Clark County Fair 2013

On the train.

He finally decided he liked the cart on day 4.

Playing with the stick pony in the Kids Corral.

The classic Connor shot on the cart hauling trash.

Caleb worked about 8 hours a day in the ice cream booth.  

I take this picture of Cody and Jessie Culler/Hardy every year I think.

Putting on a puppet show in the Kid's Corral.

Cayden thinking that there is going to be really loud music.

The returned missionary hauling beer in his Budweiser cap and with a Rockstar.

Riding the train.

Our favorite clown friend PJ!

Pizza!

Ho-hee!

A Little Getaway-and More Summer Bucket List

On Friday June 15 I woke up and told Don that I had had it with summer and we needed to be spontaneous and go and do something. It had only been summer for a week but I was grumpy and needed to get away. We thought about trying to go to Panguitch to see my friend Amy or go to Cedar City to the Shakespeare Festival but the Shakespeare Festival was not going yet and my friend was at Girls Camp so we just decided to go to St. George.  It was not much cooler at all but atleast it was civilization  We didn't leave here until around 3 because being spontaneous takes lots of time when you have kids. We stayed at the Hampton Inn.  We like it there and it is very clean-one of my most important necessities when staying at a hotel.  They also have a great free breakfast in the mornings and we used some of Don's Hilton points so even better.  This was our first visit to a hotel with Kyle and it wasn't too bad.  After we checked in we walked down the street to Golden Corral.  On our bucket list is try to new restaurants since we ALWAYS eat at the same places.  My kids went nuts at Golden Corral.  It was great!  There was so much to choose from and there was stuff Kyle could eat too.  The boys loved the chocolate fountain and the cotton candy! We made them wait to get dessert after they ate their dinner and it was sure hard for them since we were sitting right by the dessert section.

Our arrival at the Hampton!

Caleb at Golden Corral on plate number 5

Yummy crackers!

Cotton Candy!

After dinner we went back to the hotel for a rest and I ran to Target and Old Navy.  When I got back we all went swimming in the hotel pool.  It was Kyle's first time swimming too!  He loved it!  I bought him a floaty boat at Target and he splashed and played and had a great time.  Saturday morning we went to the breakfast downstairs and then headed out to Zion National Park for the day.  Cayden has wanted to go hiking for a while now and it is not fun in a 110 degrees so we thought we would try it at 100 degrees.  It was ok until about 2:30 when the clouds all disappeared and the sun was beating down on us and radiating off the cliffs.  We parked at the visitor center and took the shuttle up to the Emerald Pools trail.  It was a mostly paved trail so we were able to puch Kyle in his stroller.  We had a backpack to hold him in but thought we would all be much more comfortable with him the stroller.  There were lots of people packing their babies in their arms and a few people with baby backpacks but we only saw one other stroller although many people commented on Kyle's 4-wheel drive!  It was much nicer to push him although there were some hills to go up and down.  That hike took about an hour in and out.  Then we took a rest at the lodge area and had snack and Kyle had a bottle.  Then we rode the shuttle up to another trail but this time I stayed at the shuttle stop and Don took Caleb and Cayden on the hike to the weeping rock. That was a much shorter hike and I sat in the shade with Kyle and read my book on my kindle app.  After that we had all had enough hiking and sun and it was getting really hot.  There were quite a few people up there too and so it took a while to get back down to the visitor's center on the shuttle.  We hustled to the car and headed out.  We were going to stop at Subway but it wasn't open so we decided to just head back to St. George for some Five Guys.  After dinner and a nap for dad, mom and Kyle we headed to the pool again.  Cayden sat up and watched TV which I thought was surpirsing because I thought for sure he would crash!  After swimming and baths we ordered a pizza from Papa John's and some mac and cheese and mashed potatoes from Village Inn.  Kyle would have nothing to do with the baby food I had brought for him so he needed people food.  Sunday morning we slept in and missed the free breakfast but we packed up and went to Village Inn instead.  It was quite delisious and was a pretty good deal too.  After breakfast we headed home and had nice Father's Day nap! 

This is a cool tree with a big hole that Cayden was sure had a squirrel.

On the Emerald Pools trail.

Kyle's first hike!

Swimming and swimming!

Cayden preferred the hot tub even though it was 100 degrees outside.

Summer Bucket List Part 1

On Wednesday June 13, Caleb, Cayden, Kyle and I went for our first summer outing. Summer here in Logandale REALLY makes me grumpy sometimes and this was just barely the first full week of it! Caleb needed a bunch of stuff for his scout camp and I really needed a day away from here! So we loaded up and headed out for St. George-it is only 2 degrees cooler than here but atleast it was civilization! Kyle was not a happy camper in the car until about Mesquite when he fell asleep. First we went to the scout store and then to get Caleb some hiking shoes-not hiking boots-hiking shoes. We looked at a few places but settled on Payless. After the scout shopping we went to lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. One of the things on our Summer Bucket List was to try somewhere new to eat and since dad gave it rave reviews a few days before, we decided to try it. Kyle had his first full french fry that I had to keep pulling out of his mouth because he wanted to cram the whole thing in. After a few tug of wars I decided to break it up into pieces for him.  Good call dad on the Five Guys place!  A little more expensive than In and Out and not as fast but much better tasting.  After lunch we went to Target and Deseret Book and then for another bucket list item-snowcones!  They were delicious and then I dumped it on myself just to prove it.  Luckily it was at the gas station as we were heading out of town and so we didn't have any more stops to make.  As soon as we got home I squirted Spray and Wash all over my shirt, let it sit for a bit and then ran it through the wash.  It all came out because it was Cayden's Sugar Free Tiger's Blood.  Man that stuff was RED.  It may have been permanent if it would have been the sugar full kind!  We were all pretty tired but we had a fun day. As usual Connor was working with Grandpa and Don was in Denver.  This was actually my first trip out of the valley with just my boys since Kyle was born.  I have not been stupid brave enough to attempt a whole shopping expedition without Don but I am proud to say we survived but only cuz I had such good help from Caleb and Cayden.  Here's to more summer adventures!

Kyle's First French Fry

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

The first snow cone of the summer-Sugar Free Tiger's Blood

Tiger's Blood-not sugar free

First Snow Cone Dump of the Season-thankfully Sugar Free Tiger's Blood and it all came out!

NewYear's Eve 2011

We had a busy New Year's Eve at our house this year.We did not go to Provo at all for Christmas this year because Grandma and Granddaddy were out of town.  It was quite a relaxing 2 weeks but it is almost over and it seems like it has gone too fast.  We started the day with a walk around the block a few times with me pushing Kyle in the stroller and Don helping Cayden ride his new bike.  Cayden only rode the bike around 1 time and it was with Don holding him up the whole time but it was a definite improvement from before when he would not even get on a bike at all.  It took us a while to do our exercise but we did it. After our walk we cancelled it out by making sliders and fries for lunch.  The diets will start on Tuesday!  After lunch I cleaned out the fridge and Caleb had a friend come over.  They played video games a while and I went and took a nap with Kyle.  Don watched football and Cayden played in his room.  After I got up I went to the store for a few items and Don made spinach artichoke dip. 

We made hot dogs for dinner and homemade salsa and I made the devil cake-Texas Sheet Cake and Caleb made vanilla ice cream.  Caleb and Dylan went outside with Don and he taught them how to make a fire with flint and steel.  They roasted a few marshmellows too. 

Cayden kept playing with Legos.  This one is where the townspeople hung a bad guy for saying there were aliens coming.  A little dark I know but atleast imaginative. 

Laura and Taylor came by around 6 or so because they had no plans for the night. They played with Kyle and the other boys and were espcially good at entertaining them all.  We ate our snackies and then played Phase 10 and then In a Pickle. 

Taylor ran home to get some party hats and stuff for the "party".

After the games they enteretained each other by dancing with Cayden in his room and rough housing a bit. 

Tackling Cayden on the ground.

This was the do-si-do move.

This was the traditional blowing of horns and banging pots and pans on the front porch at midnight.  We also had some of those popper things too.  We woke the neighbors I am sure because 3 of our 4 close neighbors are older but nothing beat the cannon that was being shot off all evening long not by us but somewhere else close by.  Connor stayed over at Grandma's playing games with her and Aunt Dawna and Grandpa.  Even Aunt Dena came over there for a few rounds.  Connor called us at midnight and said that there was a fire across the way and from what we could see it was pretty big so me and the 5 kids piled into Taylor's jeep and drove to where it was.  It looked pretty big but was just in an arena and was not threatening any structures. After our midnight drive we went back home where Don was making fries for the girls and keeping Kyle while he was asleep.  The girls went home around 1ish and we got Caleb's friend home soon after.  Cayden and Caleb still had to shower though so bedtime did not happen until around 1:30.  They were a little harder to get up this morning for 11:00 church.

Even Kyle partied with us a bit until I was able to get him down for bed around 11:30.  I went back out to the front room just in time for the count down and to hear the spectacle that was my front porch.  Caleb and Dylan sounded like dying geese honking and Cayden screamed a very high note while banging his pans.  It was quite an entertaining evening.

Christmas Day 2011

Christmas morning started bright and early at 6am when the kids called me on my cell phone to tell me that they were awake. That has been the family tradition the last few years so that they don't come over to our room and walk by where Santa has been and see what they got. Connor actually was up at 5 but remembered and stuck to the plan although it about killed him. It was really hard for the kids to wait but I had to change Kyle and start feeding him and we had to set up the camera and light a fire in the fireplace too. It ended up being closer to 6:30 by the time we let the kids come to the living room. Man oh man-that was the longest half hour in history. Connor needed to take his medicine much earlier because he was just so excited that he couldn't hardly stand it. Aspberger's and hoidays are soooo hard! We had the video camera on for all of 2 minutes because after Connor flipped off the camera the thoughts of having all of that for posterity was just not a good idea. Grandma Dottie came over like she usually does. All of the boys got a new blanket and 1 other present from Santa. Cody got a watch, Connor got cowboy boots, Caleb got a camera, Cayden got a bike and Kyle got a exersaucer. Since the family has grown this year we let the kids see what Santa brought and then we moved all the presents into the family room so we would have more room. After we opened presents the kids got to see what was in their stockings. Kyle fell asleep with grandma holding him around 7 and then Grandma had to leave to get ready for church. Mom and dad were exhausted as was Cody so we all went back to bed and left the other kids to fend for themselves for a while. They played with their new legos and watch some of their new movies. Don and me and Kyle slept until about 10ish and then we got up and made a relatively fast Christmas breakfast of pancakes, bacon, grits, toast, hot cocoa and juice. We had to hurry though because we had church at 1 and Don needed to leave at 12:15 so that he could practice with the choir for the Christmas program. We all made it to church on time thank goodness. The choir did a good job-even with our choir director MIA because her FIL had a medical emergency and they had to go to the hospital instead of coming to church. The talks were not super spiritual which I found odd because it was Christmas Day but they were nice even though I spent most of the meeting out in the foyer which will be a constant thing now for a while with the baby. The talks were about Christmas memories that 3 of the oldest members of our ward had as kids and one man who grew up in Hawaii and the difference in Christmas there especially because his family were not members. After church-it was only Sacrament meeting-we headed home and we had another quick nap and then I made broccoli cheese soup, chicken and wild rice soup for Cody since he doesn't like broccoli cheese. We also had the leftover rolls from Saturday and the pies and cake too. Grandma and grandpa came over to eat again and they played a game of chicken foot with the boys while Don and I cleaned up. Christmas night we watched Cowboys and Aliens and just hung out. It was a nice Christmas even though it does not materialize into the hyped up event that I have in my mind that it should be.

Waiting in the hall to see what Santa brought. 

My new bike!!

Cody's watch and Connor's boots.

Caleb's camera.

Um, I am not sure I like this!

Cayden's note from Santa thanking him for the delicious treat.

Cayden's light up turtle.

These blades are like gold!

Sleepy baby.

Cayden's loot.

Connor's beanie from Cody.

Cody's loot.

Cayden's new bike and blanket.

5lbs of Reese's.

New boots.

Playing chicken foot.

Ok, maybe I like this now.