Arches

Since our family didn't get much of a summer vacation, I decided that over Labor Day we were getting the heck out of dodge. We were going to go down to St. George to visit Ev and Kidd, but they were going to be gone, so the Wednesday before Labor Day, I booked us a hotel in Moab. Growing up, my family would go to the national parks around our area, and these are some of my fondest memories. I loved the family time we had together and have been wanting my kids to experience the same thing. We left Saturday after Gavin's football game and headed southeast. The drive there was interesting, we removed the middle seat of the van and put all the kids in the back backseat. Other than a box of powder donuts split and a full bottle of apple juice, they did pretty good. It was also nice to have the middle out, because while we drove the short distances between the arches, Ky had some room to move around.
We got down to Moab later in the evening Saturday and headed to Hole-in-the-rock. It was closed. So, we looked on a map and there was a mark that said, The Looking Glass. We had no idea what we were headed into, but our family is ALWAYS up for an adventure. It turned out to be a very secluded and beautiful arch. We had fun climbing up to it and playing around. No one was out there, so it was just us. This got my kids really excited to see more arches. It was beautiful, and amazing at how they are created and it's always nice to see God's fascinating creations.
Sunday morning we got up and headed to Arches, with full intentions to hit Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands, but plans change. I didn't feel to confident in hiking to Delicate Arch, much to the dismay of Gavin. They were all rearing to go at the first couple of arches and then they got bored. Of course, Phil and I are mean parents and just like OUR parents, we made them stick it our and go to all of the arches we could. They really did have lots and lots of fun. It is neat to see how the arches are formed and the ones that are in the process of being made.

After Arches we headed to Dead Horse Point. Jaycee wanted to "see" the horses that the park is named after. She was disappointed that they were not there. We have a daughter that is very brave, or stupid, I can't decided. She likes to get right to the edge and lean over. Now, for those of you that don't know, Phil and myself, don't think heights are the greatest in the world. Phil worse than me. We were freaking out and she was just happy as pie. Her baby brother also thought it was cool to test the waters of "how close can I get to the edge" game. I thought Phil was going to have a heart attack. After Dead Horse, we were all too pooped to go to Canyonlands, so that will just have to be another trip.

On Monday, we headed home and decided that since Ky loves ROARS (dinosaurs) we stopped in Price at the CEU museum and then to the BEST park ever! If you are ever in Price, go to the Dinosaur park that sits to the North of their football field. It is so clean and one of the best set ups I have ever seen. There is so much to do, you can't get bored. We came back home and got right back into the swing of life. It was a much need vacation and I'm ready for another one! I think Yellowstone is next on the list.

Cub Scouts

Gavin has been enthusiastic about cub scouts. He started right into it the day he turned 8 and I haven't had to do to much motivation to get him to finish getting his Wolf. Within 2 months he had memorized the cub scout law and oath and got his Bobcat. They did a really neat ceremony about the story of Mowgli and about the colors that are represented in scouts and their significance, hence the paint on the face.

Next he moved on to his Wolf. He only had one achievement left to finish in May, but we were going to be gone the night of pack meeting and also in June, so we postponed it until July. Then we realized that my parents would be back East at the Boy Scout National Jamboree, so I stalled some more. Little did I know that that last achievement would be the hardest one of all. He had to keep track of his healthy habits for 2 weeks. He HATED doing it and wouldn't. I finally convinced him to get going toward the end of August, but he missed pack meeting by 2 days. However, he had continually worked on other things all summer long. He earned a bunch of activity patches, and 4 belt loops. He also worked on more electives, so he can get his gold and silver arrows.

Augusts pack meeting we go to do a rain-gutter regatta. Neither Phil or myself had ever done one of these before. We let Gavin go to town on his boat, paint and decorations all done by him. Most of the boys had never done this either, so the races were pretty good. He had fun and has some "new" ideas for the next round.


In September, he finally finished his last achievement and earned his Wolf. He also worked extra hard and earned 51 arrow points. That is 1 gold and 4 silver arrows. I know we are not supposed to be prideful people, but I really am proud of him and how hard he worked to get all of that done. Are only problem now is, he doesn't think he needs to go Scouts anymore. I told him he was crazy and he has to go so he can earn his 100 year patch. He only has one more thing to get that and it requires him to go to scouts. We still have lots of patches and belt loops and pins to earn, so I doubt this will be the last post regarding our Wolf year of Cub Scouts.

KINDERGARTEN

Little Miss Jaycee is FINALLY in kindergarten. After a long summer of questions, "Mom, is today the day I get to go to school?" We happy to say, that she LOVES school. She was upset that she didn't go to school the first day that Gavin did, but I told her Kindergarteners were extra special and got another week of vacation. She bought it, but still wasn't to happy about it.

Jaycee has morning kindergarten, which has been tough, not because she doesn't get up in the mornings, but because she likes to be up for at least 2 hours before she wants to eat. She has gone without much of a breakfast a couple of days, and has learned to eat while she can. She also stays four days out of the week after school to eat school lunch with her friend, Christopher. She loves to help sweep and wipe up the tables. She was so proud that she memorized her lunch number in 3 days! Her teacher is Mrs. Stowe, who just happens to be our street neighbor. She thinks it is cool that she gets to see her teacher on Sunday's too.

She is learning so much, her reading is improving and she is learning word families and songs. It is amazing how different she is from Gavin. Not that G wasn't smart, she just seems to grasps thinks faster. Maybe she actually cares more. I know, girls and boys are very different, and I am see that daily. She has also become Miss Popularity and seems to have friends calling or coming over ALL the time. She is such her mother's daughter.
Ky misses his sister in the mornings, but I like having just him. However, my life hasn't seem to catch on that I only have one kid and could accomplish more during that 3 hour break. Oh well, I'm sure that life eating Bon Bon's and watching Soaps can wait. I'll enjoy this for now.

AMBER ALERT

This post is to tie two and two together. Kyson turned 2 in July. I can't believe he is that old and full of it. LET THE TERRIBLE TWO'S BEGIN...
With that said, I will tell the tale of a terrible two year old from last Friday, Sept 10 and work my way backward.
My mom and dad headed to Wyoming for a trek thing, leaving me to find someone to take the kids while I went to a Cross Country meet at Murray City Park. Heck, I do so much by myself, I thought, no need for a sitter, just have them tag along. I have since learned my lesson. This park is massive and it just so happened that 3000 runners were competing along with all of the spectators. We were doing good with Ky. He was playing on the grass by my feet or rolling down the hill, but NEVER out of eye shot. I was waiting for my Varsity girl runners to cross the finish line. Ky was playing with 2 little girls. Gavin, who was standing next to me asked a question about a girl finishing. Not sure, who he was talking about, I turned to look, gave him an answer and turned back around to check on Ky. However, HE WAS GONE. I am standing in the middle of an empty soccer field and the boy is NO WHERE to be found! I run over to the little girls and ask which way he went. They point the direction and told me, "He went with some people. He told us by as he followed them." Panic has now set in and I'm frantic. We just had a rape case at the DI involving a 4 year old, so horrible, horrible thoughts were swarming through my mind. I took off running, searching, but nothing. I call my Asst. Coach and have her get everyone looking, find an officer and the AMBER ALERT begins. They were stopping cars and checking the river beds. I was running like a natural marathoner trying to find him. After 10 minutes, nothing. Then the Fear set in. I'm crying as I check around the park. I couldn't believe he was just gone. I kept telling myself he would be Okay, but the thought of "MOTHER OF THE YEAR" kept bouncing through my head and I felt incredibly lonely and helpless. Finally, I get a call from one of my runners who had found him 100 yards from the original spot, playing in the volleyball pit sand. When I finally got to him I just sat and held him and kissed him. An officer had to make sure I was his mother before they would let us leave. I was a mess. My lungs killed from running, (my legs, the next day.) I thought I was going to throw up and I had to compose myself. IT WAS SCARY ! I will gladly pay a sitter from here on out.
With that story said, Kyson is a little stinker! He is still a very happy boy, who's giggle is highly contagious. He has those rosy red cheeks and beautiful blue eyes. He uses his imagination continuously, and he is always into trouble. I know I deserve him, but man, he is EVERYWHERE!
I hate to admit it, but we didn't do much for his birthday. He's two, and I figure, he won't know the difference. We had cake and ice cream and he opened his presents. He got a lot of dinosaur stuff, a blanket and pillow, a t-shirt, and 2 figurines from his cake. The Yei's got him some cool trucks that he loves to play with. Grandma B gave him a great book! Grandma and Grandpa Bottema a Blue's Clue's pillowcase and sheet, which he thinks is awesome. Everyone else gave him money. I will buy something with it later, he just doesn't NEED anything right now.



We also celebrated Grandma B's birthday. Her arm looks bad, but she is actually doing great and the doctors were impressed with how well it heal.

I'm sure this won't be the end to my posting of Kyson and his wild adventures, I just hope that the next one won't be quite so dramatic, or involve the police.

Wheeler Farm and Olympic Park

My sister Alyson and I, decided that this summer we were taking the kids to do as much as possible. It didn't exactly turn out that way, but we did get to do a lot of things and I think the kids had a lot of fun. This trip was our "cheap" trip. Everything we did, didn't cost a thing. There is so much to do in SLC, you just have to find it. We took the kids to Wheeler Farm, an old, still working farm where the kids can pet animals, see how they grow and farm their crops, and lots of other things. Gavin worked on earning a travel patch for scouts white we were there. We found out some interesting things, like the original farms name was the Rosebud Farm and that they use to chip the ice off the pond and ship it around Utah for families to keep their food cold in the summer. We were saddened that no horses were around, they were out in the back pasture, but we got to see lots of other animals. Their favorite part was feeding the ducks. A couple of those ducks are quite feisty and I thought someone might lose a finger, but all is well. After the farm we had a picnic. This was interesting because my kids wanted what Alyson brought and her daughter wanted what I brought. In the end we sorted it all out and everyone had a great lunch.

After lunch we headed to Gateway to play at Olympic Park. This was where the medal ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games took place. It has a fountain area that people come from all around to run through and play in the water. On the hour and half hour, they have the fountains perform to music. It is really cool and the kids LOVED it. Ky wasn't so hip on the whole water shooting out at him, but he still had lots of fun. The water would shoot up and he would scream and run away, then laugh. It was perfect. As you can see from the pictures, the other kids had a BLAST! Their faces in the pictures are PRICELESS. I think Mally had the most fun. She has such a beautiful smile and it was a perm-a-grin the whole time. We played here for about 2 hours! They would have played longer, but it started to rain. After the water fountain, we did the most insane thing anyone with 6 children under the age of 8 could do. We went to Costco. Needless to say, Aly and I were spent and wanted to come home and take a nap. However, it was a fabulous day and I can't wait to do it again!

Treehouse Museum

A couple of weeks ago, my sister Alyson, my Mom and myself, loaded up the troops of Becca, Rachel, Gavin, Mallory, Jaycee, Madyson, and Kyson, and headed for Ogden. My sister-in-law Lori introduced me to the Treehouse Museum and we have LOVED it! It is far better than Discovery Gateway and cheaper! They have loads of activities and exhibits for the kids to see and do. They had a special traveling exhibit on puppets, like the kind used in Sound of Music. It was fun to see all the different costumes and stories from other nations. The 3 of the cousins had never been, which was exciting to see their responses to different things. We had so much fun. Kyson got attached to the Thomas the Train table (he doesn't play with the one at home). He even got into a fight with another kid who took his train. I couldn't be too mad at him, because the kid literally took it from Ky, but anyway, we did have to take a time out. Jaycee loved playing with dolls and the knight/fairy figurines. She would make friends with whomever was at that exhibit and away they would play. Gavin liked to play the US map game, but his favorite is the life size chess board. He actually played a game against a worker and WON!!! I wish his cousin Chase would come so he would play chess with him. Also, while at the museum, Gavin yanked out another tooth. That was number 6. With two more that are loose. Funny side note, he forgot to put it out for the tooth fairy for 2 nights! She is really smart, because she did bring the money, when he finally got it under the pillow! I didn't take a lot of pictures, but you can see they had fun.

Mt. Timpanogas Caves

So, I'm going in reverse order of our summer. Monday of this week I decided that my kids needs one last big adventure before school started. I told my asst. coach I was missing practice, loaded up the kids and head to American Fork Canyon to hike Mt. Timp. This was inspired by my dear friend, Harmony, who did it with her children 2 weeks ago. On a side note, she has 2 kids ages 7 3/4 and 4 3/4 and her spouse went with. I have three kids, one being a terrible two year old and no spouse. However, we hiked the 1.5 miles, even Kyson, did the caves and had an amazing trip. The kids complained, almost the entire hike up, but once inside the caves, they LOVED it. Gavin thought it was cool all the different formations and colors. Jaycee liked seeing the pink crystals and Ky was just happy to be there. It took us 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach the caves 1 1/2 hours in the cave and 30 minutes to get down. I'm glad the downhill was only 30 minutes, because Ky fell asleep and I had to carry him down. In the process I tweeked my knee and yesterday and today my hips have been KILLING me. I'm 30, I shouldn't feel like I'm 92!!!! Anyway, it was a great adventure and one more thing to cross off of my bucket list to do with my kids!!!