Warn Out!

Saturday the kids spent the day playing with their cousins at my sister Lenore's and then again at my sister Julie's.  Upon arriving home, this was the scene that greeted me as I turned to look at them in the back of the van.

I have been traveling around quite a bit, so this is often what happens in the evening as I am driving back from visiting someone.  However, it is quite rare that they all fall asleep at the same time, unless it is really late at night.  The hardest part was carrying them all individually up a flight of stairs to bed.  It was quite a workout.  Since this was the best picture of the three of them I could get, I had to take some individual ones.

I can not imagine sleeping in this position at all...I don't know how Reili did it.  She must have been super tired.

Fun with Water

There is nothing more fun for kids in the summer than playing in water...any time, any where, any place.  Such is the story for us this week:

First there was the puddle of dirty water below the swings left by the sprinklers.  Wesley loved splashing around in it, but then he had to bend over and take a sip of it...YUCK!

...Then there was the water fight on Family Fun night (celebrating the 1 year anniversary of Neil and Cathy's move to Utah, really an excuse for Matthew to work on one of his bear requirements).  Here  is Wesley and cousin Jacob playing with the rags they used to throw at each other during the water fight.

Sweet Reili playing in the sprinklers during the water fight.

...and then, the outdoor bathtub.  Who needs a kids pool when you can get your hands on an old bathtub?  We visited my childhood friend Elaine at her parents house where they had been doing some remodeling.  We had forgotten to bring the kids pool with us, so we just used what was available...the kids loved it.  Here is Amberly with Elaine's daughter Brianna.

Grandma's House

For fun this week we came to Manti to visit my parents. My Dad is recovering from a minor surgery, so it has been a little bit more low key than usual (meaning my kids have watched a lot more movies than I would normally let them). Life in Manti is definitely more laid back anyway. Needless to say after a 4 mile run, hoeing weeds in my parents vegetable garden for an hour and a half, taking 3 kids to the new swimming pool in town for 2 1/2 hours, and finally a late afternoon session in the Manti Temple...I am completely wiped out. I am embarrassed to admit that for the first time in my life I actually fell asleep during the Temple session without knowing it. Luckily...I woke up just in time that I didn't miss any of my parts. Probably wasn't the best day for me to go considering the days events. You'd think I'd be smarter than that by now.

I don't know if any of you can relate, but somehow between kids I forget how draining it is when they hit a year old. Taking Wesley to the pool reminded me (once again) how busy life is with a one year old. No more just sunning yourself while you watch the kids swim, or taking a break once in a while. When he wasn't in the pool he was busy trying to make it out the gate, or getting someone else's toys sitting over to the side, or running for the girls bathroom. YIKES! It is good they are so cute at this age that they somehow make up for all the running around you have to do. You'd think I would weigh at least 10 pounds less with all the extra running around...but I definitely eat enough to make up for it.

Ducks, Museum, Swimming...Summer Fun

Our activities on the Wasatch front this week included feeding ducks at the "duck park", going to the Treehouse Children's Museum in Ogden, and swimming with cousins Aby, Olivia, and Lainey at my sister Lenore's house. The kids have had so much fun with their cousins and it is good to see them getting reaquainted with them.

Wesley surveys the ducks.

A candid shot while feeding ducks.

Reili, Amberly, and cousin Emma all dressed up for the Louis and Clark expedition.

Wesley's first game of chess.

A ride down the slide with cousin Spencer at the Treehouse museum brought big smiles. Spencer is 15 and has lots of energy, enough to keep the kids entertained.

Look who's fighting fires now.

Reili and Aby in the pool at Aby's house. (Wesley loved this pool, but I was always with him so I couldn't get any pictures...he was so cute in it though.)

Made it to Utah

After 2 long days in the car, we finally made it to Utah a little over a week ago. My niece, Amanda (my brother Neil's daughter), was kind enough to come drive out with me. She made it so we could all arrive in one piece with most of our sanity intact. My kids did pretty well for the most part.

We spent our first week with my brother Neil and his family in Kaysville and plan to spend most of our summer there with trips to visit the rest of the family. A couple days after we got here, I got sick...I thought it was something I ate, but now today Reili has been throwing up too. I guess it wouldn't be a real trip to Utah if someone didn't get sick. I was glad the bug lasted only 24 hours. It was miserable.

A father's day game of Tickle Tiger with Uncle Neil.

Look at that ferocious Tickle Tiger.

Sprinkler time with cousin Emma.

I guess the water was cold enough to warrant an umbrella.

Wesley didn't like the sprinkler at all. He tried twice and both times he cried.

But he's still cute as ever!