Birthday parties, swimming, & school

I just love photogrid.  I am able to make cute collages on my phone and post them to Facebook and on my blog to save time and make sure all my cute pictures get posted.  Friday was Kinlee's 4th birthday!  She sure is growing fast.  She wanted to have a princess party and wanted a princess bike so I figured I could make both those things happen.  This was the last party I'll throw in our house so it was a little bittersweet.  Kadee and Kella dressed up as Princess Summer and Princess Winter to help with the party and Kinlee was Princess Belle.  She invited Lexie, Harlee, Kirsten, Jocelyn, and of course her best friend Kaydree.  We did Princess tattoos, painted nails, colored princess pictures, and had Doc McStuffins cupcakes (Kinlee LOVES Doc so we had to include her somehow).  After Kinlee opened presents the girls played and had a fun time until their parents came to pick them up.  As soon as the party guests left we went to Wingers for dinner.  They sang Happy Birthday to Kinlee and she got yummy asphalt pie.  She hasn't stopped riding her bike since she got it.  She absolutely loves it and shows everyone who comes to our house.  So excited to have a 4 year old and I love this little girl more than words can say.  She is my cuddler and my sidekick, she loves to go with me no matter where I'm going.  She is a mother hen to little Matthew and has the best imagination.  She loves her babies, our kitten, and ABCMouse.com.  I'm so blessed to be her mommy and have the opportunity to watch her grow up. 

Yesterday I wanted to take the kids swimming today to celebrate the last day of summer before school started, but Kinlee ended up getting whatever virus Matthew had and I was stuck home taking care of her. Grandma Debbie to the rescue! She took 9 grandkids swimming, bought them pizza and snacks, and kept an eye on Matthew, who loves to jump in the water whether someone is there to catch him or not. They had a blast and my kids love to be with their cousins so much. 

Today was the first day of school for Connor and Kadence.  Connor is going into the 4th grade and has Mrs. Prince and Kadence is going into the 3rd grade and has Mrs. Holdaway.  They were both nervous and excited for the first day.  We pray every morning before school and I was so impressed with Connor's prayer.  He prayed for Kinlee to get feeling better (Matthew was sick with a high fever all weekend and now Kinlee has it) and he said he was grateful he had the opportunity to get an education.  I always tell the kids how lucky we are to live somewhere they get to go to school and get an education, but I didn't know if it was sinking in until today.  I hope they have a wonderful first day of school and I can't wait to hear all about it.  

Carbon County Fair

I try to blog once a week, but last week I totally spaced it off.  Luckily we didn't have anything exciting happen that I missed.  This last weekend we went to the Carbon County Fair.  I entered Matthew in the cute baby contest and Connor had a 4H art entry he wanted to see.  We went to the baby contest first and Matthew was so stinking cute.  He got on stage and flexed and blew a kiss, it was so adorable.  He ended up winning best eyes and got a sand bucket full of goodies.

Some other fun news is Connor's artwork he entered in 4H won first place.  He was totally shocked and excited.  He even won $3 for taking first.  We walked around and checked out all the vendor booths and the kids got wristbands so they could jump on the bouncers as much as they wanted.

We also went to the superhero/princess party in the events center.  It was a lot of fun for the girls.  Just to name a few things, they got to decorate crowns, decorate cupcakes, throw a coin in the wishing well, walk a plank with Spiderman, get their nails done, face painted, and a fishing pond.  There was a lot to do and see and it was put together really well, plus it was free!  I'm sure going to miss these busy summer weekends, school starts next week and I can't believe how fast our summer has flown by.

 I may have mentioned this in an earlier post, but we sold our house and will be out in a couple weeks.  I'm super excited for our new adventure and I know without a doubt we will be happy wherever we go.

 

 

Willow Lake

We've been busy since the last time I blogged.  Last weekend we celebrated Wellington Pioneer Days.  Once again we were on the Jeff Wood for Sheriff float and walked/rode in the parade.  After the parade we spent the day in the park.  I love Wellington days because all the kids activities are free.  I sat under a tree and watched the kids go down the bounce house slides about a gazillion times.  My nephew Zac and his baseball team had a booth set up to raise money for their all star games in California.  They had glitter tattoos, baked goods, and a dunk tank.  Rory decided to be a good sport and sat in the dunk tank while they did dunk a cop.  He was mouthing off telling Connor he had a spaghetti arm and WHAM! Connor hit the target on his first throw, while holding a doughnut in one hand and dunked him.  It was hilarious.  Later that night we had some adult time, we went to dinner with Jeff, Emily, Hyrum, and Paola and then went back to our house for delicious banana splits. 

Last week Rory had the whole week off of work, so we decided to go camping at Willow Lake.  I'd never been there before and it is absolutely breathtaking.  Since we went in the middle of the week no one else was there and we got the perfect spot to park our trailer right by the dock.  We spent the week fishing, four wheeler, rafting, and playing.  Garrett and Stacey Conover came up on Tuesday with their kids and we spent the day laughing and talking and trying to fish.  We went to Ferron Reservoir and Rory caught 2 fish, but Garrett didn't get any.  They stayed for dinner and then we were alone again, it was great having them for the day and the kids loved having friends to play with.  The rest of the week was so relaxing and like I always do camping, I ate WAY too much food.  It was so nice to get away for awhile and we even enjoyed a few thunderstorms to cool us off.   I saw this quote on Facebook and loved it, it is so true and so worth it to live like a homeless person for a few days. :)

 This past weekend (after returning from camping) we were back on the campaign trail for Jeff.  We spent Friday evening at the burn out contest on Price Main Street, it was, um, interesting.  We sat on the bleachers with about a million other people and smelled nasty burnt tires as each contestant peeled out.  I wasn't too impressed. Saturday was a lot more fun.  We were in the parade and spent the entire day at the park.  There was so much to do and see.  The kids rode a few rides at the carnival they had set up and we had fun shopping the little booths.  There was delicious food and tons of people to visit with.  By the time we got home we were exhausted and so ready for a break, so Sunday we relaxed and took the kids swimming.  It has been a very busy but very fun summer. 

Gyro anyone?!

We've had such a great summer so far.  This past weekend was the Greek Festival.  Emily and I woke up early Saturday morning and took all the kids (except Connor, he was in Salina with Zac at a ball tournament) to the Greek Festival 5k.  We were in almost last place, but Kinlee got her picture taken and name in the paper for being the youngest participant.  That evening I got a sitter for the kids and Jeff, Emily, Rory, and I went to the Greek Festival for dinner and Bingo.  The dinner was so delicious and the company was even better, but Rory had to work, so we didn't get to stay for as long as we would have liked to.  We did play several rounds of Bingo and enjoyed mountains of food, so all in all it was a wonderful night.  

Monday we met my mom at the Castle Dale Pool and swam for over 4 hours!  I didn't get many pictures, but we had a blast.  My mom bought us Pizza and bread sticks and there is a giant slide that I went down several times.  It was so hot and the perfect day to spend at the pool.

Connor's 10th Birthday!

Friday we went to Energy days at the fairgrounds to celebrate the 4th of July.  I've never been before and it was a lot of fun.  They had all sorts of bounce houses, and one was a huge bubble pit.  The kids loved it and were slipping and sliding all over the place.  At one point we lost Matthew and ended up finding him on the biggest bouncer/slide they had!  After playing for awhile we went to Eric and Shelley's to watch the fireworks from their backyard.  Debbie made some almond bark popcorn and they have a really fun backyard so the kids were excited to play until the fireworks started.  The next day was Nicole's birthday, so we went with Derek, Nicole, Derk, Deb, Rhea, Azella, and the kids to Huntington Lake.  Derek took all the kids (even Matthew) on the boat so Nicole, Kinlee, and I sat on the beach and played in the sand.  We barbequed and visited and then headed home so Rory could go to work.  

Connor's birthday was on Sunday and he was so excited to open presents he woke up at 5:00 am.  I wouldn't let him get up that early, but when Rory got home from work at 6:00 am Connor was ready to go.  He opened his present from Rory, about 150 baseball cards.  He was so excited and looked at every single one.  He couldn't wait to open the rest of his presents so I didn't make him.  That afternoon he begged and pleaded to go to the lake with Kyle and Candee and their kids, so he spent most the day at the lake.  He even wake boarded and went out of the wake for the first time.  They got home pretty late, so we didn't have ice cream cake until around 9:00, I felt so bad because Kinlee had fallen asleep waiting for Connor and I knew she would be so disappointed she didn't get to sing and have cake with him. I made sure to save her a big piece and the next morning she ate it and sang Happy Birthday to Connor.

Monday we took the kids to Jump On It in Lindon to celebrate again.  It was so much fun!  We jumped, and jumped, and jumped!  The kids loved throwing themselves into the foam pits and didn't stop running the whole time we were there.  They even tried the bungee jumping.  Rory and Connor were able to do front and back flips but Kadee was too nervous so she just jumped. Afterword we went to the mall and grabbed some dinner.  It was such a great day and a great way to celebrate Connor's birthday.  

Color Run Fun!

 We've been staying busy this summer trying to do lots of Price unplugged activities and going to the pool once a week.  Kadee has been trying to earn money by having yard sales and kool aid stands.  She's made about $40 so far, so she is doing pretty good.  Connor is working for Mike Miller a couple days a week helping him with his rock quarry.  I'm grateful he has something to keep him busy and teach him responsibility.  Matty and Kinlee have just been their normal mischievous selves.  They make me laugh on a daily basis!  

A couple weeks ago our whole family participated in the high school's color run.  It was a blast!  At first Matthew was pissed that they threw color on him, but once he got used to it he loved it!  We have had a fun summer so far, we've went swimming (a lot), visited the library, walked the Price River Walkway, the Helper Parkway, been to the zoo, vacationed, barbequed with friends, had root beer floats, and much more!!   

Kinlee washing her car (and Bella)

Matty does not look comfortable!

Visiting Papa Gary for Father's Day

 

Before the color run

After the color run!

Lava Hot Springs

We just got back from an amazing family vacation.  We took the kiddos and in laws to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho.  On the drive up we stopped at the Ogden Dinosaur Park and explored the museum and life size dinosaurs.  We then headed up to Lava and stayed in an adorable little 2 bedroom 1 bath cabin. 

The scenery there is absolutely breath taking.  There was a little bridge and creek right through the property and it sat right on the side of a mountain.  Rory, Derk, and Connor hiked the mountain and we saw tons of deer grazing in the fields around us. Although it was so cold, we had a wonderful time.  We went to the Aquatic center, played Frisbee golf, played in the arcade, sat in the hot spots, walked main street, Rory, Connor, and Kadee even floated on the freezing cold river.

 
 

We also spent a day in Soda Springs.  We visited Geyser Park (Soda Springs has the only captive geyser in the world), Hooper springs park,the Monsanto Slag Pour, and also visited the Pioneer Ghost town named Chesterfield.  We all really enjoyed the tour of the little town.  The guide was great and had tons of information on the old town and all the restorations they have done.  The kids had a blast in the general store.  They had penny candy and homemade souvenirs, the kids were so excited to try all the different types of candy and see the old pioneer toys.  


It was a wonderful vacation and a great way to spend time together as a family.