The State Fair

I love the State Fair! I remember going there with my family when I was little and just being in awe of everything there is to see at a fair. In fact, in the summer when we would be on family vacations we would hit every fair and rodeo we could. It really was so much fun. We used to harrass my dad that he planned our summer vacations soley around fairs.

This was acutally the first time we have been to the State Fair in the four years we have lived here. The kids were so excited. We checked out all the animal barns and then some. Katie wanted to pet everything while Joey observed safely from the stroller. The bunnies were absolutely adorable and Katie and I were dying to get this one. He was so cute with his little floppy ears. I kept having to remind myself that we are moving in 9 months and then what we would we do with it.

I couldn't believe how expensive everything was. I thought fairs were supposed to be cheap. You expect to pay a little more, but seriously 8 dollars for a funnel cake, 4 for a lemonade and 3 per ride. Yikes! We stuck with a small slushy for a 1.50 which was still a total rip off, but you can't go to the fair and not have something! If you can't tell, Joey had a blue slushy that took a very aggressive washcloth and soap to remove!

What is it about fairs that draw out such unique people. I was having a hay day people watching. Oh, and the booths. There were some crazy booths with some very crazy looking people. Like this one for wholistic medicine one. They were selling some "fabulously natural product" to make you more healthy and prolong your life blank amount of years. The woman pedaling this looked like she was about 500 years old, but I know she was only about 50. She reminded me of the poison apple lady on Snow White. She was totally leaning out of her booth waving her product at me! How in the world do you think your going to convince me to buy that! She really was quite scary looking. And then, there was this guy for the funeral home dressed in his fancy suit with his coffin next to him. Dude, I'm at the fair! Why on earth would I want to be talking about my future coffin! And I can't forget the magical cleaning products for carpet, tile etc. I could go on and on.

Really, there's nothing like the fair!

Camping

Katie has been dying to go camping since the first of summer. We kept putting it off because John was too little. Then we were putting it off because he cries so much. It seemed there was always something. Finally, we picked a weekend and decided to give it a go. We decided to stay close in case of a disaster and we also had a "trial run" one night for family home evening. We headed up Millcreek Canyon to roast some marshmallows. Joey was really nervous about the fire and stuck pretty close to me the whole evening, but he was a serious smore fan. On the way home he kept talking about how much he loved the "outdoor fire dinnerhouse." We were so confused. Finally, we figured out he was referring to the campfire! That kid is such a crack up.

The "outdoor fire dinnerhouse"

So, the next weekend we headed off for our first camping adventure as a family of five. Todd and I were both a little apprehensive. We worried that no one would sleep including all those in the campground. Todd thought we should go to this campground up Little Cottonwood Canyon. He has checked to see if we needed reservations and it looked like you could reserve, but that there were some sites set aside for first come too. So, we figured at 11am on a Friday we'd miss the rush. Boy, were we wrong. Apparently, you have to reserve your spot in FEBRUARY!!! That's right, February. Lame! So, of course, Katie is bawling because we might not be able to camp now and John is crying like he normally does and Joey is chattering away about who knows what. We were a sight!

We decided since we were there we would at least go on a nice hike and then look for other options for camping. We hiked up to Catherine's Lake and did some fishing. Katie absolutely loves fishing. Joey remains terrified despite our best efforts. I did actually get him to hold a rod with a fish on for a few minutes. But, as soon as it got close to shore and started flopping around he was racing off screaming.

So, while Katie and dad were fishing I tried to calm John who was crying again and entertain Joe. Joe kept picking up sticks and swinging them around. And, being the peds nurse I am I kept taking them away from him to avoid eye injury's. Well, I wasn't quite fast enough with one. Katie caught a fish and it started flopping toward Joey and he panicked and took off running up the embankment, tripped on a critter hole and fell right onto the stick in his hand. Yep! He scratched his cornea. So, now we have Joe AND John screaming and we are a 2.5 mile hike back to the car and a 30 minute drive to the ER. This "camping" trip is turning out to be AWESOME!!! Once we were able to calm him down and really look at his eye we decided to just play it by ear. He didn't seem too bothered by it.

After we got back to the car we told Katie we would attempt to find a camping spot on Big Cottonwood, but it really didn't look good. So, now she is crying again. Todd and I are starting to feel like terrible parents at this point since we had gotten everyone so excited about camping and it wasn't going to work out now. Of course, there were no camping spots left there either. So we drove over Guardsman Pass and hoped for some random campground as we headed toward Heber. And, SCORE, a campground with one spot left. I've never seen a more happy little girl. She was absolutely elated. It seemed we had turned a corner. The rest of the trip went smoothly and everyone, but me, slept quite well. Camping trip was a success! Both Todd and I decided all in all it turned out much better than expected!

Joe's face says it all in these pictures. The kid really loves fish! (extreme sarcasm here)

Trout Farm

She still loves as much as she did the first time she went 5 years ago!







































Him....not so much!

Donut Falls

We decided to take a family hike up to Donut Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It's a short hike so figured everyone would be able to walk. It was a nice hike, but definitely a lot of people. Unfotunately, the flooding this spring took out the "donut" part of the falls. Katie was so disappointed. It sure was nice to get out and enjoy the mountains with everyone!

The Pool

It has been super super hot the last few weeks so we have been playing alot in the water. I have braved the pool a few times with all three kids by myself! WOW! What a production. Thankfully, Katie is big enough that as long as she stays in sight with a life jacket I don't have to worry. Joey is getting less timid about the water, but he still hangs close in the splash pad area. theses two definitely love the water! So much so, that I have no pictures of Katie in the water. Bad mom!!!

John has dipped his toes a time or two, but mostly he hangs out in his swim suit in his car seat! He looks pretty stylin' though! Good thing he is such a chub--he fits in Joey's 6 month swim suit!

This is the Place

This the Place Heritage Park

We finally made it to "This is the Place Heritage Park" and it was a lot more fun than I ever remember! I think they must have done some significant improvements since my elementary school day field trips. The kids loved it! Not to mention the day we went it was FREE. There were tons of people due to the free factor, but it was seriously 100 degrees and so we didn't stay more than a couple hours and the kids seemed fine with that! We rode a few trains, played some games, ate popsicles, rode some horses, played in the mini farm town. Like I said it really was fun for them. I actually want to go back this fall when it cools down to spend a little more time. Katie really wanted to check out all the houses.




















I can't believe we got this kid to ride a horse. I would have bet a lot of money he would have chickened out, but he really enjoyed it! He does look a little skeptical in this picture though.

A wonderfully hot Sunday summer afternoon. John is exactly 8 weeks old!

Hooray! It's Summer!

It seems like we have been waiting forever for summer this year! Well, it's the end of June and it has finally arrived. So, we celebrated at the Gateway Fountains. They loved it. And, John and I hung out in the shade while they ran in and out of the water. Joey didn't love getting sprayed in the face so he would walk through the fountians with his hands over his eyes. Fortunately, there wer no major collisions. I'm sure we will be frequenting the "water mountains" as Joey calls them a lot this summer!

Oh, and I wish Old Navy would make big people swimsuits like Katies. I really want one!

A day at Snowbird

We had one final summer fling at Snowbird. We seriously wore the kids out.
Katie and Joey loved the alpine slide. Katie and I smoked daddy and Joey in the race. We were flying!!! On a few of the turns I was just certain we were going to fly off the slide.

We also took the chairlift ride to the top of the ski hill. On the way, we saw this huge bull moose sitting in the water. The kids were so excited. It was so pleasant to ride the lift in a T-shirt and flip flops. It was a serious contrast to our winter getup.

The crew having a picnic at the top of Snowbird.

Katie was quite the little spider. We were pretty impressed. She made it pretty high and didn't freak out at all!

Todd and I rode this mechanical bull. Katie was dying to ride it, but she didn't meet the age requirement. Fortunately, there are no pictures of me on this wild beast! I'm sure I was a sight. Everytime I dared glance up at Todd he was bent over laughing hysterically. He kept asking me to ride it again just so he could laugh again.

If you can't tell, Todd is really into the bull riding thing!

And here's Joey! He's had enough of the bounce house and enough of this day!

Cherry Pickin' with Papa

My parent have this ginormous (sp) cherry tree in their backyard that was just begging us to pick its berries. Katie was absolutely thrilled to climb in and pick them! Papa held onto her while she filled her cute little blue basket. The colors were just so vibrant I couldn't help myself with the camera. Oh, how I love summer, kids and grandparents!