Summer Fun

This month has been a busy, but fun one for our family. July started off with a camping trip at Fish Lake with Shaun & Mistee and Ron & Becky. It was rainy half of the time, but that seems to be a recurrent theme in our camping trips so far! We took the kids fishing at Gates Lake and caught almost 20 fish! It was definitely not a boring sport that day! Stella wasn't too into so she got some coloring done. Whatever keeps them happy!

We did the usual camping activities. Eat, 4-wheeling, camp fires, and such. On the
4th we got hit hard with a huge rain storm. We were originally planning on going to the Sevier Rodeo, but now we weren't quite sure. We decided to risk it and take a shot at missing the storm. Luckily for us it had cleared up before we got there. We found the softest rock on the mountain we could find and enjoyed watching the rodeo with the kids. Stella and Tristan were surprisingly into it the whole time. Stella has decided she wants to be a rodeo-princess when she grows up. She loved the cowgirls in the sparkly outfits. Tristan liked all the animals and the little truck that drove out during half-time (I guess is what it could be compared to). Aside from losing Makayla for 10 minutes we had a great time! The fireworks were awesome!! (Even though Stella asked a few minutes into them if we could go home)

We have tried to go swimming at the Kearns Rec Center weekly this summer. Stella and Tristan have such a blast going down the slide over and over! Stella has found a passion for swimming I think. We need to get her in some swim lessons we've decided. It's hard to get her out of the pool once we are there. Tristan likes it about every other time we go. He doesn't last as long as Stella, but still loves the slides.

We went to the museum up at the U of U. We went with our adoption playgroup. We took Tracks up to the U. Stella and Tristan had never been on Tracks before so they had a lot of fun. Tristan is obsessed with trains so I knew it would be something he would enjoy! We brought our lunches and had a picnic when we got there then walked through the museum for the next few hours. They got to see all kinds of gross frogs and stuff like that. I was beat by the end of that play date, but they had a lot of fun so that's all that mattered. Note to self, don't forget the umbrella stroller next time and don't wear heels!!

Finally, this past weekend we went to the cabin with the Duffin's. We went down Thursday and Bill's parents joined us later that night. We went swimming as soon as we got there. It was the perfect day for it. 100 degrees with no wind. Friday morning we went fishing at Gooseberry. We did pretty good! Stella reeled in all of the fish. Tristan was busy pretending to reel in fish on his new Cars fishing pole. We went 4-wheeling when we got back and when Jason and crew came up we went swimming again. This time the weather was not so great, but we had fun anyway. We got home later that night. It was a fun couple of days, but I have to say there is no place like home! After all of the busyness that went on that past week I was in need of some good down time!

Lately....

Lately we have had a lot of fun together. We've enjoyed several little outings as a family. We went swimming with Emily and Dylan at the Kearns Rec Center. The kids had a blast! Stella didn't want to get out of the water! Tristan was a little tired so he didn't enjoy it quite as much. After a while he was actually asking to go home and go to sleep (which he of course didn't do when we actually got home).

Stella had her last soccer game. She managed to kick the ball once or twice - not in the right direction - but still made contact. Most important thing to her was getting her prized trophy! She was very proud to show it off! I was most excited to get her team pictures. Even though she wasn't MVP she was certainly the cutest player!

Later that afternoon we had the Princess Festival. Stella had been looking forward to it for many weeks! I was probably just as excited. It's a mom thing. We hurried home from her game, got her dressed, dropped Tristan off at his Aunt's, and were off! Courtney and Bella were able to go too! My mom couldn't resist tagging along too. As soon as we arrived it started POURING! The wind was insanly strong and had all of the little princesses crying. We made our way inside and waited for the Princess crew to figure out Plan B.

After an hour of being entertained by Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter they started the festivities. Stella loved every minute of it! She was right up front when the prince kissed Sleeping Beauty and woke her up. She said her favorite part was seeing all of the princesses and princes dancing on the "ballroom". She danced with Price Charming and met all of the princesses. As soon as they gave permission to meet everyone, Stella made a B-line for Cinderella, her favorite!

We've had several little fishing trips. Once we found a little fishing pond in Herriman. My cute niece Aberdeen came along. She loves fishing too! We were able to catch quite a few fish. Then this past weekend we went to East Canyon and spent a few hours there. That was a beautiful drive and perfect weather for fishing. We caught a few good sized fish, but mostly caught snags.

We spent Friday morning at Wheeler Farm checking out the animal and going on the wagon ride. We went a few months ago for Stella's field trip, but Bill was not able to go with us, so I thought it would be fun to go as a family. The kids loved checking out all of the baby animals. We even got licked by a baby cow! Yuck!

Saturday we had a family reunion with the Duffin's. Bill's family from Idaho made the trip to see everyone. There were many people there that neither of us had met. Bill enjoyed talking with someone about hunting and I stayed busy chasing the kids around.

Monday we went to the Aerospace Museum up in Ogden. I had never been before but have always wanted to. And Tristan loves planes so we thought it would be fun to take the kids to the museum. Tristan was in awe looking at all of the big planes! They have a learning section for kids. They were able to play video games with controls that work like the inside of a plane. Stella looked cute in her pilots jacket! Tristan wouldn't let me dress him up unfortunatly. He would have looked adorable though.

And last, but certainly not least, Father's Day. On Sunday we had my family over for a BBQ. Bill was able to try out his new BBQ that he got from me and the kids for Father's Day. I was glad I got to spend the evening with two of my favorite guys, my hubby and my dad. My dad is an amazing father. I have been very blessed to have him as a role model, leader, friend and father my whole life. I have always looked up to him. He is one of the most selfless people I know. He spends most of his time serving others. I love my dad!

Not only do I have an amazing father, I have an amazing husband. Bill is loving, caring, attentive, and thoughtful. He is everything I have wanted in a husband and father for my children. He loves his kids more than anything and would do anything for them. He always puts them first and lets them know everyday in his words and actions how valued and loved they are. Happy Father's Day!!!

Graduating Day

Stella has graduated her final year of pre-school. She has done so well this year and I have seen many improvements in her learning skills over the past 9 months! She has had Amy as her teacher for the past two years now and Stella loved being a part of her class! She's made a lot of good friends and enjoyed all the fun activites that Amy planned for them.

Their graduation took place at the Kearns Library. Stella's Grandma and Grandpa Duffin and Great Aunt Chris were all there to see her graduate. The kids all sang songs that they had learned and sang many times over the past year. They cracked me up when they all acted out the actions to the songs! Some really got into it! After the songs we watched a video Amy made of the kids throughout the year. I'm always amazed how much the kids have grown from seeing the beginning pictures to the end of the school year.

And at last, the kids were called one by one to accept their diploma's. The diploma's had Smarties attached to it since they are so smart. Everyone got a balloon, and Stella recieved some special gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Duffin. Afterwards we went to Artic Circle with the Eichelberger's for ice cream. Now we have a few months before she is in Kindergarten. Stella is very excited about moving up to the Elementary School. I wish I was a little more enthusiastic, but it's just another sign that my baby is growing up! I wish I could just freeze time, but I am glad she is growing into a sweet, thoughtful, caring little lady. So congratulations to the Class of 2022!

Rain Rain Go Away!

Two weekends ago Bill and Rob made plans for us to go camping at Flaming Gorge over Memorial Weekend. I was really excited because I have been wanting to go camping places I've never been before. Bill and I drove up there for the day a hundred years ago when we were dating, but I haven't been back since. It was a long drive up there with minor car problems. Fortunately for us, we had just left the gas station when our transmission light came on. We turned around and filled it up with fluid and that was all it needed because we didn't have any more problems after that!
We found a good camp site at Deer Run and the weather was perfect! We were hoping it would stay like that the rest of the weekend. After setting up camp we headed off to fish. Tristan drove us all crazy by following us around saying, "I wanna go bish!" We probably heard that a thousand times before we were actually able to go! (I think Bill secretly brain-washed him into repeating things over and over until I cave.) We found a nice area to go fishing with lots of huge fish, unfortunately none of them were hungry. We didn't get one bite! I think Tristan was pretty disappointed when he found out there's nothing more to "bishing" than casting a line and sitting there and waiting. This is why magazines were invented. That's the only way women will agree to go! Saturday the guys got up early to go fishing on the river and Emily, the kids and I hung out at camp. They got back relatively early. Bill, the kids, and I decided to go on a drive and check out the scenery, hoping the kids would fall asleep for a while. It was raining pretty good so I couldn't take too many pictures, but it was still a pretty drive. And we did get the kids to sleep for a while!
It didn't stop raining almost the whole rest of the time we were there!

Saturday night Bill and Rob went back out on the river and we drove around taking pictures while the rain had cleared for a few minutes. When we got back to camp we tried to make a fire, but the wood was too damp. When they got back from fishing Rob went and bought some wood from the camp ranger so we were able to have our blazing fire and s'mores we were all craving. To me this is one of the best times during a camping trip!

It rained the whole rest of the night and into the morning. Bill and I contemplated staying another night, but the weather (and Tristan) had decided for us! We were done! We packed up all of our wet belongings and headed home.

It was good to be home! Both of our parents took turns watching Duke for the weekend since dogs are not allowed in the campgrounds. We were excited to see him! It was a sad moment as Duke stood there looking at us with his puppy dog eyes watching us drive away. I got a little misty-eyed and Bill told me to toughen up. Even though it was nice not having to deal with a dog on a camping trip, we missed him!

Moral of the story? Watch the weather before you plan a camping trip!! It may save some time and sanity!

Wheeler Farm/Hoagle Zoo

We are in the final stretch of Stella's last month as a pre-schooler. This is her last week with Miss Amy then she starts Kindergarten in August. Last week I joined Stella's class for their field trip to Wheeler Farm. I was glad I had the chance to join them and that Stella was able to go this year! Last year she had to miss it due to sickness. The weather was perfect! We got to see the baby twin cow's and Tristan was excited about the ducks and turkeys. I think he's starting to take after his dad a bit! Stella loved the horses of course and they both were thrilled about the hay ride! After our little tour around the farm we had a picnic before heading home. It was such a beautiful day we had to take advantage of it!