Silver Lake Hike

The Sunday they were rededicating the Ogden Temple, we decided to take our kids on a hike since they are too young to attend.  Turns out, I got the dates mixed up and we went on the wrong Sunday.  Oops!  I'm kind of glad we did though because the next Sunday was really rainy and cold.  We wouldn't have been able to go on this hike if I wouldn't have so it all worked out.  :)  

This hike was so pretty and once again my kids were awesome hikers.  I'm pretty impressed with their hiking skills. Thank goodness they aren't like I was when I was younger.  I did not like hiking at all.  Now I love it, especially with these cute kids.

Off Track Fun and Other Stuff

Colby only had to go to school for three weeks before he was off track for three.  So, I took him to do something super fun...get a skin allergy test.

 He cried and screamed and thought he was dying during the test but it's good to know what he's allergic to, pretty much everything.  Grass, weeds, trees, and his favorite, dogs.  He was so excited to be allergic to them since he has an abnormal fear of them.  Now he finally has an excuse to stay away from them.  He was very disappointed he wasn't allergic to cats as well.

We also did a couple of fun things as well.  Darren took a day off and we wen to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and went to Thanksgiving Point as well.  Reese was beyond excited to ride a pony. Colby, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with it.

 Watching the ducks.

 Reese isn't as timid as Colby.  She was petting all the horses ponies.  Colby liked them from a distance.

 The Ogden Temple was rebuilt and they were having an open house so I recruited my mom to go with us.  It was a good experience and I'm glad my mom was able to go.  

 My kids are always trying to find a way into my bed at night.  One night, Colby asked if he could sleep in my bed and I told him no.  Then I went downstairs and hung out with Darren for a couple of hours.  When I walked up the stairs, I saw this note sitting on the floor and this guy asleep in my bed with all the lights on.  Well played, Colby, well played.

 Ally dances on the drill team and was doing a mini 3 day drill for younger girls.  She asked if Reese wanted to do it.  Reese was all for it.  It was a lot of work for this little girl.  She was pretty exhausted those three nights.  They then got to perform during the halftime show at the Herriman High football game.

She was so stinking cute and knew the whole dance.  This girl knows how to shake her booty.

 The dancing cousins.

St. George

We, and by we, I mean me, decided we should do a St. George trip because Little Mermaid was at Tuachan and I knew Reese would love to see it.  We ended up going with Darren's parents and Kathi and Kurt's family.  It was a lot of fun.

We went swimming, of course.

 I saw Reese and Darren talking in the pool while they were both on the same floatie and I thought it was so cute.  

 I decided to get a closer picture but when I told Reese to look at me she decided it would be funny to show me her bum instead.  

 The place we stayed had a hot tub on the deck.  I think if we were at the condo, these three kids were in the hot tub.

Splash park

 The place also had lots of fun toys at the condo.

 We did some shopping there as well.

 We also went to the sand dunes.  I remember going to the sand dunes all the time on our many trips to St. George as a kid so it was fun to take my kids there as well.  

 Reese wanted to get buried, which was fun until Colby accidentally got sand in her eyes and then it turned into mass hysteria.  

 Finally we got to go to the play.

 Reese was Emma's shadow this whole trip.  

 It was an awesome show.  I was blown away with how good it was.  

 I had to sleep in the same room as Colby and Reese because they were both scared at night.  This is what I woke up to every morning.

 One of the days we went to Zions.  This was the first time Darren and I had been there.  

It was WAY hot.  Darren had a small sweat mark from carrying the back pack.

Proud of these kids those.  It was a long hike for them and they did awesome.  Reese didn't get carried once.  Colby fell and scraped his knee so Darren had to carry him some of the way back down but other than that they were troopers.

First day of school and Field Trip

Colby's a big 2nd grader now!  I love this picture of him.  I think he is one handsome guy!

 We didn't get the track we wanted this year but luckily Colby is pretty easy going and hasn't seemed too bothered that every single friend he has is on A track.  Poor guy.  I swear we are the only family that is not on A track in our neighborhood.  The good thing about being on a track no one wants is there are only 18 kids in his class compared to 28 on A track.  We've got to look at the positive. :)

Reese is in her last year of preschool.  She is so excited the days she has school.  Colby always tells her to wait until she's in 2nd grade, when school isn't so fun.  

She tells me how she wants her hair done every day.  She insisted on a braid for the first day, which she looks very cute in but...

 I like her hair in curls

 Colby's class has already been on a field trip that I got to go with him to.  It was a walking field trip to a pond by the school, where they did some fishing, exploring and playing.

I love being able to go with him and really love that he held my hand while we walked to and from the pond.  I'm sure those days are numbered but I'll enjoy it for now.  I love this little guy!

Baseball

Colby played spring and fall ball with the same team and coaches we have played with for a few seasons now.  It has been a lot of fun.  

He practiced a lot.

In the spring, they made it pretty far into the playoffs, which was fun and intense to watch.  Colby is a cautious kid.  He is fearless when he practices at home with us but as soon as a game starts he becomes pretty nervous and hesitant.  He still made some great plays and some great hits.    

Darren took over for a few games since the head coach had back surgery.  He's a great coach.

In the fall, the first two innings were machine pitch and the last two innings were player pitch.  It turned into a boring game once it was player pitch.  The kids are too young to really know how to pitch so there were a lot of walks.  A lot.

 The coach gave every kid a chance to pitch.  Colby got a couple of strikes and hit a couple of kids, which is pretty normal. :)  He did great though.  That's a lot of pressure to be the pitcher!

 

Baseball uniforms are the coolest uniforms.  He always looks like such a little stud.

Bear Lake 2014

Bear Lake was fun, as always.  We missed having Darren there since he was home recovering from knee surgery.  Wait, we didn't really notice he wasn't there. :)  Kidding, kind of.

Ally stole my phone and took about 400 pictures in 2 minutes, mostly of herself.  

 Morgan got to come from Puerto Rico, which Reese was very happy about.  

 You're never too old to build sand castles!

 We went and saw Juanito Bandito, the play, which was pretty darn funny.  They kept shooting fake guns and Colby kept making me cover his ears.  I guess it freaked him out.  Reese got really into the music at one point and was doing her own dance moves.  It was the best part of the show.

 Ally, for some reason, bought a gigantic pickle.

 Dinner afterwards.

 I love the view of Bear Lake and these cute kids aren't bad either.

 Late night swimming, which was freezing!

Roasting marshmallows and making smores.

 More beach time.

 Shake time.

 Reese and Jake.  Just a little bit of a height difference.  

Reese had a good time with Jake.  He took her on the sea doo and he was going slow and she told him to go as fast as it could go.  Colby, on the other hand, was too scared to go on it.  I finally forced him on it and he didn't enjoy it at all.  What is wrong with him?! ;)  He did love the water tramp though.  He wouldn't jump off the side of it for three days.  Finally on the last day at the last hour, Jon and I finally talked him into it and he loved it and didn't want to stop.  Hopefully he remembers that next time.