Park City with JetBlue

JetBlue is celebrating their 10th anniversary so they had a huge party up at the Park City Mountain Resort last Friday. We got there early and were able to get a lot in before the crowds got there.

We rode the SLOW ski lift up the mountain so Matt and I could ride the Zipline.



I went down while Matt stayed with the kids and then I stayed at the top with the boys while Matt went down.

Then we all rode the Alpine slides down the mountain.

By now the crowds were starting to get bad so we took turns waiting in line for the Alpine roller coaster while the boys rode the merry-go-round and the little airplanes.

Taylor got some rock climbing in, with dad's help.

Brayden bounced on this trampoline and then Taylor got strapped in to "fly high."

Matt was recruited for the tug-of-war (they lost to the luggage crew that flew in from Long Beach) The boys weren't entertained by all the grunting so they played on the hill.

We got lunch, played some putt-putt golf, drank our weight in water and Sprite and sweated like crazy! Over all- a pretty great day!

Batman, with a mustache, and my lion.

I caved

I'd been doing so good. It's always a challenge of mine to see how long I can go without turning on the A/C for the summer. I REALLY wanted to make it to July 1st, but here I am, sitting comfortably in my air conditioned home for about a week now. I finally called it off when it was 89 degrees in my bedroom and 98 outside.

Working Out

So Matt and I are on week 5 of P90X- don't worry, we won't show you our before and after pictures! Taylor loves it and wants to work out with us every morning with his own bands. The other day he kept bugging me to work out so I put on the DVD for him. The boys are working on their 6-pack. (At least I can do a little better than Brayden!)

I know there are a lot here but I laugh everytime I see each one so I couldn't leave them out!

Brayden doing bicycles

Crunchie Frog

V-Up Roll-up Combo

Push Ups (Brayden wanted a turn)

Jokes

I recorded these about two months ago- we've gotten SO much better!

Taylor's Knock-Knock Joke

Brayden's Version

Taylor's Orange Joke

Lehi Days and the Rodeo

Almost every town in Utah has a city celebration every summer. They're fun and pretty cheap entertainment- so perfect for our family! Lehi had their "Rodeo Days" last week. It consisted of sidewalk parties, half price swim day, THREE parades and the rodeo! We had fun enjoying it all. On top of all that, my mom came to visit so the boys were in heaven!

Watching the all horse parade

"Avatar"
(This guy was painted blue and held a spear- kinda weird but pretty funny. He covered his horse in a dinosaur costume... pretty patient horse!)


My Favorite at the Rodeo- steer wrestling

Take #1

Take #2

(gave up after this one and tried later on in the evening)

Take #3

Sidewalk Party

Obsessed

It's slightly embarrassing... but I'm obsessed with golf- yes, this is Lori, not Matt. I LOVE to watch it! Most people are sad when college football and college basketball are over- I'm not. I know there are still some good sports coming! It's like Olympic season again here at our house the last two weeks. Women College World Series two weekends ago, Men's College World Series and World Cup last weekend and now the US Open- great time to be a sports fan!

Bridal Veil Falls

We trying to live it up here in Utah while Matt's work schedule is more relaxed than his school schedule. We went on a mini hike the other day to the Lehi hot springs thinking that would be fun- it was not. We couldn't find the trail head and asked a police officer. He said, "its right over there, but not worth the 5 minute walk. It's just a hot mud puddle."

(Buzz Lightyear shooting the camera with his laser during the hike)

We didn't take his word for it, but when we got there that's exactly what we found. So, in our swim suits we walked back to the car and came home to play in our back yard.

The next day we had better success with a small hike up to Bridal Veil Falls. It was gorgeous up there and while the sun was hot the water was cool. I took WAY too many pictures and yes, I'm going to post a lot of them!

We're going to have to work on our hiking form.

Brayden was content to throw rocks into the water for almost two hours.

Fish

One of the first things Matt wanted to do this summer was get the boys set up with a fish. While at DI (thrift store in Utah) the second day we were back here he found a fish tank. Once we got approval from our landlords we set out to find a fish. Matt and Taylor spent about 10 minutes watching the fish in the WalMart tank for the perfect one, well, two so both boys could have one.

Brayden's, named Silver, lasted 13 hours at home.

Taylor's, named Taylor, lasted 2 1/2 days.

We are now on fish number three, also named Taylor. So far he's doing well. I'd think he was lonely, but he actually bit the tail off of Taylor I- so we're thinking he may be an only child/fish for a while. I guess I need to take a few more pictures of the fish because the only one I have is Silver going for a swim in the toilet to fish heaven, I'll get on that!

The Pet Store

Brayden's love of animals inspired his birthday trip with just Matt and I. We took him to PetsMart AND PetCo (since they were right across the street from one another.)

***Also, a side note, Matt is trying to convince me to get an indoors dog which I am extremely against. (Not right now but after school) He thought if we could go and play with some dogs and see how much Brayden enjoyed it, it would change my mind. Little did he know these big pet shops don't "stock" puppies and encourage adoption so he wasn't able to brainwash me!***

Braydo LOVED it and was running from animal to animal making all the noises.

Oklahoma

While we were at my parent's house in Colorado, they left to go on a 2-week cruise to Spain, so we got a little bored. We decided (meaning I persuaded Matt to drive more) to drive the 10-hrs to Amy and Alek's house in Enid, OK. They live on an Air Force base there and that weekend they had to move to another house- just two doors down. We got to hang out with them and help them move. We got to go see the planes Aleks is learning to fly and Matt even got to try out the plane simulator and landed a T-6 perfectly... on a computer. They have a bowling alley on the base that is really cheap so we took the boys there twice. Taylor loved it, Brayden did not.

Life... Lately

So our life has been crazy lately- but I wouldn't have it any other way! (this is long- but good documentation for me...)

Matt finished his first or two years at BYU for his MBA. He worked so hard this year and his grades reflected that hard work! He's been searching and interviewing for a summer internship and we have been praying and fasting, along with our family, that he would get an opportunity that would help him build his marketing experience. We figured the internship would be out of Utah so we put our place up on the Internet to sublet but didn't have any interest, until May 1st. On Saturday a guy came and saw our place and wanted it, then and he was staying in a hotel until we moved out... so we did. We packed up and left 48 hours later and drove to Colorado to stay with my parents.

At the time Matt had one internship offer with a company in Ohio that we thought we would take but he was waiting to hear back from 4 other companies. Well, over the next week and a half he had a few more phone interviews and received an offer from JetBlue in SLC. The next Friday Matt had these two offers expiring, and at 4:00 other offers started coming in. He had to make his decision by 5:00 on Friday and between 4:00 and 5:00 he got two more offers from great companies. In the end he decided that the offer and opportunity available at JetBlue would give him the best experience, so here we are... back in Utah. We are really excited about this job experience for Matt and we are going to try and live it up here while we can. We rented our place out in Provo furnished so we needed to find somewhere else to live- with stuff already in it. Gratefully some friends in the MBA program were leaving their house in Lehi furnished, so we've moved in there. Matt will start with JetBlue on June 7th and will spend a day in NYC for orientation and then start his work here. We are so grateful for this internship and feel really blessed! Come visit if you're in Lehi!

Traveling Pictures:

Taylor requested an eye mask to take his nap. A MBA spouse makes these- SO CUTE! Brayden was happy as long as he had some junk food to eat.

Brayden turns 2!!

Some things I want to remember about this little boy:

- He LOVES animals

- He makes animal sounds all the time

- He does not talk much

- He understands everything you say or ask

- He'll try to say any word you ask him to

- He has the best belly laugh

- He hates going to bed every night, but goes down for naps easily

- He LOVES Dora the Explorer, yes, Dora is one of the few words he'll say on his own

- He tells a "knock-knock" joke

- He's recently debuted his new laugh, which is more like a scream

- He waits for Taylor to drop a toy and then he runs and takes it and hides so Taylor can't find it

- He will play in water all day if I let him

- He LOVES watermelon

- He LOVES Chocolate

We sure LOVE him!

For his birthday we were visiting my parents in Colorado so he had his birthday there. He loves chocolate cake and I found a great chocolate Texas sheet cake I wanted to make. Well, it fell apart a lot more than I thought it would, so when I tried to stack it on top and then ice it there were crumbs everywhere. I finally gave up and let the boys take over. Matt, Taylor and Brayden decorated the cake. (Notice Matt's touch of "natural selection" with the dead goat)