Last Days of Summer, First Days of School...many more Football Days to go!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TROY!!!
It was a whirl wind of a summer! I had high hopes that life would slow down once school started...so far it hasn't! Troy's birthday usually signals the end of summer and the beginning of school, but this year we still had a good two weeks of summer to go! His birthday was pretty low key...just cake and ice cream and a trip up to Cascade Springs. I remembered the loop around the springs to be a little longer than it actually is...we started at a quick pace trying to keep the kids going and next thing we know we were at the top. It only took at 30 minutes round trip! We couldn't talk the kids into a second trip to make it worth the drive up there...so note to self: take it slow next time!Ben started 5th grade this year and moved over to the new Intermediate school. He loves it because he gets a locker...I love it because he gets to ride the bus! Oh, how I love the bus!! Sara's in 2nd grade and loves her fun, spunky teacher. I'm excited to be able to go and help with her class. I'll get to read to them on Fridays. I love getting to know the kids in her class.

Caleb started his last year of preschool with Ms. Karen. Oh, how I love Ms. Karen! Caleb loves her, too! His favorite part about school is Ms. Karen's new little puppy...whenever he's asked about school it's the only things he talks about!



The first day of school was the greatest day of Ben's young life. Not because he loves school so much but because he got to play his first game of tackle football. He has waited his whole life to suit up in full pads and play hard!

Unfortunately, our poor little team lost...notice the big Polynesian Dad's in the background. Our little 70 lbs kids didn't stand a chance!! They played hard though and are still working to get their first win! Go Wasatch!!

Remembering Grandpa...we love and miss you!!!

This was one of the happiest days of Troy's young life! Not only did the Cougar's get to play in the Cowboy's new stadium but they actually WON!! The excitement carried over to Sunday and the blessed BYU victory tie was pulled out of the back of the closet where I had it hidden since the last time he wore it! Oh, how I love that tie....Go Cougs!!

Yellowstone

Our latest big adventure was to Yellowstone with Nanny, Poppy and our cousin Wyatt. We had SO much fun! It is so beautiful there and so many incredible things to see. The kids favorite stop was at Mud Volcano...we loved the Churning Cauldron but the big hit was Dragon's Mouth Spring. The way the steam came out of the little cave and the growling sounds it made as the water bubbled and churned made it sound and look as if there really was a dragon in that cave!

The weather there was crazy and so unpredictable...it would be blazing hot one minute and then rainy and 50 degrees the next minute! We were caught unprepared more than once and used whatever we had to keep dry and warm. In one unexpected cold rain storm we were in the Geyser Basin trying to keep warm with towels and the steam from some hot pots. It was a strange feeling because the hot steam would quickly warm you but the instant the wind would change you would be FREEZING again! We stood there for a long time just to feel that weird sensation!

We had lots of fun at camp, too. The kids spent a lot of time running through the trees, sitting around the fire roasting marshmallows and even did a bunch of "homework" to become Jr. Rangers...I tried to avoid the mosquitoes as much as I could! One night for dessert we made ice cream in a bag. It was pretty cold to shake but turned out great...that's something we'll definitely do again!

In our travels around the park we saw two elk, one deer, an osprey trying to fish, lots of chipmunks and thousands of buffalo! Caleb loved the buffalo and if you ask him what sound they make he'll tell you "BURRRPPP"! And that's exactly how they sound!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime...

This summer has been a whirlwind...we really have had a lot of fun. We've done all the usuals of swimming lessons, parades, fireworks, picnics, water balloons, playing in the sprinklers and more than our fair share of camping and sitting around the campfire...you wouldn't believe how much time I've spent doing laundry for all the smelly camp clothes and muddy shoes! Hopefully we'll have at least one more good camp out!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Father's and Son's Camp Out

Our kids look forward all year to the Father's and Son's camp out. Sara gets just as excited as the boys! We always plan a fun girls night out together. This year we went to dinner with Nanny and a group of ladies and girls from the ward and then went to a play "Beauty and the Beast". It was a really fun night together.

This is how the boys night started...It quickly turned into this...I'm not exactly sure what goes on at the Father's and Son's...and I'm not exactly sure that I WANT to know, I do know that it includes lots of dirt, not much hand washing or teeth brushing, big fires, guns and 4-wheelers. This year the Boy Scouts retired some of the worn flags that they use for their fundraiser. Troy said they put together a really neat program, I thought this was a pretty cool picture. Later Saturday afternoon some of us girls met our boys up at camp for a little outdoor adventure of our own...the plan was to do a little camping, cook tinfoil dinners and go for a little ride.

Caleb and his best friend in the whole world.

Me and Ben
It all started out great! Then it started getting really cold and wet. As we headed back we decided to follow the GPS and take a road that looped back to the main road we came in on and would take us back to camp. When the road disappeared into a big open field I started to get a little nervous. We could see where the road SHOULD have been and could see a trail that LOOKED like it led up the mountain to the main road. We decided to keep going and picked up the double track trail...we forged a river and started up the mountain, next thing I know the double track turned into a single track and the slope started to get VERY steep!

This is where we decided to stop and formulate a new plan! One of the guys went ahead of us to check out the trail...he was gone for a long time...a very long time. It started getting late, then it started raining, then it started to down pour, then the lightening and thunder started and the dirt all around us started getting very wet and VERY slippery...all we could do was to wait and huddle under the pine trees to try to keep everybody dry and standing up straight!

Sara, who is not accustomed to high adventure, started to get very upset. Going over the river had pretty much pushed her over the edge. I think she could sense the nervous tension in the air as we waited, the boys were of course unfazed by it all, they were too busy throwing pine cones and hitting each other with sticks! She started crying and saying "I'm never going to see Reese again! We're lost and Mike is gone with the GPS and we're never going to make it back without the GPS!" Justin was very sweet to her and tried to help her feel better.

Mike finally came back...walking back! The trail had gotten smaller and smaller and his 4-wheeler had rolled down the mountain and landed in a tree. Luckily, he was able to just let it go and wasn't hurt. With the rain and the cold and it getting so late we regrouped the remaining 4-wheelers, got turned around and headed back for camp. Much to Sara's relief we all made it,a little wet and cold, but safe and sound!

The boys had to go back the next morning for the 4-wheeler...it had minimal damage and they found all the important stuff...the GPS that had broken off, Mike's cell phone and wallet that were left in one of the boxes and the secret stash of brownie bites which Troy and Brian said were a little smashed but still tasted pretty darn good! They were able to get it out of the tree and rode it back to camp and Mike being the handy guy he is, had it fixed the next day. It certainly was an Excellent Adventure that I'm sure will be brought up at every campfire we sit around for years to come! Thanks Ball's and Marsh's for breaking us in easy...we love you guys!!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Ben played his first year of "real" baseball. By "real" I mean, the kids pitch and catch, 3 strikes you're out and the score's kept so that at the end of the game there's a winning AND a losing team. Before this year baseball has been pretty boring for Ben. He likes something with a little more action...

He found his sweet spot right behind home plate. Being catcher has everything that Ben lives for...lots of action, lots of pressure, lots of dirt, lots of opportunities to take players down!

He loved chasing runners trying to steal home back to third base, he even tagged a few of them out! It was fun to watch him play so hard and come home sweaty and dirty and excited about the next game. Good job Ben! PLAY BALL!!
Cousin Jack is up to bat and Ben's on third.

Oh, I wish I was in Dixie...

We took our annual trip to St. George and Zion National Park the first part of June. Whenever we go to Zion's we always hike to Weeping Rock. We have so many pictures taken right here at this rock wall starting with the summer that Troy and I were engaged...the wall and the view behind it hasn't changed, but it's fun to see how WE have changed and our family has grown! This year we also hiked to all three Emerald Pools...I'm so proud of us! That hike to the upper pool is pretty intense and we all made it! Our kids are becoming pretty awesome hikers, we all really enjoy the places we can go and the things we can see now that the kids are growing up! For all the hiking we did this is the only picture we took once we reached the upper pool. Just as we got there big, dark rain clouds rolled in and Troy was pretty anxious to get us all out of there. You'll just have to me believe me when I say it is BEAUTIFUL up there!
The middles pools were full of Tadpoles....millions of them! The kids thought it was the coolest thing ever! Kind of grossed me out!
Caleb's little legs needed a break on the way down...he ALMOST made it the whole way all on his own! Along this hike the kids counted 9 squirrels (not counting the dead one), 3 lizards, 1 million tadpoles and 1 too many snakes!
The St. George Temple is another place we always stop, I love the visitor center there. We were there at night this time and the grounds were peaceful and beautiful and the temple seemed to just glow.

Troy and Ben played a round of golf together. This is something that they are really starting to enjoy doing together. We have a deal with Ben that for every book he reads through the summer Troy will take him to play golf...we already owe him 3 rounds!

We spent the rest of our time in St. George swimming, playing and eating. The kids loved Pirate Island and In & Out Burger...I've never seen Caleb eat a Burger like he did there! And Sara and I went to Tuachan to see Annie. We had a great time together, it's so much fun having a little buddy who likes musicals as much as I do! She came home and loaded up her i-pod with all the Annie songs and has been singing them for weeks! We are already talking about next year's play, Disney's "Tarzan". So even though this summer has really just begun...here's to next year!

Home, Home on the Range

I don't think there is much that makes Troy more proud than to see his boys loving to play golf...except maybe seeing how much his daughter loves to play!!