Fall. Break.

I love fall break.

It always seems to come just when I start thinking, "Our family could use a break from the rigorous routine we run every day." Also, as the weather cools down I love nothing more than to snuggle up someplace away from the constant distractions of life that pull us all in different directions and reconnect with warm drinks and slow nights.

I scheduled a time share in Garden City, Utah to visit Bear Lake.  I've never been and the kids have never been. Scotty had been years ago.  We've been doing some planning in preparation for our getaway.  We picked secret friend names to do secret service for while we were away, we planned some games to play and planned our menu.

We loaded up the van on Friday, Oct.11th. Our first stop is always the folks in Farr West. They had new bunnies and my kids were dying to see them.

As we headed for Sardine Canyon we stopped in Brigham City to see the newest temple in Utah. It really is stunning.  We also drove by Grandma Stallings old house before heading on our way. 

 The foliage through the canyon was so fantastic I stopped multiple times to snap pictures.

 Here we are headed down the other side of the mountain into Garden City. You can see Bear Lake shimmering in the background.

 We stopped here to read signs about the area. We were trying desperately to find out how Bear Lake got its name, but never really found an answer.

 I snapped a few shots of our awesome room. This is Scott and I's room. It was huge with a king sized bed and an accessible bathroom.

 Aidan and Cole slept in this room.

 Chloe and Grace got the murphy bed in the closet there and Asher took the couch.

 Within a few minutes of unpacking the kids hit the pool. We were the only ones there for the night. It was plenty warm and they had a great time while I made some clam chowder for dinner. That night we rented So We Bought a Zoo. It was a fun family movie and the we all really enjoyed it in  front of the fireplace with snacks.

 There was a bit of craziness that night however. When the boys were headed to bed they noticed a spider in their room. Being terrified of spiders I called maintenance at 10:00 at night and had them come get it. The guy happily grabbed it with a tissue and thought he'd be on his way when I questioned him as to what kind of spider that was. It was unfamiliar to me.  Just a little hobo he says. WHAT?!!!
Hold it. Those are poisonous.
I'm crouched on the end of my bed now. Kids are laughing. Scott is snorting.
You'll have to go get some poison spray and come back sir. I'll be going through every inch of this place and you'll be following with poison. I checked all bedding, searched the boys room for points of entry. Had him spray the closet and around windows and exterior doors.  He had a good laugh, but I felt better about going to bed. Kind of. I reassured the boys they were safe and then went to bed and slept on top of the covers. I just couldn't get over the feeling that something might be down in my sheets.

The next morning we decided to walk the boardwalk down to the very receded lake. The boardwalk was beautiful and very accessible, so a win win for us. Kind wish we'd had a photographer and gotten an awesome family photo right here.

 Having never been to Bear Lake before we didn't know any different, but this lake wasn't too exciting. We walked the beaches and the boys collected items and ran and explored. They came back with mud sprayed up the back of their pants, so job well done.

 We decided to drive around town a bit.  It was a quaint little town. We drove south to Laketown and decided this would be a great town to live in if you wanted to be able to explore the land and have a lot of space. It really was beautiful. We stopped at the candy store and Scotty bought us all a treat. He also bought his secret person some chocolate covered raspberries. She loved them!

That afternoon Scotty and I discussed some options with our free time. We decided it would be a great memory to drive back into Logan Canyon to Beaver Creek Lodge and do some horseback riding and ATVing. Grace was too young to ride the horses, so Scott, Chloe and Grace rented a razor and headed for the hills.  They were so excited for the adventure.

 I took the boys over to the horses for a ride through the mountains.
They were skeptical at first, assuming the horses would be lead by someone else and you'd go round and round in a circle. Not the case. Our guide picked us each out a horse.
I got Captain, Asher got        , Aidan got        , and Cole got.

 We had a quick lesson on steering a horse and headed out. Our guide was the owner of Beaver Creek Lodge. A very nice guy and smart entrepreneur.  The boys were just silly with excitement over the complete control of their horses.  They commented every time a horse went to the bathroom or sneezed, or trotted.  It just made me giggle.

 Our ride followed trails, but it wasn't just flat terrain. We headed up hills, over rocky plains, through a creek. It was beautiful and serene, and so wonderful on a horse.  I think I should've been a horse girl. We had the guide dog following us too.  The boys kept a close eye on him and he wound in and out of the horses without getting stepped on.  

 Our guide complimented how well the boys did on their horses. It's true. They were great. No fear.
After our awesome afternoon we all headed back into town and stopped to pick up a famous raspberry shake.

 Cole and I got up early the next morning and went on a walk. It was cloudy and a bit rainy. I had a great time chatting with my boy.  We all headed home and stopped to hike the Timber Pine Trail. It was beautiful and misty and chilly.

 We saw a couple of really cool trees, and read about how the elements can affect the trees.

 Wasn't this a huge tree root!!!

 We stopped for one more goodbye to the horses we loved. This was their last day on the trail before they're put away for the winter.

 When we got home that night Scotty and I dressed up in our best country garb and headed to the Elder's Quorum party.  Needless to say I won best mustache on a female and Scotty won best overall!
Winner winner chicken dinner. The speaker was Brad Wilcox and he spoke on sense of humor. It was a great talk that reminded me the importance of not being too serious when things get hairy.

What a fantastic fall break we had. I cannot wait for next year!

Where there's smoke...

June 22, 2012

Aidan was able to attend a two day scout camp this summer.
Every boy's dream.
I promised that I would attend Friday with him.
We woke up early, packed the necessities and met at the park to carpool to Eagle Mountain.
Here's my boy between two of his best friends, Jackson and Miles.

The morning was very windy.  We started off with a flag ceremony and retiring a few flags.
This required burning those flags, but this proved to be very difficult due to the wind.
It took quite a bit of lighter fluid to get the job done.
Our boys first station was with the local fire department talking about safety.

 Aidan and Miles even practiced stop, drop, and roll.
Then we went on to proper use of a pocket knife. Of course this would entail carving soap.
This isn't the first time this boy has given me a heart he's made. I love it.

 While we were getting ready to rotate I noticed some commotion. Many adults were on cell phones, the fire department packed up and left. Gretchen got a call from home. The fire on our mountain had been pushed back towards our homes due to the strong winds. Our neighborhood was being evacuated.
Scout camp was over, and now we had some panicked boys (and leaders to be fair).


When we loaded into cars and headed back towards home the sky was black and ominous. How didn't I notice this earlier? I didn't snap a shot of it. We had a car of nervous boys. Some were crying, some were asking a million questions, some shared their knowledge of fire.

I started singing. Hoping to calm those who were really scared. We started calling parents to tell them we were bringing home their boys. Most were home, many were unaware we were being evacuated, and some weren't home.

At the entrance to our subdivision we were questioned by a police man who had blocked the entrance.
We assured him we lived here and had children who needed to get to their homes.
It proved to be a bit of a tricky situation, but by the time we got home we had contacted every parent and were able to get each boy home safely.

My own fear really hit me when I got home and saw my children scrambling to help their Dad pack up the important things in his truck, all without my help.  Ash was falling from the sky onto us. I realized what a dangerous situation this could have been if the fire had been more aggressive. I was thankful they all worked together and did the best they could to be ready to go. We had some bits and pieces of clothing in bags and a huge heavy duffel bag full of our scriptures and journals. We checked in on some neighbors who may need help and ended up taking Bridger and Cassidee over to a friend's house.

 As we headed out this was the line of cars attempting to go south. We ventured across Utah lake to Ginger and Scott's and crashed their pad. How thankful I am for family that lives close by and is so welcoming to 7 guests.

For a while the kids hung out in the back of the truck while we waited and listened.  I was hopeful that we would get to go home within a couple of hours, but as the day drew on we realized we were out for the night.

 We set up camp in the family room, and basement. I took over Kenzie's room and awesome bed.
Really, we were everywhere.

 That evening Ging had a great idea to take a picnic to our favorite AF park. We shared sandwiches, let  the kids play in the stream, and had some good laughs. It was a nice relaxing time.

The next afternoon we were allowed back home. It was a bit strange to drive back into the very empty neighborhood. Ash covered our porches and driveways, but everyone smiled and waved, so glad we all escaped real danger. 

Just You + Me: Cole

JUNE 21, 2012

I have to admit, our date last year was so awesome I decided a repeat was in order.

When I told Cole I'd picked swimming at the Legacy Center again he was thrilled!

We found our googles, snapped a before photo, and headed out in Daddy's truck.

One of the best things about swimming with Cole is we come up with some crazy games to play.

Oh, AND, I feel like a little kid again.

We had ring diving contests, went down the tube slide, laid under the bucket dumper, chased each other around the lazy river, practiced our swim technique, worked on our pool gymnastics, and even played shark on some of Chloe's friends we spotted at the pool. 

(Imagine their surprise when their young women's leader grabs them under the water and pops up giggling in their face!)

After we were all swum out we greased up.

Meaning we headed for some greasy American food at Emmett's and Ethel's in town.

 We sat out in the warm sunshine and shared a big shake and fries. 

We chatted about him starting all day school, 1st grade.

I told him how I would miss snuggling on the couch when Grace took her naps.

We talked about what teacher he might get, and hoped it was Ms. Geddes.

We told each other how much we loved each other and slurped our melted ice cream.

On Pioneer Crossing on the way home I noticed some smoke coming off the mountain behind our home. We decided to do some exploring and drove up to the top of the neighborhood to watch this fire.

We snapped a few photos. Little did we know how out of control this would get the next day.

 While we watched the flames Cole looked for animals in danger.

He was really worried about their homes being destroyed. 

Cole and Daddy went to pizza at Pier 49 and watched Ice Age 2 at the theater. I forgot to take pictures of the event and so did Scotty! They had a fine time together and both declared the movie to be AWESOME!!! They even brought us home the extra pizza.

Just You + Me: Aidan

July 25, 2012

Aidan is such an adventurous kid that it is easy to find something to do with this boy. 

I looked into something backstage at the zoo, and found an opportunity for animal encounters with some more one on one learning and hands on experience with animals. 

In Aidan's mind he was hoping to get in some cages and frolic with some animals. 

I had to talk to him about safety issues and such, and he seemed alright with whatever new experience he might get to have. 

Our morning started with an open discussion with some of the animal trainers and care takers. They talked about their education that allows them to work with these animals.  I could see Aidan's eyes light up as these ladies talked about all they've learned and what cool experiences they get to have with these animals. They know each animal's name and personality.  After this we had some lunch and headed out  to have some more in depth experiences. 

 This bird is very attached to its trainer. He was so smart and beautiful. Aidan was wishing that was his finger that bird was perched on.

 We then went in with the monkeys and learned about enrichment for animals. Because they are not in the wild they need lots of experiences to work their minds and bodies. We watched them put out cages with food and toys in them that the monkeys had to figure out how to retrieve. We learned each monkeys name and age.

 This little guy was my personal favorite. He was rescued from the wild because of his injury. Isn't he adorable. Aidan and I sat and started at him for a long while. This one would surely have made a perfect pet in Aidan's room.

 When the class was over we went by ourselves and I let Aidan pick what we should go visit. We went to the new exhibit to see the seals, bears, and such.

 Of course we shared an ice cream before heading home.
I loved this day with Aidan. I love watching his excitement when he soaks up new knowledge and gets to be immersed in the things he loves. He is such a wonderful boy. I'm a lucky mother.

 Once again I forgot to send my camera with Scotty, but he had his phone so this is the only photo of Scott and Aidan's date. They headed to Pier 49 pizza for delicious pie and all you can drink Apple Beer. Then right next door they went to see the new Ice Age movie.

This is a popular date, but it gives Scotty the opportunity to do dinner and a movie without driving because they are in such close proximity.  They had a great time together. I love hearing about how much they laughed.  I love the stories of drinking more apple beer than Mom would allow and just having a good time together.