7/20-7/21 Sunday + Monday Family Fun Day

Here it is, November 2nd...I am determined to catch up this blog today while I'm home sick from church, so here goes... first off is to finish blogging about our summer trip to Utah.

We all look so bored and somber in these pictures, but we love to gather on a Sunday afternoon/evening around the table to eat and visit with one another.

I remember when my parents purchased this table for their dining room.  It seats 10-12 people, and we knew that someday all the seats would be filled with not only our immediate family, but our spouses and children.  We fill every seat at this table, the kitchen table, and then some!  It's a full house, but I love it.

I remember when my parents purchased this table for their dining room.  It seats 10-12 people, and we knew that someday all the seats would be filled with not only our immediate family, but our spouses and children.  We fill every seat at this table, the kitchen table, and then some!  It's a full house, but I love it.

Many memories have centered around the family gathering for dinner.  I love these days together when we get to just sit and relax and enjoy.  Oh, and did I mention that my sweet family made my favorite meal?  Hawiian Haystacks!  Yum!

Hudson had just woken up from a nap, and was snuggling with his Aunt Anna.  Love the bed head, kiddo.

The next day Nate took off work, and we took Cooper to a place every kid likes to go.  Nate and Coop went on the bumper boats.

Hudson and I watched them, and got squirted by their water gun!

Then it was off to play arcades.  Both boys love to play anything that involves driving.

Can you reach those pedals, Coop?

Then Daddy and Cooper played a "shoot the aliens" game.

Cooper held his own, scoring 38, while Dad scored 50.  Not bad, little guy!

I think he had fun...

This one too, who was ready for a nap after several hours of crazy fun.

7/19 Steel Days! Parade, Swimming, and Fireworks

I forgot to mention a few things from my last post.  There was a day of relaxation that week when Nate and Coop went fishing in the morning.  I went shopping and to lunch with my Mom, and Camyll did my hair.  When the ditch was running, Cooper and Calvin decided to see whether Cooper's new battery-operated remote control truck from Grammie would float or sink.  Kids!  It was pure innocence.  Thankfully we were able to quickly remove the batteries and let it dry out for a day or two, and it worked again.  We had leftovers for dinner, and enjoyed visiting in the backyard while the kids played and pushed each other on the swings.  They were playing really well together; no fights.  It was another great night.  That was the night I worked in the garden with Dad, and then later that night watched The Bachelorette with Mom on TV.  Small moments that add up to some great memories!

STEEL DAYS!

We purposely planned our trip to Utah so it would overlap Steel Days.  I grew up with this week-long celebration of our town's heritage, and love the "small town USA" feeling it provides, even though American Fork is no longer a small farm/steel town, but a thriving city.  First off was the downtown parade Saturday morning.  Parades in Utah are no joke.  First off, people camp out for a good spot, meaning shade, sun not in eyes, and a good view, etc.  We have never been crazy enough for that, but always end up with pretty good spots.  At least Camyll went and staked out an area TWO DAYS beforehand, and we were able to get some grass, even though it was in direct morning sun.  Thank goodness for water and umbrellas!

  

 I love Utah parades.  The things I most look forward to are the high school marching bands.  American Fork High School marching band did not disappoint us, playing a patriotic song as they marched by.  This is only a small portion of this very large, very talented marching band, not including their color guard, or the drill team and cheerleaders.  I'm proud to be an AFHS grad.  Go Cavemen!

 The town beauty royalty floats never disappoint (most floats of any kind in a Utah parade are pretty cool), but this was one of my favorites, representing the span of time from founding of the town to present day.

 

 Hudson's favorite was the Chick-Fil-A Cow "train."  The boy is forming a love of all things trains.

 Cassady and George were trying to keep it cool under their umbrella.  We all enjoyed eating some Otter Pops to cool off.

 The kids were all really hot, so I poured some cold water on their heads.  Even little Hudson didn't seem to mind getting his head wet.

 

Coop with his wet hair to cool off, waiting for some more candy-throwing paraders.

Calvin was happy to cool off with a little wet hair too!

 Jaisie did NOT want to get wet.

 Me and the boys

 

 As we were packing up and leaving the HOT parade, we all decided to head back over to the Lindon City pool for some swimming to cool off on this hot summer afternoon.  Aunt Cassady came with us!

 Nate stayed home with Hudson, who was napping, so Cooper and I got to enjoy an afternoon of swimming together.  It was one of the best afternoons of my entire summer, swimming freely (no baby care) with Cooper, Cassady, and Camyll.  Jason, Calvin and Jaisie swam with us too.

 Worth mention, but NOT being shared, is a video of Cassady, Camyll and I doing a cannonball jump simultaneously in the deep end of the pool (taken with our backsides to the camera).  It was SO fun, and we were laughing and laughing.  The video shows a GIANT splash as the three of us hit the water.  Hehe.

That night was the "free" fireworks show put on by the city as the culminating event of the week.  We headed over early to the lawn of the high school, only to find that the area Camyll had thoughtfully reserved for us (where we've gone for YEARS and years), was fenced off.  We knew a friend guarding the gates, retrieved our blankets, and found a new spot that we hoped would work for firework viewing, despite the streetlights.

We all relaxed and chatted as we waited for it to get dark.  Nate enjoyed playing with baby Terra a bit.

 The kids had lots of fun running around like loud maniacs, and I spent most of my time chasing Hudson around, trying to keep him safe and out of other people's stuff.  We all enjoyed some super delicious waffle desserts from a yummy food truck.  So good!

 Once the fireworks started, everything quieted down, and the kids settled in for the show.

Cooper and Nate

 Cassady, Terra, Stettsen and Chelsey

 I didn't get a picture of Dad, George, or Jason Poulson, Calvin, or Jaisie, but they were all there too.  Mom was home sick with bronchitis, so we took some pictures of the fireworks for her.

 

 

 The show did not disappoint.  It is one of the BEST fireworks shows I know of.

 I had been worried about how Hudson would react, after his terrified crying on the 4th of July, but he really enjoyed watching the fireworks this time.

 Camyll and Jason were exhausted from the fun day, as were the rest of us, but it was worth it.

SO MUCH FUN, and that was only the first week!!!!

7/17-7/18 Family Time, Fun in the Sand, and Backyard Cousin Campout!

One of my favorite days on our Utah vacation this summer was spent in my parents' backyard with my boys, my sister, Camyll, and her kids, Calvin and Jaisie.  Mom and Dad have a big sandbox in their backyard.  Taking advantage of that and the sunny weather, we set out to teach our kids how to build a big sand castle.  Jaisie was so funny, not wanting at first to get her hands dirty.  My boys on the other hand...well, Hudson was eating sand, so that about sums it up for them.  My kids are no stranger to dirt/sand and were thrilled for me to be in it with them.  We spent the entire morning working on this sand castle, which was about as tall as Cooper.  It had a big moat, which the kids kept trying to keep filled with water.  Such an amazingly memorable morning in Grammie's backyard!

After getting washed off in the cold water of the hose, the kids laid out on the warm, sunny concrete of the back patio.

 Camyll and I worked in her garden a little.  It was blissful.

Later that night Nate took Cooper fishing again, and with Hudson down, and no company for the night, I headed back out to weed Camyll's garden a bit more.  My Dad came out to see what I was doing, and we ended up weeding the garden together in the twilight of the summer evening.  We chatted here and there, but mostly just enjoyed working side by side in the solitude of a beautiful summer night.  I paused long enough to sear the moment in my memory, it being one I will long cherish--just spending quiet time with my Dad, digging in the dirt--one of my other favorite moments of this trip.

All that week was "Steel Days" in American Fork, which is a week-long celebration of the city's heritage.  There's a carnival all week, an antique car show, and lots of stuff to do with the kids.  That Friday night was Picnic in the Park, where they have free bounce houses, games you'd find at the fair, and lots of other fun things for the kids to do, including an outdoor movie.  I usually run into an old high school friend or two, and enjoy letting my kids have fun with their cousins.  We had planned on going to this event, but come Friday night, I don't recall exactly what happened, but my sister and I were NOT feeling it.  Neither she nor I was feeling physically well, and we, well, kinda ruined the night for everyone by deciding to stay at home, have a backyard bbq instead, and just kinda chill.  I felt so bad for changing plans so drastically, especially since my sister, Chelsey, had taken off work early to be with us.  At least we got to see baby Terra--such a cutie pie!

The irrigation ditch had been running in the backyard, and had flooded the sandbox/ swing set.  The kids were in heaven playing in the water and mud.  Hudson wanted to participate, so he got to swing.

Tyler and Cooper enjoyed getting wet and muddy!

That night Camyll, Jason, and their kids, Calvin and Jaisie; my sister, Cassady, and bro-in-law George; Cooper, and Nathan all camped out in tents on the back lawn of Mom and Dad's house.  The little ones were ecstatic to be having a campout sleepover!

Try getting four very excited kids to hold still, look in one direction, and take a picture--ha!

Silly Silly Huddy

I'm taking a break from my summer vacation blog posts to bring you this current update. This morning Hudson awoke at 5:30 and decided he was ready to be up for the day. (Sigh). By 9:30 he was super fussy, but also very particular. He did not want a bottle, or to be held, or his crib. What did he want? The vacuum. Yep. My silly, silly baby loves the vacuum. He begged (through pantomime and gibber-jabber) to get it out of the closet, so I did. He begged to play with it, so I let him. He and Coop happily played for a few minutes like this. 

Then Hudson wanted it turned on, and to push it, but when I turned it on and handed him the handle, he fussed, handed me the handle, and reached for me to pick him up. But then he wiggled and fussed and wanted back down. Then reached back up, then wanted down. I was getting annoyed until a light bulb went off in my brain. I grabbed the baby carrier, and asked, "Hudson, is this what you want? You want to be in this while I vacuum?" He rewarded me with his "you guessed it!" giggle of delight. The floor needed vacuuming anyway. Dishes, laundry, and a shower could wait. So I obliged. Not 5 minutes later, this...

Sweet, sweet boy.

7/16 Swimming with Cousins and Swinging with Grammie

Our first day in Utah we went swimming with our cousins.   We went to a really fun pool with a big kiddie area with pirate ships with slides for the little ones, a lazy river, a big pool, and a water slide.  We spent most of the day in the lazy river.  Tyler and Aspen joined us (my sister Camyll and her kids, me and my kids), but left before I got a picture.  Aspen was so sweet and played with Hudson a lot of the time, while Cooper played with Tyler and Calvin.  The water slide was a blast, and with Aspen there to help with the little ones, I was able to go with Cooper.  He also went with his cousins a time or two.  It was a really great day with cousins.  Lots of happy memories.

On the way home we were passing a place where you can get what I call a rainbow slush, which is any flavor of slush with vanilla ice cream mixed in.  SOOOOOO yummy!  This is one of the things it seems you can only get in Utah.  So I convinced Camyll to stop and get some grape rainbow slush for me and the kids.  I also ordered some fries JUST to get to have FRY SAUCE.  I'd been craving fry sauce nectar for months--also something that you can only get in Utah.  Why the fry sauce phenomenon hasn't caught on in other places boggles my mind.

Then, as if we hadn't had enough sweets already, Camyll stopped at an amazing cupcake place in Pleasant Grove.  The owner was on Cupcake Wars a few seasons ago.  Camyll had a gift certificate for two cupcakes, so she stopped and picked up two for us to sample. Oh. My. Goodness.  BEST cupcakes I've ever had--hands down.  I mean, crazy yummy goodness.

Meanwhile in the back the baby had fallen asleep, the boys were being crazy, and sweet little Jaisie was just sitting there in a daze of exhaustion.  I just can't get enough of her chipmunk cheeks!

We got back early enough in the afternoon for the kids to enjoy some time outside in Grammie's backyard.  Since I hadn't given anything to Camyll for her birthday, but have plenty of time to spare on vacation, I told her I'd weed her garden in Mom's backyard for her.  It was nearly carpeted with weeds because she hadn't had time to even think about it--poor busy girl.  So she and I spent an hour or two weeding the garden and chatting while the boys played.  Pretty soon Mom came out to join us and played on the swings with the kids.  Hudson loved swinging on Grammie's big swingset.

Jaisie had fun swinging with Grammie too.

That night my sister Chelsey, her husband Stettsen, and baby Terra came to see us.  We grilled bbq chicken (compliments of chef Nathan), and had a yummy dinner together.  Anna and her kids, Camyll and her kids, Chelsey's family, my family, and Mom and Dad were there that night.  Hudson loved baby Terra, who was about 7 months old, and he kept giving her sweet little hugs, cute boy.  Grammie seemed to enjoy having two of her latest three grand babies on her lap (we sure missed seeing baby Lucy!).

That night I put Hudson to bed, and Nate took Cooper fishing.  Coop was so cute, even bringing his own fishing vest (he made SURE I packed it for him).  Wish I had a picture of the two of them.  Such a good day.