Hoop Lake

I finally decided that it really wouldn't kill me to go camping. I'm not much of a camper, so going to Hoop Lake in the Uintas took a lot of convincing. Luckily we had a trailer (I don't think I'm quite ready for a tent.) Can it still be considered camping if you're in a trailer? Personally, I think that's the only way to go. Anyways, this was my first trip to the Uintas and it was beautiful. We had some great friends to enjoy the experience with and I'm really glad we went.
Camping sure isn't what it used to be. Mike whipped up an outdoor movie for the kids. It ran off his generator. He's so clever! I never would have thought this would be possible in the wilderness. He even had popcorn for the kids!
We were also able to benefit from Mike and DiAnna's fun Polaris Razr. It's a big 5-man off-road vehicle. It was a ton of fun! We were able to take it clear up the mountain and through rivers and puddles. The kids absolutely loved it!

Hannah caught her first fish and Allen grilled it up for her for dinner. She loved it!
Porter also caught his first fish. He wanted no part of eating the fish though. That's my boy!
Tate and his BFF, Kelton (my friend Lara's son). They are so cute together and had so much fun!

I love these guys!

First Day of School and Random Summer Shots

I really can't believe that school has started again. Where did the summer go? We had a crazy, but fun summer, and it went by way too fast. I was a little nervous for school to start today. My poor kids have gone to three different schools in three years and I was nervous for them to start another school today. I grew up in the same house my entire life, so I don't know how it feels to have to constantly make new friends. They're such troopers though, and are becoming very friendly and outgoing because of it.
Porter started 2nd grade today. He seems way too little to be in 2nd grade, but definitely smart enough. Maybe he'll hit his growth spurt this year.
Hannah started 4th grade today, which is only two years away from junior high. Yikes! That already makes me nervous.
I just love these two so much and am really going to miss them while they're in school.
This is Tate coming out of the fountains at Lagoon. It got so hot last week that we had to find lots of ways to keep cool. We had season passes to Lagoon, so one day, we just went in swimsuits and played in the fountains. I wish I would have done that more over the summer. It was so fun!
Hannah and Porter in the fountains at Lagoon.
I've always thought Tate would have made a gorgeous girl, and this proves me right. Hannah dressed him up the other morning, and sadly enough, he loved it.
Porter has been trying to save money for a new lego set, so he made cookies and lemonade one Sunday and sold them to my family at a family party. He made signs and named his business, "Porter's Snack Shack." He worked hard and made $18.00. It was so cute, and he took it very seriously. He only has $30 more to go until he has the $90 saved up. That's a lot of money for a little kid to save.
We finished up swim lessons a few weeks ago. We were lucky enough to find a lady in the neighborhood that teaches lessons in her backyard pool. It was very handy to be able to send the kids without having to drag everybody to all the lessons.

Porter turns 7!

Wow! I can't believe Porter is really 7. He's still supposed to be my baby and I don't know what happened. All I know is that kids grow up way too fast! We had a great day with Porter last Friday for his birthday. I love summer birthdays! You don't have to send them off to school and you get to spend the whole day with them. We had a pizza party Friday night with family to celebrate. We did the usual pinata, but this one was made of steel or something. It would not break, even with the big kids whacking at it. We finally got a little hole in it and just ripped it open. I guess Dilly Dally's makes a quality product.
Porter chose a sports theme for his birthday, but at the last minute, asked me for a Star Wars cake, so I did the best I could on short notice and this is the final result. I know you're all very impressed with my skills!
We let Porter choose what to do with his friends and after he was given all his options, he chose to go to the Hill Aerospace Museum. Ever since the air show in June, he has been enthralled with jets and airplanes. We had a lot of fun at the museum with his friends.
Porter's favorite plane was the blackbird. That thing is amazing! I've never seen anything like it!
He's very easy to please. He was so excited over this GI Joe character, and just as excited about every other present he opened. What a great day we were able to spend with our little buddy! I think Porter is an amazing kid and I'm so grateful to be his mom. I love you buddy!

Happy 12th Anniversary to me!

Allen and I were able to celebrate our 12th anniversary in style with a quick weekend trip to New York. It was way too much fun and I'm having a really hard time being home. Oh well, I got to live it up while I could, and I'm grateful we were able to go. Allen was in New York all week for work, so I decided to join him on Friday and we spent a couple of days together. I have to say that New York is one crazy city. I can't believe how many people were there and how many people I was smashed on a subway with. It was insane, but so much fun!
We were able to get some sweet seats to see Wicked. Neither of us had seen it before and I thought it was fantastic! I loved every minute of it and didn't want it to end. I can't wait to read the book and get the soundtrack.
It was so nice to enjoy a nice meal without kids. I probably should have ordered something more fancy, but I'm a sucker for a good bacon cheeseburger.
Thanks to my parents for being willing to watch my kids so we could escape for a few days. And thanks to my wonderful husband! It has been an amazing 12 years together and I couldn't ask for anything more. I love you!

What a ride!

Our life over the past month has been a ride, to say the least. I don't have enough time or space to even begin to explain it all, so I'll summarize the month with a few photos. We were able to visit Allen's parents again in Oakland. They'll be home in a few months and we wanted to visit San Francisco one more time. Maybe not the best time for a road trip, but it was nice to escape all the craziness from the move. The above picture is at Muir Woods, a beautiful redwood forest in San Francisco.

Riding the ferry from Oakland to San Francisco.

Hannah and Porter having a ball in the freezing cold water at Rodeo Beach.
Our family right before we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. The kids were troopers and made it the whole way across.
We stopped at Donner's Pass on the way and walked around a bit.
I've taken a million pictures of our new home, but will only post the ones of my favorite spots in the house. The big master tub is one of my favorite things about the house, although I've yet to use it. I anticipate being able to use it in the future sometime, hopefully without the barbies and the GI Joe's that have enjoyed the tub before me. It's been a fight every morning so far over who gets the big tub first.
I also love the back patio!
Hannah's softball team played for the championship game, but lost. They were still able to get a trophy, and that was good enough for her.
Hannah sweating out at second base during the final game. I think she was ready for the season to be over.

Tate and Porter enduring yet another softball game in the heat. Get used to it boys! We love softball in this family. Hannah's championship game just happened to be on the same night we were trying to move, so the boys were especially hot and tired.
Porter taking a breather from his hard work loading the moving truck.
Porter played coach pitch baseball this year. His favorite position was catcher.

Moab 2009

We took off to Moab this year right after school got out for the kids. What better way to celebrate the end of another school year than visiting a national park named after your own family? Seriously though, we love Arches! It is one of the coolest places I've ever been. You see the most amazing things there. This year we were able to go with some of our best friends, the Nye's and the DeGroot's. We have such a good time with these families. Our kids are great friends and we get along very well. We all took trailers down and stayed in an awesome campground!
At night, we would bring out the TV and the kids would curl up for movie night while the adults played great games like "Fact or Crap". If you haven't played that one, it's a lot of fun.
Tate and his friend Kelton are about six months apart. They had a good time together. Here they are throwing rocks into a puddle left from a rainstorm the previous night.
Here we are near the "Three Gossips". That's the name of the rock formation to the left of Allen. It really looks like three ladies talking to each other.
We finally were able to line up all the kids in order of age. We have a 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2, and a 0 year old between us all. The only thing missing was a one-year old.
All the adults! Hannah took this picture for us and did a great job.
We love the Sand Dune Arch. It's one of our favorite places in the park. You can find the most amazing sand there. We spent hours playing in the cool, soft sand.
Allen and I at the top of Delicate Arch.
The little people in this picture really is our little family. I'm so proud of the kids for hiking all the way to Delicate Arch. It's not an easy hike, and they were awesome! What an amazing sight it is!
Having some fun in the pool at our campground. We'd jump in the pool everyday after we were done hiking and it felt heavenly. This vacation was so great! I would totally recommend it for those of you looking for a CHEAP, family-friendly vacation!