Sunday, October 24, 2010

Fabulous Fall



I don't even know where to start with our fun fall adventures. To describe it all in a word: fabulous! We have definitely taken advantage of the beautiful weather, crafted our hearts out, baked, decorated, visited the witches at Gardner Village, played with friends, partied with the neighborhood, and more. Believe it or not we only captured about half of the activities on camera, and we aren't done yet! We are looking forward to carving pumpkins tomorrow, attending three halloween parties throughout the week, and of course Trick-or-Treating on Saturday. How are we keeping up our energy? Candy of course!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Happy Birthday Brian!

Bri turned 33 this month, and we celebrated as much as he let us (he doesn't like to make a big deal about his birthdays but he's a very good sport). :) Brian likes 'experiences' as gifts which I think is so fun, especially since I usually get to participate also. So the weekend prior to his birthday I took him to the Glass Blowing Art gallery/studio at Thanksgiving Point where we made a glass flower. It was a really fun, hot, and educational experience. I seriously don't know how those glass blowers do it in those extreme temperatures - I thought Bri's arm hair was going to catch on fire! Luckily it didn't...
From Bri's 33
Then we went out to dinner at Asian Star - one of our all time favorite restaurants. We hadn't been there in a while and we loved it!
From Bri's 33
On Brian's actual birthday, the kids and I attempted breakfast in bed but he gets up TOO EARLY so we had to improvise a little. We did manage to catch him before he left for work, and give him a poster the kids colored and covered with his favorite candies, some presents and a quick breakfast. He had a boy scout court of honor that evening (talk about a dedicated scouter) that we all attended instead of partying. The boys weren't about to let Bri get off easy though; they surprised him with a 'Best Scout Master' trophy. I agree with the scouts, but have to say that even more than a dedicated Scout Master, Bri is the best husband and father anyone could ask for.
From Bri's 33
Happy Birthday Brian - We LOVE You!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Busy September

Our September was one BUSY month! The weekend after our three day family campout at the lake, we went on a fun and relaxing trip to St. George. One of Chase's favorite things to do while we're there is going to the 'Dangerous Park' as he calls it. I have to admit the unique equipment is a lot of fun!
From Busy September

From Busy September
The next weekend we were off to Yellowstone with Bri's whole family! We celebrated Michelle's birthday and had a great time searching for animals, hiking, and enjoying the beautiful scenery.
From Busy September

From Busy September

From Busy September

From Busy September

From Busy September

The following weekend I went on a fabulous 'girls night away' to Park City with some friends in my ward. We ate, saw a chick flick, shopped, got pedi's at the spa, laughed, talked, and talked some more. So much fun, so little sleep!

From Busy September
From Busy September
Straight from Park City I met up with my dear family and went to Lagoon for Allstate's annual summer party. 'Frightmares' was going on at the park, the weather was perfect and it was surprisingly not crowded! Chase and Clara are at such fun ages right now for amusement parks too, so we had a blast. I tried my best to keep my energy up even though I was completely exhausted!

Needless to say we missed a lot of soccer games in September, but the fun times we shared as a family was worth it.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Deer Creek Resivoir


One of my all-time favorite things to do: spend a day on a lake in a boat with my family in the hot hot sun! The problem is we don't have a boat, and this summer almost slipped away without a single chance to get out on the lake. Thankfully our friends came to the rescue and hooked us up with a picture perfect end-of-summer day that will deliver warm memories for months to come!
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The Guilty Face


This is what Clara looks like when she sneaks something out of the pantry she's not supposed to have, or runs outside to play without telling me, or trashes her room, or... well you get the picture. Her thoughts are a mixture of "How much do you really know?" and "You aren't mad are you?" and "I'm in trouble." It's so hard to get upset with this face, I usually end up just kissing it.
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The BEST restaurant in town!

Chase loves to play pretend, dress-up, act, etc. One of his favorite characters to assume is a waiter at a fancy restaurant. He goes to great lengths to get the kitchen/nook area spiffy, make a sign for the restaurant, an 'open' sign for the front door, even designate where the bathrooms are. Of course he doesn't forget about the classical music and even decorates according to the theme of the restaurant (Pirate Island Pizza was the most elaborate - with pirate hats, a burned and rolled parchment paper menu, spider webs and parrots and buried treasure decor... I get tired just remembering it!). He then carefully hand writes the 'menu' for the evening with illustrations and all. And then the fun begins, and usually goes something like this:


Dinner: Act 1
(under the direction of Chase)
Mom: Lets eat out tonight - I heard about a great new restaurant called Eberts!
Dad: Sounds good to me.
Chase: (wearing his basketball clothes) Oh shoot, I have a basketball game tonight. Sorry, I'll have to miss dinner. (Exits right, changes costume into his church suit and tie, with hand towel over arm and slicked back hair)

Dinner: Act 2
The family arrives at the restaurant. Chase proceeds to display the menu, take orders, fill water glasses, and bring out meals. After we are done eating our places are cleared and our waiter excuses himself. Shortly after, Chase changes back into his basketball clothes, goes outside and comes back in again as Chase... not kidding.

Dinner: Act 3
Chase: (Coming in from the front door) Hey! How was dinner? I won my game 3-2, it was awesome.
Family: Great! We had the best waiter, so sorry you had to miss it.
Chase: I hope you left him a good tip! Wink-wink.

I seriously love that kid! :)




Sunday, October 3, 2010

Smith & Moorehouse Lake


The first weekend after school started we took a family camping trip to Smith & Moorehouse Lake. It's such a beautiful spot in the world! We had scheduled the trip and reserved the site back in May, so even with threats of inclement weather we decided to go for it. A storm chased us up the canyon and the minute we pulled into the camp we flew to get the tent up and fire started - trying to beat the rain. I tossed our pre-made tin foil dinners on the fire while Bri worked on the tent and all our scrambling paid off! We ate dinner warm and dry under the 'porch' of the tent as the rain poured down around us. It continued to pour and pour all night - which was fine because we were in our tent. But then the lightening and thunder started. We woke up the kids and ran through the rain to the car to avoid being struck by lightening and it became a very cramped and uncomfortable situation before long. Eventually the storm cleared so the dog and I went back to the tent to spread out and get some sleep. No such luck! Within 20 minutes the storm was raging again and the lightening was on top of us - so we ran to the car once more. In the morning we were stiff and sore and still tired from the sleepless night. But by 10 am the storm had officially cleared and we were excited to have a fun day together. And a fun day we had! We fished, hiked, played cards, took a nap etc. It was sunny and warm (at least by afternoon) and dry! We watched the sky closely because Brian and I did NOT intend to spend another stormy night in the car, but it remained pleasant. After roasting hot dogs and smores over the campfire we enjoyed a restful nights sleep in the tent with no interruptions. Overall we had such a great time and made some fun memories - storm and all - on our family camp out. Even after two nights the kids still didn't want to come home! We will definitely have to make it an annual event.