white) and chasing them everywhere.

The water was beautifully clear and nice to dip our toes in.

Even Brooklyn enjoyed the cool water! She usually doesn't like being in cold water but it was so warm that she enjoyed cooling off.

The hike down was pretty rough. The rocks created mini rock slides and it scared the boys. Dave ended up walking down holding Logan's hand and I carried Dustin most of the way.

The campsite was nicely covered in shade. At one point it started sprinkling, but stopped quickly. It cooled the temperature down to the 70s which was perfect!

A moose walked through our campsite a few times! The boys were fascinated and loved following it around. It was a great trip!

We went to the Clark Planetarium and had such a fun time! They had 3 stories of exhibits. We picked Dave up after work, ate a picnic lunch and visited the museum.

We only stayed for 2 hours, but probably could have spent a lot longer there.

Since Logan has requested going back several times. It was a fun place to see and learn more about our solar system.

Last week started the week long celebration of Logan's Birthday!

We had Logan's friend party the Friday prior to Logan's actual Birthday. He had a Lego's Batman party with all kinds of classic games.

I made the pinata and decided to do Joker because we wouldn't want to hit Batman!

I also created 4 masks to use in a Super Hero dress up relay. The boys have loved enjoying the new masks!

 Logan's birthday was tons of fun too. He picked a blue square cake which was one of the more difficult cakes I've made.

Logan and Dustin have watched Lego's Batman 3 times since he got it for his Birthday. Sometimes they dress up when they watch.

The last few weeks of the summer have been super busy but fun! We've squeezed in a Mini build at the Lego Store, a Truck Building event at Home Depot, and tons of trips to Murray Pool. But Logan told me last week he is ready for school to start again.

Summer Days Drifting Away

The summer has been crazy! Keeping 3 kids fed, entertained and from killing eachother is a lot of work. Especially since it's been over 100 degrees almost every day since June started. I am exagerating a little, but not too much. It's been in the mid to high 90s. Even at night! I can't ever open the windows and get a cool breeze. 

The first week of Summer we signed Logan up for Swim Lessons and he completed his two weeks with so much more confidence! He can do two body lengths of the breast stroke, back stroke, and is happy to dive for our Pirate Jewels. This was a huge step for him since he was scared to put his face in the water before. We bought he and Dustin and it's like night and day with these boys the difference it made. Even Dustin is happy to put his head under water now (although he is less confident in the water than Logan).

 Brooklyn has become mobile and we better watch out for that one! She's found the toilet paper and toilet (although she doesn't know how to open the lid yet). She has what the boys call her super fast crawl. She can get anywhere and into all kinds of trouble. But she's so dang cute we don't mind too much. She also knows how to climb a full flight of stairs which scared me to death. She's fine as long as she isn't distracted mid climb.

We have spent a lot of mornings playing outside since by about 11 it's too hot! She loves the sand box and tolerates the kiddy pool. The boys on the other hand LOVE playing in the pool especially with their Dollar Tree water squirters.

We got a new park in the neighborhood!!! It's right by our church and about .8 miles from our house. We've enjoyed it about once a week. We try also to do the splash pad twice a week to switch things up a bit. It has more play structures that I expected, and we've loved it.

 This summer we also purchased a new tent since the demise of our one day old tent at last year's Yoder reunion. We've slept in it in the Living Room twice and look forward to trying it out in the Mountains for the 24th of July weekend.

She is so stinking cute! Can't help but take pictures of her. After this week Brooklyn decided she hates hair bows and I can't get her to wear them any more. Whenever I try we all fawn over her cuteness. Maybe it's not the bow but the attention she hates.

In June the kids and I went down to Zions for 3 days at the Yoder Reunion. I think we ate Dairy Queen every day we were there. It was hot, but the boys sure had fun playing with their cousins the entire time. There was always something fun to do and delicious to eat.

My little explorers loved hiking to the Narrows! And they were champs at keeping up with everyone else since Mom had the Baby in her backpack.

Dustin loved exploring the water with  Papa and his cousins! He was so brave, even with the strong currents

Logan had tons of fun with Max and Rea exploring all the rock islands and logs.

The kids were so proud to make it out to this rock! It was a difficult climb to the top! When I was taking pictures of this, Logan slipped down the rock and fell in. But he was so brave! His head popped right out of the water and he started swimming to Papa Mike! And the water was COLD. That right there made me glad to pay for his swimming classes.

There were crazy chipmunks where Grandma Sheila, Alison, and I were sitting with the babies. They fearlessly tried to steal our food. Dustin was the best at squirting them "in the eye" with a water bottle to get them to go away. We would point one out to him and he would chase it down, squirt it, and continue squirting until the thing was MILES away.

For the 4th of July we had a BBQ with burgers, shrimp, grilled pineapple and all kinds of delicious foods! Dave and I were in food heaven. We lit off some fireworks, and Dave taught the boys to light the saw dust from packs of pop-its on fire. They had fun in the 100 degree weather.

The boys were excited to pick out their own fireworks this year. They noticed the fire work stands while we were grocery shopping and when Dave got home we went back to get what they wanted.

 

Logan and Dustin are the best of friends and it's fun to watch. They'll be playing and Dustin will just say "I sure love you Logan!" They'll hold hands on most of our walks, and they are pretty good at helping each other (even helping each other get into trouble). They still fight, but mostly they're happy to have a brother.

Dustin is hilarious! Some of the things that comes out of his mouth just cracks me up. Last week he put on some Chapstick and turns to me and exclaims "I look GORGEOUS!" He has been going through clothes like candy lately. Summers are messy. So yesterday he decided to save some time and put on all his shorts and undies on. "That way when I get this pair messy I'll just take them off, and I've already got my next pair on." Needless to say I'm doing a ton of laundry.

This little girl loves to swing! She laughs almost the whole time she's swinging and more than once she has happily swung until she started falling asleep. Oops! But she loves it, so what can you do?

Yesterday Logan told me "Summer is fun, but I think I'm ready for school to start. I like school." Which is good! It took him 6 months to tolerate school, so I'm glad to hear he actually enjoys it sometimes.

School's out for Summer!

I don't know where the past month has gone! We have been so busy with school being out. I started a chore chart that the boys have to get done if they want any electron entertainment. They're relatively easy jobs, but it keeps them busy for most of the morning. 

A few weeks ago some friends of ours had a yard sale before moving. Dustin purchased this oversized stuffed animal for a dollar. We bring it outside with us, snuggle at night and read books while leaning against him. His name is Peachy.

Before school ended he had a FIELD DAY! Dustin, Brooklyn and I volunteered to help. It was fun to work with all the classes, but especially to be able to see Logan's class and how he interacted with them. He's grown so much socially (as well as intellectually) this year.

One of the boy's jobs is to learn something every day. So I asked if there was anything specifically they wanted to learn about. Logan said he wanted to have sewing classes. I let the boys pick out a few materials from JoAnn's, then I mixed material from my scraps/stash and we are working on  making a quilt. Both boys helped me lay it out, but Logan is the only one interested in helping me sew.

A few weeks ago we also got to go on a field trip to the Fire Station. Logan insisted on dressing as a fire man, and Dustin dressed as a Lion. It was neat to see where everything happens. The station is pretty new and very well designed. The boys loved asking questions as well as getting to climb inside the fire trucks.

We also got to go to a Beez game! Papa Bill got free tickets through work and we had fun watching the game, buying treats and watching the fireworks after the game. We usually keep the kids up for one firework event a summer. We usually do the Taylorsville Days show, but since we had front row seats to this one, we figured why not? Also, the show started at 9:30 so earlier home and to bed than the 4th of July ones.

Every game we chase down the Bee. The boys play iSpy until they find him then we run around until we can meet him and take a picture (Logan refused to get close enough for a picture).

The boys recently rediscovered Grandpa Yoder's clickers. They chase me around the house tormenting me. Little do they know I actually enjoy the reminder of my Grandpa.

Brooklyn's been thinning out. Don't worry, she still has her double chin, wrist rolls and thunder thighs. But she's been crawling all over the place and as a result is loosing some of her baby fat. She also has been speaking more. She says Dada, No, BooBoo (the boys nickname for her). She also started saying Mama but only in a monster voice (as the boys call it, super deep and guttural). She's still a Daddy's girl except when she doesn't feel well or is super sleepy.

Last weekend we hiked around a lake! It was the perfect temperature; in the 70's in the mountains (90's in the valley). There was still snow in the mountains, so we had to navigate the stroller around that and the mud puddles. But the boys loved having snowball fights and splashing in the runoff.

The boys are loving the casual nature of summer. We picked up sunglasses at Target for the summer, and the boys are loving their shades. 

 

Logan has had swimming classes last week and this week and I'm so proud of the progress he has made! On class 4 of 8 he was swimming on his own! This is HUGE for Logan (he's usually a little scared of water). He is no longer afraid to put his head under and he chooses to try the different strokes on his own.

Friday Dave's work had it's annual Lagoon day. The boys had a BLAST! They rode every ride they came to. Even the scary ones. Logan's favorite was the Bat, and Dustin's was the Bombara. They rode every ride they were tall enough for, some more than once.

Brooklyn had her first ride on the Merry go Round as well as the Ferris Wheel. She enjoyed them and was a great sport, especially considering she missed a nap and got home for bed way after bed time.

Around 7pm both Brooklyn and Dustin had fallen asleep. So Dave and Logan rode some of the bigger rides until I insisted it was time to go home. Somewhere in there we also enjoyed Lagoona Beach. It was fun to see Logan use his new swimming skills.

This weekend we also had a visit from my friend Tenille. She helped us pick out some plants for our yard (she loves gardening). I helped her with a quilt. And we went on a Treasure Hunt (ie. went Geo Cashing). The treasure is located at Wheeler Farm. You bring a prize to leave, and you get to pick a prize from their treasure chest. Logan had been before, so he showed us which way to go. They had so much fun doing that as well as seeing the animals.

It was great to see Tenille and eat ourselves silly! We got milkshakes, slushies, Penguinos (Mexican Bakery treats), Pizza... all the good stuff. We also rented Beauty and the Beast from Redbox and finally got to watch it. It was well done.