Last day (even better than the first)

So on the last day of school the kids are almost as easy to wake up as the first.  The pants are shorter, the shoes are dirty, the hair...well there is not much to say about that.  The kids leave home and pretty much turn around as soon as they get there, school is only two hours on the last day.   They were so excited and happy. 

So this guy (one of our favorite guys, by the way) stayed with us for about two weeks while he was finishing up school.  Grandma and Grandpa sold their house and Grandma headed down to Utah.  My kids got to enjoy stories and one on one time with him.  It was a great time.

"Someone" brought this baby home on the last day.  

On the last day we always head off for lunch, we talk and plan and this year we realized that our summer is quite full.  We don't even have any reunions but there are a lot of camps and trips to Utah.  It should be good.

I love these guys!!  Happy Summer, wish me luck!

Carousels and milk shakes

Our local museum is one of my favorite places to be with my family.  It is small and it changes exhibits about every six months.  We have been to almost every exhibit they have brought in.  My kids have grown and instead of me reading the plaques to the displays they read them by themselves.  The thing I love is that no matter what the exhibit we come away learning something new and my kids have learned to ask questions to the volunteers and get a little more information.  This little museum has given my kids the opportunity to gain an appreciation for history and learning.  On most of our vacations we find a museum to visit and almost always it becomes a highlight of our stay.  It was a good, good day.

This carousal exhibit was really interesting, the artistry of the horses was amazing and the history was really cool.

This picture was for Sara, note the mustache?  She laughed and decided he was her favorite.

Each of the horses on this carousal was named.  Troy has been calling me Betty for a while now.  (I just recently found out why and I frankly am torn between loving that he has a nickname for me and completely annoyed at the movie he got it from, ever seen Major Payne?)

They had a working carousal on the main floor and if you were between the ages of 2 and 10 you could ride it.  I highly doubt these two cuties were that sad but they pose well don't they?

Then to top the afternoon off we went to my most FAVORITE hamburger and milk shake place EVER?  I don't know that the hamburgers are any better than your average burger, but this place is so filled with memories that I think everything tastes better.

These are my favorite people.  I really can't say much more than that, I love them.

Bowl-a-thon

I have a love hate relationship with the bowling alley, I love it when the pins are falling and hate it when they aren't.  But we always love it when family is around and every Christmas the Thurgoods get together and do a little bowling.  The kids lasted for about a game and a half, so Spencer and Brent finished the game off for them.  There were some great scores this year, Brent - 172, Spencer 173, Dad - 177, I even pulled off a 161 not too shabby for not touching a bowling ball for a year.  We finished the evening off with shakes at Grandma and Grandpa's.  I think I've mentioned Grandma's shakes, they really are that good.

Getting Ready...

Every year about this time I start to get all giddy because Christmas is just around the corner.  And Christmas at our house means family, tradition, treats and of course countdown time.  I love it.  It takes a lot to get ready, thinking of different activities that will give us a chance to be together, looking for and purchasing all the little details, putting everything together. I have to say that it is worth it ten times over.  Since I started doing this 5 years ago I have never regretted the time that I spent putting everything together.  I had the chance to spend time with one of my most favorite people in Logan last weekend planning and purchasing all the things that I will need to put the countdown together.  Of course the favorite traditions will make their usual show during the month, but there are a few new things too.  So here is a sneak peak of what is coming up next month.  

The box is full of the beginnings of this years countdown, and I couldn't be more excited.

1st day of school, 2012

 It begins again... It blows my mind that I have been doing this first day of school thing for nine year.  That makes me feel really old.  There is something about the first day of school that feels a lot like the new year.  New beginnings, new clothes, new teachers, new routines and new goals.  I love that waking them up is so easy that first day, almost like Christmas morning.  The first day of school we always have "pancake dippers", for some reason my kids think this is really cool.  The funny thing about this little tradition is that it was totally unintentional.  Several years back on the first day of school I tried to figure out a way for them to have pancakes without them spilling on their new clothes,  So I made the pancakes long and skinny and put syrup in a little side container and called them pancake dippers so that it was okay to use their fingers.  For some reason it caught on and on the first day of school this is the request.  I never make them any other time, so apparently I only care about syrup on the clothes on the first day, necessary for pictures I suppose.

Check her out, 8th grade, 13 years old, and a whole lot of boy crazy.  I'm so grateful for her friends and how talented this chick is.  She was busting at the seams to get back to school, so the smile is totally genuine.

Dude, 6th grade, 11 years old, Legos, basketball and the Utah Utes are what occupy his mind almost constantly.  He is an amazing kid, I love how he is so respectful of me and his sisters.  He is fun to work with, I'll miss the talks we had working while he is in school.

Super cute, 3rd grade, 8 years old, painting, playing the piano, and following her older siblings around is what she does best.  She has gained an enormous amount of attitude(the cute kind) and spunk this last year.  She is witty and funny and is a lot of fun to be around.

Need sunglasses?  He saved his money and chose this pair, he loves them.

After school banana bread.  It looks like it was a successful day.  Let's hope the smiles stay for the whole year.

Camping

I didn't know that I even liked camping until Troy and I had the opportunity to go on Trek three years ago.  I realized I didn't mind sleeping in a tent, I liked cooking in a dutch oven and there was great freedom in not wearing any makeup.  I wanted to go with my family and create memories that I hope will last a life time.  Since then we have tried to get at least one night away every summer.  This year we made it to Teton Canyon campground, which is one of our favorites.

Troy only spent a little time trying to find a signal to send an e-mail.  The rest of the time we had his undivided attention.

One thing I love about camping is being away from everything electronic.  No DS's or i-pods allowed.  We spend time reading or playing card games.  I wish we could camp more often,

Sara spent some time with my camera.  She found some great  shots.

There was a creek near our camp site and J.T. and Cambelle loved playing and exploring.

J.T. started our fire, and both Troy and I kept trying to give him advice.  He just said, "I got it."  Troy and I looked at each other knowingly that he was doing it wrong.  That stinker, totally got it started the first time.  He did a great job. 

We didn't want to take the camp chef, so we decided to cook EVERYTHING in tin foil on the fire.  Salmon, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, carrots, and for desert brownies baked in the peel of an orange.  So yummy.

We had eggs for breakfast, Cambelle does not like eggs, therefore she made a peanut butter sandwich. 

J.T. made a fish trap on the creek that we needed to check before we left.

Before we headed for home we went to Jackson Hole to ride the Alpine Slide, always a huge hit.