School is back in Session

 

School started back a week earlier this year, so on Wednesday August 16th the kiddos were back at it.  They met their teachers and dropped off their school supplies the day before.  The night before the kids set out their clothes and were excited for the next day.  Brooklyn is now in 5th grade at Galileo Stem Academy and her teacher is Mrs. Bivens.  McKay is now in 1st grade and his teacher, Mrs. Bradley, is actually starting the year on Maternity leave so he has a substitute, Mrs. Dykman, until October.  They both felt very confident heading into the new year.  The bus stop is a little bit further this year, they have to walk about a half mile each way, but I figure it is good for them and me on the days I walk with them.  They were both happy and sad that summer was over, but I think we were all ready to get some routine back into our lives.  Here's to another great school year and learning lots of stuff!

Mac Daddy turns 7!

 

We had such a wonderful time celebrating out birthday boy! I can't believe that he is already 7 years old.  He is happy, helpful, confident, energetic, a little crazy and the best hype man around.  Our family would simply just not be the same without him.  He brings a lot of energy and smiles to our lives.  He is constantly on the move and has a hard time sitting still, unless he is watching T.V.  He is definitely all boy and loves to burp and fart and talk it about it all day too.  A lot of family prayers end up with a lot of giggles.  He is very athletic and loves to play just about any sport.  I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for him.  He is already excited to get baptized and that makes me so happy!

Here is how we celebrated our sweet boy.  On Tuesday, August 15th we started out by going to meet the teacher at the kids school and then headed up to my Mom's house.  She had all the grandkids over to swim and have pizza for McKay's birthday.  His cousins and Grandma spoiled him with lots of football cards, Pokeman card, candy galore, slime and REAL baseballs.  After swimming I took him, Brooklyn and two of his close friends, Liam and Ryder, bowling.  We bowled a couple games and ate some donuts and he opened a few presents before I took the boys home.  McKay was very anxious to open the rest of his presents so finally after Brooklyn got home from soccer practice he got to open his presents from us and Brooklyn.  He was pretty excited about the 2 jersey's he got, Josh Allen and Ja'Marr Chase.  He also got a BSU sweatshirt, some new boogie boards (since he keeps breaking his other ones), a new watch (again he keeps breaking those, we will see how long this one lasts) and a book and some more slime from his sister.  Nana and Pops then came over with a balloon and candy and one last gift to open, a real life baseball glove.  We then ended the night with a candle in a donut.  

We finished the rest of his celebrations throughout the rest of the week.  Thursday evening we went out to dinner with Nana and Pops for his birthday at Smoky Mountain Pizza and then on Sunday my mom did a birthday dinner for McKay and my sister Tiffany.  He is a very loved little boy and it was fun getting to celebrate him.  We love him so much!

Family Reunion at Bear Lake

 

We got back from camping Tuesday evening and the kids and I headed to Bear Lake with my Mom and Tucker bright and early the next morning, Wednesday July 19th.  We met the rest of my sisters and their families minus Craig and Llyr at the cabin that my Aunt Tricia got for us to stay at.  It had plenty of space for everyone and had a lovely view of the lake.  Wednesday afternoon and evening we just hung at the cabin and grabbed some pizza for dinner.  Thursday morning after a quick run with my sister and niece we got everyone ready to head to the lake.  Luckily my aunt has a boat that she took us out on to surf and tube.  We set up a canopy and sun umbrellas and a bunch of chairs, packed lunches and hung at the beach all day.  When we got back to the cabin everyone took a quick cold shower and then we got dinner put together.  We ate and played in the backyard, chatted and made bracelets.  Craig drove in after work and got in about midnight.  

Friday morning we got in a quick kettlebell workout and then got everyone and everything loaded up to head back to the beach.  We spent the day playing in the sand and on the boat and headed back to the cabin once we were all worn out.  We all showered and then got dinner put together.  Luckily Tiffany had planned out all the food and purchased it, which made everything a lot simpler. 

I was put in charge of finding a hike for us to do Saturday morning.  I found one up the Logan Canyon, about 45 minutes away, The Wind Cave Trail.  It was a 4 mile hike up to some cool caves, the problem was that it was about 90 degrees by the time we started the hike.  It was very hot with not a lot of shade, but we pressed onward and upward and eventually made it to the top.  Some children were carried, some heads were dunked in the creek, but everyone came out alive.  After our hike we headed back into Bear Lake to fill our bellies with some of their famous raspberry shakes.  Grandma treated all the kids to a shake and lucky for us adults, most of them couldn't finished a whole one, so we volunteered to finish it for them.  After our milkshakes we headed back to the cabin for a shower, not quite as cold this time, and dinner.  The kids watched Napoleon Dynamite, this was the first time our kids have seen it and they were quite impressed.  We took a break and put some regular clothes on to have Tricia take some quick family pictures.  After we finally got the kids to bed, the adults stayed up late chatting until we couldn't keep our eyes open any more.  

Sunday morning we quickly cleaned up what we could before we headed back home.  We had a wonderful time together as a family.  A lot of great memories were made.  It is always so much fun to watch the cousins together, they all get a long so well and are such great friends.  I hope they stay this close forever.  Bear Lake is always beautiful and I am so grateful we had the opportunity to go and spend time together as a family. Tricia really hooked us up and helped make it a simple yet memorable family reunion.

Camping at Hazard Lake

 

It had been a couple of years since we had been camping so we were due for a camping trip.  We headed up to McCall the morning of Friday July 14th.  On Saturday we spent the day at the lake and then headed to My Father's Place for a late lunch.  

Sunday after church we then got everything loaded up to head up to Hazard Lake.  Stan and Diane rented a small RV and we set up a tent at our favorite spot at Hazard.  We spent Sunday afternoon setting up camp and then drove to some random place to do some shooting.  The kids had the best time shooting and did great.  When we got back to camp we cooked up a super yummy steak dinner over the fire and then roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.  We all slept good enough and woke up early to a thunderstorm, luckily we had put the rain tarp on, we all eventually fell back asleep and woke back up once the storm was over.  After some egg and sausage breakfast burritos we loaded our hiking bags into the truck and headed to the trail head.  We hiked into Lava Butte Lakes with Stan.  It was a fairly short hike, about 5 miles round trip, but it was beautiful.  It was a little bit different scenery than usual but all the lava rocks were really beautiful.  When we got back to camp we went out onto lake with the paddleboard. The kids and Craig jumped into the lake and we all cleaned off the best we could.  The kids spent the rest of the afternoon building forts, climbing rocks and getting dirty.  McKay was living his best life.  Stan and Diane out did themselves with a full dutch oven dinner and cobbler.  I ate until I was way to full, but it was all just so good.  We all slept pretty well that night and woke up Tuesday morning and cleaned up camp and headed back to the cabin to unload what needed to be left there and to take a shower before heading back home.  We had such a great time but two nights was definitely enough for me.  It is always nice going with Stan and Diane because they do about 90% of the work and have all the equipment that we don't have.  It makes it a lot simpler and enjoyable to do the camping thing.  Camping is always a great way to create memories and a lot of fun ones were made this weekend.