Sunday on a Saturday!

Since Casey had to work Saturday morning we decided to hang at home with movies and ice cream sundays. Since we are quite partial to Frosted Rock or Baskin Robbins we don't usually fix ice cream at home. Dalen was in heaven with his mini banana split in a waffle bowl and Kenna had the only ice cream she will eat, Birthday Cake. We watched Drillbit Taylor and enjoyed our quiet evening at home. Sometimes those are the best ones!

Schools back!

Yeah for me! School is back in session and I am free from 8:10 am till 3:35 pm!!!! So what am I to do with my free time you ask? I go get 2 jobs. I will be working for a sports photographer and coaching tumbling.

The kids are so excited to be back with their friends. All Dalen cared about was getting to eat school lunch and Kenna was excited about the parties the 6th grade teachers offer as incentives. The only part I dread is homework. I know I'm not smarter than a 6th grader so I have to look up her homework subject via the Internet.

The kids got up bright and early Monday morning, showered, and had pancakes for breakfast. Dalen was so excited he couldn't even eat. Then it was new school outfits, backpacks, a kiss and they were off. Just think, next year will be JUNIOR HIGH. Damn I'm old!

The things kids say.....

Setting: Just finished bathing stinky camping dogs.

Dalen: "Mom, I love that new dog smell."
Me: (hysterical laughter)

Camp Brewer

So instead of doing the usual family activities that the kids will enjoy but forget by next weekend, we wanted to make some lasting memories. So we decided to go on a weekend tent camping trip. Casey's friend Corey told us all about this great campsite up by Hardware Ranch. We were going to leave Saturday but the anticipation was killing us so we were out of here by 5 pm on Friday. We had a map and figured we were both smart enough to read and follow. Little did we know how much more technical it would be than that! We were on some scary ranch road, not fit for man nor beast. There were huge jagged rocks sticking out of this dirt road (if you could call it that) which wound around cliffs (I don't do cliffs!) and it didn't remotely resemble the map. By now we were definitely lost, it was cold, it started to rain, and it was getting dark. So we headed back the way we came and stopped at the first flat spot we came to. We were on this wide open plain, in a huge patch of dead weeds. The wind was so bad we couldn't light a fire. By now I was crying, (and white knuckling the door handle)afraid something was going to go wrong in the middle of nowhere and Dalen was crying because this wasn't what camping looked like on TV! I got about 1 hour of sleep worrying about everyone getting cold, reenacting the tornado scene from Wizard of Oz as our tent shook violently in the wind, and we just happened to be camping on a hunting trail on the first weekend of the bow hunt. Every ten minutes or so a 4-wheeler, truck, trailer, motor home, etc...would pass by on the crappy road at all hour of the night. Here are a few pics of our first glorious night!

The only redeeming moment on the road from hell was the moose that was standing in a steam right off the side of the road (still debating the use of this word). He was the biggest moose I'd ever seen.

So needless to say we were up bright and early and out of there in search of the campsite that would better suit the camping visions in my children's heads. A few miles of going back the way we came, towards civilization, we found the perfect spot. Covered by trees, fire pit, flat ground for the tent, right next to the river with the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.

The kids got to fish (even though the fish were sleeping) and play to their hearts content. Dalen, the great scavenger that he is, spent all day finding shells and fossils. Kenna had a good time throwing rocks into the river and playing on the stepping stones. Casey made up a game of spill the milk with the firewood we brought and rocks. Both kids have a pretty good arm on them. I made the kids each a camping activity book with pictures to color, word searches, and a scavenger hunt I found on the Internet. We made dutch oven chili dogs and played in the fire till bed time. Despite the not-so-great beginning the trip turned out a total success.

The kids loved it and so did the dogs. Jackson is the best car dog alive and Mattie was just happy it wasn't so hot with all her thick hair! We will definitely be going again, but maybe next year we will look into buying a trailer. (Mental note: bring can opener and contact case!)

Classic Skating

So summer is almost over and I gave the kids the option of doing one more big activity before school started. After exploring their options via coupon and online they decided on Classic Skating. My mom and I used to go skating about once a week when I was little but I must say it has changed drastically. My kids had more fun on the Bounce Zone and Pirates Cove than they did the skating rink. Of course I forgot my camera (amateur blogger) so the best I could do were pics from my phone. They aren't the best quality but I managed to make the best out of a bad situation.

I was, however, smart enough to bring Dalen's scooter just in case either of them had a hard time with the skates. They both did really well. Once Dalen settled down he caught on pretty good. The only problem was his little legs tuckered out on him before his spirit did so he switched to the scooter. Kenna also had her turn on it as well, just so she could say she did everything. They both had a blast!

(Mental note.....take camera with you!)

Ouch!

So a lesson to everyone with boys; they should be required, prior to birth or marriage, to take a first aid class. I keep well stocked in gauze pads because between the two of them, there is almost always a need for them. I have never had stitches or broken a bone so these two give me a run for my money! I now know I probably would have made a good nurse or paramedic. Maybe I missed my calling in life, but I am busy enough here apparently. This was Dalen's latest OOPS! He slipped off the edge of his step stool we keep in the bathroom and caught the only sharp piece with his heel. It took Kenna, Casey, and me to calm him down enough to get a wrap on it for the night. He rather enjoys the "limping" and "moaning" part of recovery.

Wendover

This weekend was nuts! Two days in Park City, Lagoon and then finally Wendover. A mere 623.3 miles in 4 days. My poor car was about to cry uncle. We finally got to gamble, golf and relax in the armpit of America. After Casey competed in the golf tournament we had a banquet with prizes and games. Of course, the only thing we won was a beer mug and 4 gold dollars which Casey gave to the kids. I laughed so hard at Casey's friends that I thought I was going to choke. It was a pleasant ending to a chaotic week!

Sophia and Bob in the balloon popping competition!

Dallen and Lynn Weed say cheese!

Mr.Boss Man Mike Bringard!

Park City Tournament

Kenna and friend Kyra before game 3.

McKenna's soccer team competed in the Park City Extreme Tournament this past week. The team played so well with Ali filling in as a guest player so we could substitute the girls out of the heat. They said it was 85 degrees but I would dispute that. It didn't feel any cooler up there than it was down here. We won our first game on Thursday 9-0 and lost the second one 0-4. Then we had one of the strangest soccer days we had ever had. We tied our first game 0-0 and our second one 1-1. After the other teams had played their final games, this left us in 3rd place out of 5. I think the girls did a beautiful job with Kenna scoring the only goal we scored on Friday. I was so excited for her I started crying. She was in the right place at the right time and made the shot! It was beautiful. She was really upset about an earlier mistake she had made that allowed USA 97' to score on us so she needed this goal to finish this tournament with her head held high. I am so proud of her. GO RAMPAGE!!!


The pre-game warm up.


Kenna playing midfield.