week 31

The rest of our trip to Utah!

The kids really wanted to go to the museum of Curiosity. It was way too packed this time since it was summer and it was not enjoyable because of that, but I think the kids liked it.

The kids wanted to stop by my dads place.

Visiting my best friend Amy almost didn't happen but we both somehow made it work. I miss this lady all the time.

One of the best things we did in Utah was go and visit Mac's birthmom. We had the BEST time and played hard with her and her fiancé. (She is getting married in November and we are HAPPY for her!!) We stayed up late every night and played Just Dance. The kids loved it so much!

We went and hiked to look for dinosaur tracks. SO COOL! Do see it just below Oak?

We went and explored a cave. And at first I was a bit freaked out that we would all fall to our deaths it wasn't that bad and Oak surprisingly was super adventurous and Mac wanted out of there the whole time because he was scared of bats, of which there were none.

Our last morning with them we headed to the park to play croquet and Frisbee.

And raced twig and leave boats down the little stream that ran through the park.

And cooled off in it too. Because it is dang HOT in St. George in August.

We played so hard they crashed with in 30 minutes of leaving.

The next morning we headed home. We stopped at a rest area next to the salt flats. The kids thought it was pretty cool.

It was a bit of a rough trip home so we made more stops than usual. We ended up stopping at this interpretive center and it was awesome.

And when we got home, daddy surprised Mac with a bunk bed he had made while we were gone.

week 30

A cute family picture by Oak

Our friends (who used to live her) came to town and we went swimming with them.

Then we went to our other friends shaved ice truck.

Oak learned to knit with out a hoop.

As we were trying to get ready for our long drive to Utah the next day our power went out because of lightning. It made it a bit tough to finish getting things ready in the dark but it finally came on about 9.

On the way to Utah we stopped to stretch our legs really quick and found this sigh. Mac loved it, Oak was being a grump.

At our halfway point we stopped at McDonalds where the kids made these friends. They were sad to say goodby, but a few hours down the road we happened to stop at the same rest area at the same time. The kids were so excited to be reunited.

Hanging with cousins.

We went to Utah to be there for my nieces wedding. She was such a beautiful bride.

The wedding luncheon was across the street from the cemetery where my dad is buried so we all stopped really quick together.

My beautiful sisters and I.

We were just missing my brother Chris

So we saw this guy at the wedding reception and I couldn't place where I knew him from. I asked Oak and she knew immediately he was from the show Granit Flats. Then I spent the whole evening wondering if it was really him. Finally I got comformation it was him and mac went right up to him with my phone and said "I loved you in Granit Flats can I get a selfie with you!" And this is the outcome.

It was my brother's birthday while we were there and we had a little surprise birthday party for him. It was so fun to just sit and chat with my family. It was one of the best visits I have had with my family.

These cousins are 3 weeks apart.

Cousins.

We needed a break from cousins so we went on a drive to go see up close a few temples.

week 29

Tickles from dad before he left for work.

Just having fun together outside.

On Tuesday of this week there was a field fire on the hill at the end of our street. We live in the country with  a lot of dry fields and where the wind blows hard. Thankfully the fire was caught quickly and we live very close to a lake for two helicopters to get water do dump and three airplanes dropped retardant on and there was NO wind. So it only ended up burning about 20 acres. But it could have very easily spread quickly and reached our house at some point. Our neighbor told us to prepare to evacuate. So we tried to gather all the things we knew we could not replace and packed bags with two days worth of clothes. In the end I realized that I didn't even care about anything but getting my family out if it really came down to it.

The kids entertaining themselves while we wait for grandma to get her hair cut.

week 28

Sunday

Oak loved her baseball cap from baseball so much she wore it to bed for a week straight

The kids finished the library summer reading program, thanks to audio books, and received their shirts.

Oak made herself a tea party during quiet time.

The kids wanted to build forts in their rooms to sleep in. Mac never ended up sleep in his because he didn't think it was comfortable.

oak slept in hers for a week straight, but she is used to sleeping on the floor in my room so she didn't care.