Park City

We had an awesome adventure at the Deer Valley ski resort in Park City.  Luke had a business conference here and I was able to stay with him for a day and night at his amazing hotel. Talk about relaxing!  Shopping, dining, amazing hotel with no kids kind of relaxing.

Then I brought the boys back with me the next day so we could all do some hiking.  And hiking we did!  When we asked the guy at the ski lift how long it would take us to hike a particular trail, he said about an hour, and assured us that it was "kid friendly."

Clearly he had never done this with children, because he would have known you always add at least another hour to anything with kids!  However, I'm glad he didn't tell us because it was an awesome hike, and the boys did so well.

Colby was such a trooper.  We carried him from time to time, but overall they all did so good.  As long as he had a stick, or a rock, and could play in a pile of dirt from time to time, he was happy.

This will be a day I will always remember.  It was so serene. 

(Well, not exactly true.  Anytime Colby noticed Jack was walking infront of him, he had to try to get ahead of him...and that led to more adventure, but we are used to that : )

Apparently he hasn't noticed that Jack is in front yet.

I have been on some beautiful hikes, but this was truly amazing.

Here they are, finally at the top! 

I was so proud of them.  As we would pass hikers coming off the lift to start their hike "down" they were amazed that we (the boys) had made it all the way up!

Colby and Luke are pointing at where we started our hike, and Camden is pointing at where we ended our hike, and got on the ski lift to come down the mountain.   We climbed 1,300 feet!

The views from the top.

The "hike" down was just a wee bit easier and quicker. 

They were so excited for this part.  I think that is what kept them going.

Maine Vacation-Acadia

One of our favorite days on this trip to Maine was when we visited Acadia National Park.  It is just what you would picture when you think of Maine. 

Forests, rocky beaches, and ocean!

Atop Cadillac Mountain.  It was windy with breathtaking views on all sides. (It looks like we are just standing on a rock, but trust me, it was a mountain).

This is the first spot the sunrise hits in the U.S.

Some were happier to stop for a photo op with Mimi than others.

Lunch at Sand Beach.

 Our boys love nothing better than chasing (or being chased by) a good wave.

Camden, king of the rock!

We visted an Oceanarium and learned ALOT about these guys:

and touched some of his slimy and facintaing friends of all sorts.

It was a memorable day!

Maine Vacation

We traveled to Maine in June to kick off our summer vacation and visit Mimi and Papa.  We had beautiful weather and played in the water (ocean, river and lakes) almost every day.  When we got back to Utah, we were surrounded by dry heat and smokey clouds from the wildfires. Yuck.

Here are some of our favorite memories:

 Kayaking!  The boys LOVED this.  They are still talking about it.

We happened to be there in time for our favorite parade.  A little rain did not dampen our spirits.  Just about every police, fire, and rescue vehicle and motorcycle, from Eastern Maine drives by, nice and close, and LOUD.  Not to mention, miniature semi truck/carts and monster truck/carts which drive close enough so the boys could high 5 the drivers.  Yea, it is a boy-type parade. 

Camden posing by a truck from his favorite city (and his namesake).

Having fun at Mimi and Papa's. 

Uncle Evan introducing the boys and I to delicious fluff...and "fluff-a-nuttahs."

Picnics with old friends

Whoopee pies on the beach.  Does it get any better than that?

Lots of fun in the water.

And fun with Mimi.

This is my favorite picture from our trip.  It says to me:

S-U-M-M-E-R

(And Luke and I left the kids with Mimi and Papa for a few days and we ran off to New York City.  It was so fun!)

Jack's Birthday

Jack turned 6 at the end of May. In between track and field day, the dance festival at school, and a million other activities going on the last two weeks of school, we were able to fit in a Batman birthday party.

 This kid loves super heros! I thought he would have wanted an Avengers party, but he decided to stay classic with Batman.

Here, the kids are trying to hit villain balloons with bat-a-rangs (yes, that is a technical batman term).



We had a great time. I love all those boys... and one girl in pink (my niece Marinn)!  Who says girls can't be superheros?

Here is a picture of him at Karate when he earned his yellow belt!

Jack and I had fun in the afternoons this past year when Camden was at school and Colby was at preschool, and it was just the two of us. He is such an easy- going kid. I am really going to miss him next year when he is in school all day for first grade.

Camden's birthday party!

Camden turned 9 this weekend! It was a little sad for me as Luke and I were birthday shopping because I realized that Camden is nearing a new phase in life.  He didn't really want a lot of "toys" for gifts this year.  He is growing up way too fast.

We celebrated his birthday a day late since Luke was flying home from New York and I was at stake meetings the night of his birthday.  Thankfully, Grandma and Grandpa stepped in and took the boys to dinner that night!

So, the next day we celebrated with our cousins at Trafalga!

Birthday boy is getting pretty high there! 

Then, we had a Skylander themed birthday party.  If you don't know what that is... let's just say it has overtaken the excitement of Angry Birds which was the theme for last year.

Jack was very particular that I get the decorations just right. He woke up early to help me and then was just about as excited to show Camden as Camden was to see it! 

 This is what they were looking at:

I know this picture is blurry, but their expressions show just how excited they (BOTH) are when Camden opened up a new character.

Thanks Jackson's for another great party!

Colby's Birthday

Colby had an exciting day today as we celebrated his 4th birthday!

We do daily "drive bys" past the fire station if we are anywhere close to the vicinity (or even if we aren't), to see the trucks parked inside.  Then we usually loop around to the police station so we can check out the police cars/trucks as well. 

So Colby was more than a little excited for our private tour of the fire station today, and has been telling everyone he meets for the past 3 weeks that we are going to go to the "real fire station."

Inside the "real fire truck" (not just any fire truck, but the ginormous P.G. truck that we have been known to follow around town for blocks, if we happen to catch it drive by).

 Colby calls this one the "old school" truck.

 Little deputy fire chiefs.  We were so happy that cousins Marinn and Brady could come too.

And even cousin Curtis joined in the fun!

These fire fighters are like Rock Stars to Colby. We saw them recently at the grocery store and

Colby was awe-struck. 

Next, Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a party back at home.

It was a beautiful day and made this little guy very happy!