Pioneer Day

Pioneer Day I did something that literally happens one time a year... if my kids are lucky.

I let my kids stay up hours past their bedtime to watch fireworks.

I figured, what have I got to lose, besides hours of sleep?

I made sure to bring some entertainment. Monster Snaps are so ridiculously entertaining to little guys. Why is that?

I made sure they had nourishment. Thank you Keebler elves, the cookies were delicious.

And, I made sure I could still find them in the dark with some glow sticks.

I was worried that either Marisa or Ezra would lose their cool at some point in the night but they really did very well.

I was about to lose my cool when it was 30 minutes past the advertised firework start time, three hours past normal bedtime and the sky was still empty. But they had to wait for the rodeo to end and it just kept going. They did eventually start and we had wonderful front row seats to the action. The kids all loved them. Marisa included.

The girl is afraid of ants and dirt but loud exploding balls of fire just a hundred feet away are nothing. WE-ERID!

Sorry I didn't take many pictures, but I had my hands full so pictures were kind of an afterthought.

The only downside, which was to be expected, was the horrendous traffic afterward. But we made it out, and the kids were asleep before we even got out of the parking lot after singing all the pioneer songs I know (which is two).

I'm glad we went. I'm also glad that all we have to do is sit on our front porch for Art City Days fireworks. No traffic and I can put my kids to bed on time and just wake them up to see them. I know... I'm no fun at all.

A Few More Days

Here are a few more of the "days" we've had around here.

We had cousins over so we had Cousin Day. I don't think I've allowed Roman to play so much Wii in my life. But the boys love it.

Marisa and her 3 year old cousin, Sam, became partners in crime which was amazing to me because she has never really played with many kids before. She's always so shy.

Monday was Fish Day. We ate gold fish crackers and fish sticks. We played the fishing game and watched Finding Nemo. Then, since Shane wasn't here to talk me out of it, we went to a little store called Where's Nemo and bought some fish. 

Well, actually, we went to Walmart first and bought all the supplies since they are sure to be the cheapest there. But their poor fish look so sick and the pile of dead fish in the corner of the tank didn't look very promising.

Where's Nemo is admittedly a scary place. The floor was dirty, it was lit like a bar, and you know how pet stores smell. But the fish were healthy and even less expensive.

It paid off. We've had them for over a week and all are still alive and thriving.

So...Meet the new family members.

This may be as close as we ever get to a pet so those kids are enjoying it. They don't have names yet. I told them to wait until we knew which ones were actually staying with us, but it looks like we have a few names to come up with.

We also had Grandparents Day, Pink Day, Orange Day, Pirate Day and Pioneer Day.

For Pirate Day we made a treasure map pizza. I took a picture but it mysteriously vanished.  I also took pictures of the kids feeding their fish but those are gone too. Hmmmmm....weird

Anyway, more on Pioneer Day later.

Camping Day

One of our theme days was Camping Day because well... Marisa and I had plans to go camping.

I was so sad when I found out that Shane would be gone and we might not be able to go camping.  Luckily my sister-in-law and her four boys were in town and were willing to come stay with my boys so that we could still go. Blessings to Ronna for agreeing to watch all 6 boys. I would have had about seven panic attacks FOR SURE!

Anyway, our ward has had a mother-daughter camp out the last few years and I think it's such a great idea. I really wanted to take Marisa this year.

I loved how it wasn't the typical Relief Society gathering where every second is planned with a program or a testimony meeting. Not that those things aren't nice enough, it's just not camping. Camping to me is getting dirty, making good food, talking, fires, etc. We just ate and talked and the kids played and got ever so dirty.

Everyone commented on how nice it was the Marisa just stayed by my side or in her chair and I always knew where she was. I guess there are some advantages to have a child who is afraid of the great outdoors. All the other moms were constantly looking for their kids. Not me. :) Marisa was quite a bit younger than most the other girls there (aside from one baby and her brave mommy). So I don't expect her to be like that forever.

We enjoyed dinner, ate s'mores, watched the fire and settled into our tent. Marisa went to sleep pretty well. I....did not.

Aside from the middle of the night disruptions and the 5:30 am bed swap with Marisa, the camping trip was a success. I'm so glad that we went. Marisa had a great time too.

An Attempt To Get Through

In an attempt to make these next few weeks a little less miserable for all of us, I decided to give each day a theme. Then we could read books, do a craft, activity or make a meal based on that theme.

Several of last week's themes were downgraded or changed due to circumstances. For example, Friend Day became Cousin Day because we had 4 cousins stay with us for the weekend. And to make cookies for friends when there are cousins to play with...well that's just silly.

One of last week's themes was "Golf Day". I got some discount tickets to the old Liberty Land that is now a Trafalga so we drove up there and enjoyed ourselves for three hours.

We got a round of miniature golf in.

It was interesting to say the least. This was the most widely used method for getting the ball into the hole.

I just let Ezra do his thing...more often than not his thing was to stand right in the way. It's a miracle the kid didn't get hit in the head.

Marisa played a few holes and mostly watched from the stroller.

Luckily we nearly had free run of the place so we could take our time and do our thing.

They also have a few small amusement rides. If you live in Utah Valley you've surely seen the little roller coaster from the freeway. Roman rode it a few times. Then, I let some lady convince me that it would be okay to take Marisa and Ezra on it. WRONG! Their little bums slid all over the place and I spent the entire ride trying to keep them from ending up rolling around on the floor of the car. Lucky for me they felt the same way and neither of them wanted to ride again.

This ride was a little more appropriate and even Marisa enjoyed it.

They also liked the airplane ride and rode it and the carousel many times.

For those of you who live here in Utah and have always wondered about that place like I have let me give you a little review.

Remember Conneaut Lake Park? I would say this compares. I don't know how that is possible seeing that Liberty Land was built less than five years ago. But, the rides were definitely older than that.

Everything was quite run down. Even the indoor facility that had rides and games just plain looked old. There were several rides that weren't working. They had two ride operators for 6 or so rides, so you had to travel with the group or wait until they got to the ride you wanted to ride.

The tickets we got were something like $7.50 a person for three hours and that was 50% off. Ezra was free. Good thing. I would NEVER pay $15 a person for that. Although, the older kids could do rock climbing or laser tag but judging by the amount of kids there it wasn't worth it. However, my kids DID have fun and I think it was worth the $7.50 so I'm glad that we did it. There are just so many other options that it's hard to pick this place over the regular Trafalga, or Boondocks or even a free day at the park.

We came home and had spaghetti and golf meatballs with golf club bread sticks. I know, this looks a little gross, but the kids thought it was so fun.

More theme days to come.

Just Keep Swimming

The kids had their swimming lessons the last couple of weeks.

I decided to take them to our local swimming pool rather than the Provo pool because it's within walking distance and they offer private and semi-private lessons.

Can I just say.... what a yuck pool. It was literally a sauna sitting there watching. Ezra and I would leave that place dripping with sweat and just miserable from sitting on the cement steps for over an hour.

However, signing Roman up for semi-private lessons was the best decision of the summer. Instead of goofing off and messing around with the other kids, he learned how to swim.

It was amazing. He went from needing help just to float to actually staying on top of the water and moving forward all by himself.

Marisa just got comfortable being in the water, which is all I expected. And, she said she had fun. Only one emotional breakdown. I consider that a success.

I signed Roman up for another round to really sink it in. I may spend more days going on walks during lessons though. Sitting in that pool is torture.

Then, on to Soccer. I love the things that keep my kids busy.

I AM still alive

Just a note to my 4 readers. :) I love you!

I'm not dead, although quite worn out.

I've got a lot to share I don't even know where to start.

I guess I will start by downloading pictures off my camera and go from there.

Later.

A Fun Day

Since the 4th was on a Sunday this year, the Independence Day celebrations extended throughout the whole weekend. It was great!

Monday morning I woke up early and headed to Provo for the Freedom run. I ran last year, and wanted to run again for some idea on how I'm doing with my training. And... it's fun. It's actually one of the harder races I've run (besides the invitational in Midaway, remember that girls? PURE TORTURE) I guess it's not SO bad, but the last mile is pretty much all up hill mixed with a switchback which to me is mental torture. I made sure to save a little energy for that hill this year because last year it totally killed me.

Anyway, I improved my time from last year by 6 minutes. for a total time of 52:18.  Not bad... better than I expected anyway.

After the race, I drove all around Provo trying to find a way out. I made it home in time to see the end of Roman's swimming lessons and all of Marisa's. More on that later.

Then, my family had a picnic since my brother and his family were up from Texas and my sister and her family came down from Idaho. We were able to snag a few family photos. Of course not everyone was there, but as close as it gets when they live all over the country.

My parents with all but 5 of their grand kids

The kids played for 5 hours straight. I think I ate for 5 hours straight.

Uncle Brian filled water balloons for the kids and they all got wet. They thought that was awesome.

I hit a few baseballs. I haven't done that in years. I watched a lot fly past me too. My little nephew can pitch.

Ezra was all shiny and red from sunblock and  playing so hard. He looked pretty pathetic by the time we made it home.

I came home and died! I was worn out. But, it was a fun day. Roman had fun playing with cousins he didn't even know he had. ;)

A Fun Night

I know it's been an entire week since the Stadium of Fire, but that's how I roll baby. Especially this week.

Did I mention that my husband left on a work trip for three more weeks? I'm trying not to be a total baby about this, but I just can't help it. The more I try to suck it up, the grouchier I get. Oh well, at least my cute niece is getting some babysitting experience out of it.

So anyway, back to happier times. A time, not so long ago, when I didn't know that my husband would be gone for the rest of the month.

My neighbor and I bought tickets to The Stadium of Fire way back in April when they first went on sale because we are both big fans of Carrie Underwood.

It was so much fun to just go play for a night.

We stopped at the Sweet Tooth Fairy for some cupcakes before heading to the stadium. YUM!

I love all the patriotic stuff. Especially love the low flying jets. WOW!

We had some pretty good seats although our view of the stage wasn't so great. But, we were nice and close  and we had a lot of fun!

The fireworks were awesome, as always. We were so close I couldn't even fit them all into the picture.

Roman was a little peeved when he found out I was going to see fireworks, but I wasn't about to spend money for him to be bored to tears and whiny for two hours while we waited for something he would be interested in. Maybe some day.

I was thinking I would take him to the Spanish Fork fireworks for Pioneer Day, but that was when I wouldn't be alone with three kids who are up 3 hours past their bedtime. We'll have to see about that one.

Anyway, I'm so glad that we went.  Carrie Underwood did not disappoint.