Summer Pilgrimage to UT: The Brady Family Quick Visit

We drove down to Grandma and Grandpa Brady's with lots of trout. I'm not a huge trout fan and I didn't think my boys would eat much, but they all agreed to try it since they had caught it. Grandma is a culinary genius and added lemon, orange, and butter to make it delicious. With three good size trout, they might still be eating it when we go back next time. ;) They were such good sports about the whole thing. Grandpa also made us smoothies in his new VitaMix. Yum.

Grandma always sets up for my boys. She had a dinosaur floor mat with little dinos to play with on it. Liam adopted it immediately. The boys went right for all of Grandma's BRIO trains and built all sorts of tracks (just like at home), and had fun with a geo tracks train set as well.

The boys were so dirty from fishing and traveling that we threw them into another bath. Baths are so much more fun at Grandma's.

We all went for a little walk together, before we indulged in raspberry creme and strawberry pies. Both pies were wonderful, but that raspberry cream pie was one of the best pies I've ever had. (Does CA have Kneaders?--Does anyone want to start a franchise with me? The raspberry pie is reason enough to invest!)

Grandpa has been spending some time rock hunting lately, so he served as our guide out to some remote rock piles. My boys pick up asphalt and rocks in the parking lot (even if they're little and black-covered in tar!) so rock hunting was so exciting to them. Daniel had even brought in a few of his favorite rocks to give to Grandpa. Grandpa took us to a tiny place called Ophir. The rock slide just outside the little town (one street) had lots of pyrite (fools gold). It also had some other green rocks (I forget what they're called). Everyone had fun climbing on the rock slide hunting out the best rocks. It's a lot more fun when you're with people who know something so you can ask them about what you're looking at.

We stopped at McDonald's, in Lehi, on the way home. The play area was so much fun. They had a section for the younger kids that was all musical. When the boys went down the piano slide, it sounded like sliding down the keys on a piano. There were also drums to whack and a giant guitar that you could strum. The big play structure also had musical areas with swings that made sounds and bell that you stepped on the chime etc. Pretty fun.

We always have fun blowing bubbles with grandma! Caleb still puts the wand right up to his lips so I don't think he blew as many bubbles as he ate! Yuck. Daniel tend to do more alone. Liam tried to karate chop all of the bubbles that Grandma blew. I think she was covered in bubble soap before long, but she was so sweet, she just let Liam keep karate chopping.

The next day (Nathan's and my 12th anniversary) we took the boys to BYU and tried to get a happy picture on the cougar. (This time it was Daniel's turn to be a grump. I was nearly ready to feed the cougar!) Once we gave up on that, we crossed the street to the BYU paleontology museum. It's small but pretty cool (and the right price--free!). Daniel still refused to be in most pictures, so I tried to take some of him on the sneak, when he was taking pictures with his camera or looking a things. (The crazy things we do as parents to document that we WERE having fun together.) After some lunch on campus and BYU Creamery ice cream, we headed back to pick up Grandpa.

All of us drove up through the canyon to Heber to ride on the Heber Creeper (a train of course)! It was a fun ride, especially for my train fanatics! On the hour and a half ride we saw deer, osprey, and an eagle. The boys had fun waving at the cars and people waiting for the train's crossing and watching boats on Strawberry Reservoir. They also loved the refreshment car! On the return ride there was a train robbery!

On our way back down the canyon we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls. It is so gorgeous. Daniel took it upon himself to restructure the waterfall's path (he moved lots of rocks and would have moved more had we let him stay longer). Liam liked throwing rocks back into the water. Caleb threw rocks, and sat down in the water a bit. (I tried to get him to sit on dry rocks, but he was too busy to notice which were wet and which were dry.) Caleb is such a funny guy. He is always putting his head down on the floor with his bottom up in the air. (He's done it since he was just a little baby.) So I guess we shouldn't have been surprised when we found him with his head in cold water! He's done it at the pool before, but I would have guessed the cold water would have talked him out of it. The boys loved the waterfall and never wanted to leave. Finally, we promised to spend a whole day there next time we go in the summer. On our way out Grandpa spotted a beaver in the river. It was fun to watch him so close in the wild.

Once again I wonder how we fit all of that into 2 days. Not nearly long enough, but what a great trip. We have the best grandparents ever. We can't wait to go back.

Summer Pilgrimage to Utah: Visiting the Bohman Bunch

We drove through the night and got to Grandma and Grandpa Bohman's house at about 9:30 on Saturday morning. As we drove into Logan I pointed out the temple to the boys and reminded them that Nathan I had been married there 12 years ago. A few blocks later Daniel got excited to point out Charley's malt shop (I guess between the temple and ice cream, we were surrounded by celestial material).

The boys were so excited to get out of the car and play. All of the cousins came over for our traditional 4th of July breakfast. It was so nice to have all of our family there (except for Heather and her family in Germany, whom we really missed). Nathan and I were tired, but I was excited to meet and hold Heidi Jensen (Emily's baby) for the first time. What a sweetie.

(Shortly after breakfast Andrea, Paul, and Jonas left for the airport to meet his family in Florida, it wasn't nearly long enough, but I'm glad we got to see eachother.) The kids found lots to do. They jumped on the trampoline, rode bikes, teeter-tottered, played ball, and found a mound of dirt to play in. Grandpa even gave the boys each a tractor or truck to use in the dirt. Caleb liked the miniature tractor, but what kid wouldn't love playing on the real thing even more?

That afternoon the boys helped Grandpa pick up some branches and each earned $1. They were really excited. Then we set up the swimming pool for all of the cousins. They enjoyed it for a little while, but the weather was unseasonably comfortable--warm with a cool breeze. The kids took frequent breaks from the cold water to bounce on the trampoline.

Finally, the cold was too much and they all decided to move the pool party to Grandma and Grandpa's Spa Tub. They warmed up with bubbles and jets all together! Then Grandpa added bubble bath to the tub...It didn't seem like a lot, but the bubbles filled the whole tub and went over the edges! It was a kid's dream come true. Very fun. The kids had a blast. We had to rinse off their bubbles in the shower. It all reminded me of the Shel Silverstein poem that used to hang in our bathroom when I was a kid:

There are too many kids in the tub.
There are too many faces to scrub.

I just washed a behind that I'm sure wasn't mine.

There are too many kids in this tub.

The whole family went out to Hamilton's for dinner. It is a nice restraunt. My miso salmon was delicious. The kids were a little rowdy, but not bad considering the number we had there. Caleb really enjoyed his veggies--or rather his veggie dip (he drank his ranch dressing). Quentin L. Cook was at the table next to ours. As we were preparing to leave, Daniel threw up into Nathan's hands, all over the table and chairs, on Daniel's stuffed animal wooly mamoth and the floor. (I had taken Liam to the bathroom and missed most of the excitement. --Thank you to Aunt Emily who cleaned up the chairs and table to help out. She should have gotten the tip for the night. Uncle Jeremy told me he was so sorry, because he knows how embarrassing it can be when your kids do things like that--especially in such a nice place, but actually I didn't feel too bad. I think most people would likely have guessed Emily was Daniel's mom. Also, Nathan caught it in his hands and washed out the wooly mammoth in the bathroom sink--so I sidestepped most of the disaster.) I don't think the food was the culprit for the upheaval. Daniel had eaten all of his dinner and liked it. I guess it was just traveling + heat + no sleep + food. Life with kids is never boring! Quentin L. Cook had left before the incident, so at least it won't be mentioned as an analogy in some General Conference talk. Daniel felt fine afterward, and upon our arrival back at Grandma's, he climbed directly onto the trampoline with his cousins without further complications. As we did some laundry, we all discussed the need for a vomit cycle (or a chunky wooly mamoth cycle) on the washer. That could be a selling point for moms everywhere!.........Oh the memories!

On previous visits we've had to really beg Daniel to ride the 4-wheeler, and he wouldn't ride unless Nathan or I went with him, but this visit Daniel loved the 4-wheeler! Caleb and Liam love it too. They couldn't get enough. They begged us over and over to give them rides. Nathan took us on rides through the sprinklers! Grandpa and Grandma gave lots of rides too.

The next day we went to church with Emily's family. Mikayla and Conner are the same ages as Daniel and Liam, so primary was fun for the kids. I went to Sunday School and Relief Society for the first time in years. I love being in Primary in my ward, but it was fun to be with Nathan for Sunday School and Emily in Relief Society. Heidi curled up in my arms and fell asleep in RS. What a sweet baby girl.

That evening we played lots with family and had a delicious dinner (as always--I love when my mom cooks). Grandma and Grandpa took some pictures with the grandkids. We tried to get a good picture of the boys, but I've nearly given up getting three smiles in the same picture. Caleb was being a big grump and cried and screamed. Why would we torture him with pictures when he just wanted to jump on the trampoline and ride the 4-wheeler?

That night we did fireworks. The kids loved them. From sparklers to bottle rockets--everything was fun. We also had fun watching the neighbors' supply of illeagle fireworks. I'm not brave enough to buy them and be responsible for them, but they sure are gorgeous.

The next morning Grandpa took us all fishing at a pond in Smithfield. The trout taunted us for quite a while until we figured out their bait of choice (worms and fish meat). Daniel caught the first fish.

Uncle Jeremy, Grandpa, Uncle Jared, Nathan, and Ryan caught fish too. (When Jared went to put his fish out of its misery, his son Matthew got very upset. Apparently, he thought he was going to bring the fish back to his house to live.) Nathan caught the biggest trout (about 5 lbs). Liam also got one in the end, with Nathan's help. That is a lot of trout! We called Grandma and Grandpa Brady to let them know we'd be bringing dinner with us.

Before we took off for Orem, we went to Charley's malt shop (tradition!--besides, it's where I worked when I was in high school). Nothing in this world beats the fresh strawberry-banana frozen yogurt shake! My mouth waters just thinking about it! Grandma let us put some quarters into the juke box and the kids got to boogie.

What a sweet end to a quick but great visit! We did so much that it seems impossible that it was only 2 days! Thanks for letting us come so last minute. We love you guys.

Slug Bug!

Slug Bugs are everywhere--and Daniel finds them all. Everywhere we go he yells, "Slug bug!" We have two on our street and he finds them first. Today he actually dropped a rock in the car and asked me to get it for him, then when I leaned over to get it, he yelled "Slug Bug, Mom!" He had totally set me up so he would get the bug first. Sneaky, sneaky. Yesterday, he yelled "Slug Bug" while playing in the living room. Nathan burst out laughing and explained that there was indeed a VW bug on the TV! Daniel gets them all. Bug Off! LOL;)