Idaho State Penitentiary - November 2012

The week after we got back from Orlando, we had the United Dairymen of Idaho's state meetings in Boise.  This time we took Lydia and Wyatt with us.  While Greg was in meetings, the kids and I spent some time exploring.  One of our stops was the Idaho State Penitentiary.  Wyatt and I enjoyed it and Wyatt was fascinated with all the details and facts that he learned there.  Lydia thought it was boring.

Is it just me, or is anyone else tempted to have a room like this in their house?...mostly just for a good threat, but still...

The Rest of October 2012

This goes against everything I believe in when blogging, but I'm tired of trying to catch-up!  So, here's the rest of our October in one big unorganized post.

We studied about ancient Egypt and followed up our studies with a trip to the King Tut exhibit.

Lydia and I ran a 5K together.  Well, together for the first half.  After that she ditched me and finished about 5 minutes or more ahead of me.  She was the only participant younger than college age and was awesome!  Everyone there was so impressed and cheered her on the whole way.  She loved it!

Rush Hour Jr. is our new favorite game.  We've had it for a while now but it's still one the kids will pull out regularly.  Amy's even been getting the hang of it and likes to play it.  If you're looking for a good Christmas game for the the whole family, we highly recommend this one!

 Dallin and Amy found a new way to play with Dallin's dump truck.  She pushed him around for a good 15 minutes.  He was one happy kid!

 Check out that curly hair!  I love it.  But I don't love that my baby isn't really a baby anymore!

The friday before Halloween we got all dressed up for a carnival with friends

Lydia as a flapper, Amy as a ladybug, Wyatt as Davy Crocket (he's been planning this costume all year), and Dallin as a mouse.

Lydia and her friend Kami

Amy and her dance buddy, Hannah

And the last week of October, Greg and I went to Orlando for some Dairy meetings.  We were able to go to Universal Studios this time and we had a great time.  Harry Potter World is my new favorite place!

Utah Trip - Part 2 - October 2012

After the zoo we crossed the road to This is the Place Monument and Heritage Park (I think that's what it's called...).  I was excited for this part of our trip but I wasn't sure how well the kids would like it.  We picked the perfect time to come!  They had just finished up with some school groups who were loading buses as we arrived which meant that most of the buildings were opened since they had been hosting schools.  We were able to experience most of the park without the crowds.  I was also surprised at how much more there was to do since the last time I had been there.  The kids actually LOVED it!

Pointing to JOHN Y. (Young) GREENE's name on the monument.  He is the kids' 5th great grandfather (on my side) who was with the first group of saints that travelled into the Salt Lake Valley.

Dallin loved riding the horse with Lydia

This blacksmith was so great!  He demonstrated his skills for the kids and made them a key fob to take home.

This was my favorite!  The kids got to attend school and learn about how school was for early Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake valley.

They even had to practice curtsying to the teacher (Lydia and Amy in the pink)

Wyatt cracked me up!  He was so serious about bowing.

Here Greg and the kids are panning for gold.  A definite favorite for them.

If only Dallin and Amy were as good at collecting gold as they are rocks...

They were able to take the gold they collected to the bank and exchange it for candy.

Can you tell we had visited the BYU bookstore the day before ;)

Hanging laundry to dry

Wyatt hard at work plowing the field

Ironing

and my favorite picture of the day! :)

Utah Trip (Part 1) - October 2012

Every year in October I have a check-up at the Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.  (It's been four years since I was diagnosed with a Malignant Melanoma and even though I've had several biopsy's since my surgery, the cancer hasn't returned...HUGE Blessing!)  This year we decided to make my appointment into a two day trip with the kids.

After a LONG appointment (luckily they have a private waiting room with a t.v. and games for the kids), we headed down to Provo to visit the BYU campus and see some of our old stomping grounds.

Wyatt and Greg had to test out Wyatt's new BYU football while on campus.

*also note his new camoflauge BYU hat...his two loves combined!

We also drove past the house we lived in while attending school there.  When we were first married we lived in the 1 bedroom basement apartment of this house and then moved upstairs to the 2 bedroom rental which is where Lydia lived for her first 3 months.  Good memories!

That evening we met up for dinner with my cousin Lyndsy, her husband Kahler, and their adorable kiddos.  Love this girl!!!

The next day we headed back to Salt Lake for more fun.  Our first stop was the Zoo.  We hadn't been to Hogle Zoo since Lydia and Wyatt were Amy and Dallin's age.  They all loved it!

They especially loved watching the polar bear practicing his back stroke.

to be continued....

(mostly because I get SO TIRED of waiting for pictures to upload on blogger...Grrrrr!)

Camping - August 21-23

We FINALLY got in a quick little camping trip this summer.

I was two seconds from bagging the whole thing when, after prepping, packing, and loading the car by myself (Greg didn't go with us this trip), and after buckling Dallin into the car seat an hour before leaving (just to contain him and keep him from UN-packing everything), AND after listening to the the other three kids ask me 25,000 times, "when is it time to go"....I found myself stressed to the max and ready to get the show on the road, only to discover the keys missing.  Fortunately Amy knew exactly where they were...in the cup holder being blocked by the middle seat that I had laid down to accomodate most of our camping stuff.

GRRRRRR!

So, after unpacking the entire middle of the car (cooler, rubbermaids, lawn chairs, and all of our bedding), I was able to lift the seat, retrieve the keys, re-pack the car and THEN get on the road.  I'm tellin ya...THIS close to bagging it!

Luckily I didn't because we had a great time and the kids were thrilled to finally get their camping in for the summer.

 My parents and aunt and uncle just bought a cabin and we were excited to use it for the first time.

 Wyatt found a small hole and was just sure he could catch a gopher in it (our yard is full of gopher holes and he and Greg have been setting traps for them).  He got right to work digging a nice big hole right in front of the cabin.  He gave up on finding a gopher after a while but used it to collect things in instead.

 On our second day there, Carrie and I decided to take the kids for a drive to explore the area.  I remembered a trail up to Pike Mountain that I had hiked with my Grandpa LaMar years ago and Lydia and I planned to hike it...until we found out you could drive right to the very top...much better option ;)  This way we were all able to enjoy the view from the top!

 Yeah...we look rough.  Keep in mind we were camping! ;)

 This picture was taken on our 2nd trip up to Pike Mountain when Jared (my BIL) and my mom tagged along.  The kids were more than happy to follow Uncle Jared off the beaten path and over the edge.  He's a little more adventurous than their boring mother.

Before leaving to go home, we stopped to do a quick little hike to Ross Falls.  It was the perfect hike for these kiddos.  Ross Falls isn't a super impressive waterfall, but fortunately my kids are easy to impress.

 My cousin Kennedy came up on the second day and stayed the last night with Lydia.  These two are only 6 months apart and had a BLAST together.