Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Bear Lake 2012

We took a trip to Bear Lake earlier this month.  We went with our friends, Tyler and Jessica Hopkins and their 5 kids.  We do a lot of things with them because our children are basically the same age and they play together really well.   Anyway, I love Bear Lake and was really excited to go.  We camped in the mountains and played at the lake-the best of both worlds!   On the way to Bear Lake, we stopped at a little town called Georgetown for a potty break.  There was a little park there with very cool toys.  Toys my kids hadn't ever seen.

Remember these things?   Ryan and Pearson loved them.  They are the rocking/springing horse things.

Ryan and Pearson also were very fond of the car swings.  They wanted to go HIGH!

But the best of all was this-they had a merry-go-round!   There are no parks near us that have a merry-go-round.   The kids loved it!  I even rode it a little but my head can't handle the spinning round and round like it used to.  Haha!


All the kids hopped on for a ride and Tyler pushed them very fast.   They loved it!  Guess the safety nazi's hadn't visited this park yet.  Love it!

Saturday we went to the lake.  The weather was perfect and the kids loved it.  Blake loved playing on the beach in the shallow pools.  Actually all the kids did.  Blake is my water baby.  He did not mind the cooler water in the lake one bit.  Blaine and I took him out there to float around with us and he splashed and splashed and then fell asleep in his floaty toy!


We brought our snorkel stuff as well.  Garrett (L) and Topher really like using the snorkel gear.  The water was not quite as clear as it has been in the past because there were so many people at the lake but it was still fun anyway.

Off they go!


Miss Hannah playing in the sand and sandy water.  The water in these little pools was bathtub temperature.

Proof I was there!

Happy Baby!

When we got to the lake, we found a parking spot and a spot on the beach.  Blaine started taking stuff down from the car and I look down to see him talking to a guy on the beach.  Soon, a lady walks up and is talking to them.  I look again thinking, that looks like Grant and Erica (Blaine's sister).  Yup, it was.  They were there with Grant's family.   What are the odds?


Blake in his death jacket.   Ok, its a life jacket but babies hate them and think you are trying to kill them while you are putting it on them, I'm sure.

Tyler and Jess brought her family's canoe.  The kids had fun going out in the canoe.  Blaine and Tyler went out with Garrett and Topher and swamped them.  Then, they taught them how to get back in if that happens. Its a good learning area there because they could still touch bottom if they needed to.

On the way home we stopped for another potty break in Paris, Idaho.  We stopped and took a tour of the tabernacle there.  It is a beautiful building with lots of history.

The inside is gorgeous and has a beautiful pipe organ with wooden pipes.  During the week, the organist gives a recital and tells about the organ.

The builder of the building used to be a shipbuilder.  This is the ceiling.  It is shaped like an upside down hull of a ship.  Very cool.



We stopped for lunch and to see the geyser in Soda Springs and played at a park there.  Saftey nazi's had not been there either because they had 2 merry-go-rounds!  This one is set at an angle so as you come down, you speed up.  I rode it with Blake for a little bit.  Here he is loving it.  Me, trying not to puke.



They had teeter-totters there too!   So much fun!  The kids loved them!   Finding the right weight balance was interesting, though.   See the three Hopkins kids on the green one?


 Here are the dads on the other end, balancing the kids out!


Seriously a fun toy.  I used to love them.   There are no parks around here with these either!

We had such a fun time camping and playing with our friends.  So glad we went and can't wait to do it next year!!!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Happy Birthday Garrett!

Man, I am getting so behind in my posts.  Anyway,  we celebrated Garrett's birthday on June 27.  He turned the big 1-0.  Yep, 10.  My baby is 10.  WAAA!

Garrett is such a good kid and had a fun day.  To start the day off, he went to Krupp Scout Hollow for day camp with his cub scout troop (which also includes all of his friends).  Handy, eh?  No need for a party, he got to run, jump, climb, shoot BB guns and lots of other fun stuff with his friends all day long.  

When he got home, he set to work decorating his birthday cake.  I made it to his specifications:  chocolate cake in a rectangle pan, chocolate frosting.   He would decorate with Legos.  See below, the finished product all done by Garrett himself.  Well, I wrote on it but Garrett probably could have done a better job!  LOL!  Cakes are not my forte.
Can you read what it says in Legos?


Garrett got this shirt for his birthday, totally cracked us up!

Garrett wanted a tent of his very own for his birthday, so we delivered.  He was very excited and such a good sport after we tricked him, telling him that he was just getting a birthday card from us.  

He set to work setting it up, right away.  He even slept in it that night.  Its a nice little tent and should last a while if he treats it nicely.   The best part is he can set it up by himself!  Yippee!

Next came singing and blowing out candles.   Garrett was Mr. Independent (aka: pyro) this year and lit his own candles.  He was able to blow them out in one breath!  Go Garrett!  

My big boy is going to be in the 5th grade this year!  He loves to build things with legos, loves to draw and build his drawings.  He loves to work on the farm with grandpa and is a great helper around the house.  He is our chief lawn mower here and is a good babysitter to his siblings.    He is a tenderhearted boy with a good head on his shoulders.  His smile is infectious and we love this kid!!!