Sand Hollow

This picture just makes me smile! Really what can be better than warm sand between your toes, sitting in the shade of a super cute big umbrella and watching your kids play in the sand and water with your amazing husband.

As I sat relaxing, I couldn’t help but think how this place brought back so many memories. Maybe it’s because we take an adventure here every year about this time and I picture in my mind the growing stages of our little family. I remember a picture of Bella, barely able to sit perched by the water wearing a little yellow outfit, tan hat and a huge smile on her face while Samuel splashed in the water (I don’t even need to look up the pictures because they are imprinted on my memory). I see Isaac as a baby screaming his head off as we sat him in the big Tonka truck for a picture by the water. Next I see Isaac as a 2 year old screaming about his feet touching the sand and not wanting to get wet. I see baby Jenna, about 2 months old, in the stroller wearing her cousins Jackson’s clothes because she had a blow out just as we got to the lake and I had no change of outfit. Yes, this place holds many memories!

But this may have been the most enjoyable trip so far for many reasons. The three oldest are getting so they are very delightful to take on adventures. Jenna can be hard, but things are much easier now that only one of the kids requires a lot of work. This was also the first year I didn’t have a nursing baby – much easier for me. Also the water level is very high so we didn’t have to walk across the sand forever hauling a lot of equipment. It was just really wonderful!

I also love this picture because we are the only family on the beach. There are advantages to the kids waking up at the crack of dawn. We were at the lake my 8:30 and literally there was not one other person on this beach until after 11:30. By the time everyone else started showing up, we were ready to go. You really can’t beat having the entire beach to yourself!

Jenna loved the water and was not afraid to wade in by herself. She did fall down and swallowed a huge gulp of water because she was having a hard time standing back up and trying not to lose her shovel. I took off running into the water to rescue her and was super glad I had my old camera since I didn’t take time to sit it down as I splashed water all over myself in the process.

I had to post this picture because if you look closely you can see Jenna’s first little tooth has finally broke through. 16 months and barely one little tooth! I also love her dirty face. She LOVES Pringles chips and was finding every little crumb the kids dropped and would gobble it up, sand and all. Oh well, I’m sure a little digested sand can’t do much harm!

I also couldn’t believe that Isaac was running and splashing through the water. He was terrified of the water last year. I just love his long curly hair shining in the sun!

 

And what would a trip to the lake be without building the sand castle and water system to the lake. This is Chuck and the kids lakeside tradition. I was laughing when Samuel was explaining to Chuck that they needed to build false passageways in the structure just like the Egyptians did with their pyramids. Samuel really took the Magic Tree House book about Egypt to heart!

All in all it was a wonderful adventure at the lake! I sure am loving summer!

Summer Happenings

Samuel has his last t-ball game this week. I was so glad it was not as hot this year the weather was actually very pleasant. Games were twice a week and we would get home from karate or gymnastics just a few minutes before we had to be at the game. Samuel had fun, but the rest of us are glad it’s over.  

This pained look on Samuel’s face captured what happened after every game. The players would get their treats and drink after the game and I always wanted to bring the other kids a little something, but I never remembered. This caused weeping and wailing and lamentation all around. Samuel was good about sharing his treat, but no one was ever completely satisfied. Bella even began saying she wanted to play t-ball just so she could get a treat after the games.

Of course everyone was all smiles when we went to Marv’s to celebrate the last game. We don’t really need much of a reason to celebrate with a shake at Marv’s. They really are the best shakes EVER!

The kids also finished swim lessons this week.

Samuel was getting pretty good at floating on his back.

I finally convinced Chuck to let us get an above ground swimming pool. He didn’t want to buy one because they look pretty “redneck”. Granted they are tacky, but I’m sure the kids will love it. He’s getting the ground leveled and hopefully we will be able to set it up this week sometime.

What Was That?

A few evenings ago, the girls and I were eating dinner when suddenly there was a loud crash that literally made me jump. We have birds that run into our windows all the time. I’m not sure why since my windows are NEVER clean. In fact, they are usually covered with little dirty handprints and red dirt. About the only time my windows are clean is when my mom comes to visit because she has a thing about cleaning windows. I always love when the windows are clean, but I view it as one of those tasks that’s just really not worth the time and effort.

Anyway, I looked out the window and sure enough a pigeon had hit the window going so fast it instantly died. Bella asked me if the bird would be resurrected someday. Later when Samuel saw it, he wanted to know if the bird was flying with its eyes shut. This question confused me until he clarified that the bird must have had its eyes shut or else why would it just fly right into the window.

I did find it interesting that it left it’s imprint on the window. Good thing I don’t clean my windows or who knows how many more birds would crash into them.

Camping Test Run

We took our first camping trip of the summer this weekend. We called it our test run to see how Jenna would do over night. Last summer she was difficult, but I was nursing her so each time she woke up it was pretty easy to get her back asleep. We weren’t sure how she would do so we choose Snow Canyon for our destination since it’s close to home and I could make an escape during the middle of the night if I needed to.

I’ve decided the key to a successful camping trip is to go into the experience realizing that you probably aren’t going to sleep very well. The kids did amazingly well and Chuck and I weren’t really roughing it since we hauled along our big 4 inch foam mattresses and two pillows apiece. Sleeping conditions were actually quite comfortable.

The other thing I’ve decided about camping is it’s pretty easy to spot “those” campers who aren’t very considerate. And it seems like we always end up right next to “those” types. Now I know when people spot us with our crew of little ones they count their blessings we’re not camping next to them. So we were pleasantly surprised when our neighbor campers had 5 kids. When we went to sleep that night I mentioned to Chuck that we were probably in trouble because the neighbors had left earlier in the evening and weren’t back yet. Never a good sign! Sure enough at 11:30 p.m. they pulled into camp and it was not a quiet entrance. The dad was in fact the loudest offender, ordering commands like a drill sergeant. I had to resist the urge to come racing out of our tent to inform him if he woke up our baby we were all going to have a miserable night. Then my passive aggressive nature took over and instead I laughingly whispered to Chuck that I would not feel compelled to try and keep our kids quiet when they awoke before the crack of dawn. And sure enough the kids were all up early and we turned into “those” campers. Horrible I know!

I’ve decided one of the reasons I enjoy camping is because Chuck does the majority of the work. He gets all the equipment ready, he sets up camp, he does the cooking and he kills the bugs. It’s a wonderful treat for me! What a great husband!

We found these GIANT marshmallows for roasting and making Smores.

The kids loved them, but we decided it was just too much marshmallow and won’t be buying them again. It was sugar overload and as captured, very messy!

Our campsite was beautiful and was already in the shade when we arrived. The kids had fun squashing all the giant black ants and exploring the rocks.

Jenna even joined in the exploration. She trudged and scooted right down the hill after the kids.

They even had fun just playing in the tent.

Based on the results we think we are ready to tackle a couple of nights next time!

Gunlock Waterfall

After our camping trip, we returned home, quickly unloaded the van, convinced Trina and Wes to join us and headed out the door on another adventure. Our neighbor informed us they had opened the spillway overflow at Gunlock and the water was cascading down the red rocks. We saw the waterfalls when we first moved here, but I’m not sure it’s been spilling since then, except when it flooded this winter. We actually tried to make the short trek this winter after the flood, but the dam was snowpacked and it was SO cold we didn’t get very far before all the kids were crying and we had to turn around.

The kids loved this adventure.

Jenna was a little overwhelmed when we tried to set her down. I LOVE the sound of  rushing water and the smell. I just want to breathe in that crisp, clean, beautiful scent. I grew up with a river that ran about 30 feet behind my parents home. During the summer, I would leave my bedroom window open and fall asleep to the sound of the water and the wonderful smell.

 

Bella, of course, got right in the water and caused us to have a few tense moments. Don’t worry Grandma we were constantly watching her!

Death of the Grass

I made a huge mistake after our Welcome Summer party (post details below). After I finished making the homemade ice cream I dumped the salt water from the ice cream maker on the lawn. When Chuck saw what I had done, he got a little upset. Chuck NEVER gets upset about anything, but he wasn’t very happy about this particular incident. He told me the grass was going to die and nothing would ever grow there unless he removed the contaminated soil and replaced the sod.

I thought he was being a little dramatic, which I should have know better because Chuck is not dramatic in the least little bit.

Sure enough a day or so later this is what the patch of grass looked like. And unfortunately it’s right up against the patio as you walk into our backyard. I really couldn’t have picked a worse spot to kill the grass.

Last night after we roasted hot dogs in the fire pit, Chuck dug up the spot.

 

Creating a dirt patch the kids couldn’t resist making a muddy mess with. That was a painful lesson to learn especially since I was thrilled when we covered up most of the red dirt in the backyard. The kids LOVE the red dirt, I’m not such a fan since it stains everything. Who knows how long we’re going to have this little mess on our hands – anyone planting sod anytime soon?

Welcome Summer!

The last of school we had a Welcome Summer party. I decorated the kitchen table with a Luau theme and bought the kids lots of fun little summer toys. I wanted Samuel to be surprised when he got home so I told Bella and Isaac they couldn’t say anything to Samuel when we picked him up from his last day of Kindergarten about the surprise waiting at home. The kids were a little confused and thought it was Samuel’s birthday we were celebrating so when Samuel got in the van Isaac said, “I can’t say Happy Birthday to you Samuel.” Then Samuel was a little confused wondering what Isaac was talking about.

I had purchased other decorations, but could not find them anywhere that morning. I looked everywhere and finally decided Bella must have packed them off. Sure enough a couple of days ago I found the decorations stuffed in one of her drawers in the laundry room.

When we got home it took Samuel a long time to notice the decorations and the other kids were dying trying not to spoil the surprise. He was too busy pulling papers out of his backpack and telling us all about his last day of school. Finally he noticed the table and then all the kids excitedly looked through everything.

I was racking my brain trying to come up with what could be our fun last day of school tradition and finally decided that nothing screams summer like homemade ice cream. So while Samuel was at school, the other kids and I made homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream.

We went outside to eat the ice cream and it was so cute to watch Jenna feed herself. She was a total mess!

The kids stayed outside for several hours playing together and having fun in the warm sun. This picture just makes me smile because Samuel and Bella are loving relaxing while drinking lemonade out of their new summer cups.

We’re all super excited for summer to begin!