"Memorial Day" Weekend...Part 2

...This was the beach we went to Saturday afternoon/evening, it was at Lake Powell. I've never been there before, but I've heard that it's a fun place to go. We wanted to have a BBQ on the beach, but it was so crowded, we couldn't find an open spot so we went a little further inland, we still got a nice spot though.

Jantzen had fallen asleep on the way there and didn't want to wake up, but eventually did. We didn't want him to miss out on all the fun.


While we were getting a fire pit set up Jaron enjoyed some fun in the sand. He was finding little clams/oysters (I'm not sure which one they were) and then made a hole to bury them in, but ended up burying his feet instead. He then played a game of Frisbee with Zeben and Spencer.



Josh and I decided we wanted to go see the water so we took all the kids with us. We told all the kids to not get wet because none of them were wearing their swim suits, but as the pictures show, you can tell how well they listened.

Here's Austyn, Zeben, and Jaron venturing out into the water, just to put their feet in as they stated. Jantzen didn't want to get in the water, I think he was still trying to wake up.


Here's Jaron's version of "nanny, nanny, I'm getting wet and what are you going to do about it" look. He's lucky he's a cute kid.


To get Jantzen to go in the water, Josh had to get in with him to show him it wasn't scary. He freaked out at first because he didn't want to take off his flip flops, but then soon realized that he was going to lose them in the wet sand if he didn't, so he finally took them off...


...and started to venture out on his own.


Here Jantzen's giving his "I don't know what to think about this" look.


I had to get a couple cute shots of Jaedyn in her new hat by the water. It was way to cold to put her in, so we spared her the misery and just let her watch the kids play.



I think Jaron and Austyn had the most fun. They played a lot in the wet sand and kept getting more and more of their clothes wet, so I gave up on telling them not to get wet.


Jantzen mostly did this...stood barely in the water, letting the waves from the passing by boats hit his legs and eventually his shorts.


The kids, minus Jantzen, continued to play in the water and with every minute became braver and braver until they ended up chest high in water. Jantzen eventually went out to about waist high in the water, but on his way back out of the water he fell and got completely wet.



here's my two little monkeys freezing because they're soaking wet in their street clothes and the sun was starting to go down. This is when we decided play time in the water was done.


The boys had told me after they swam in the pool earlier that day that they didn't want to swim anymore. So, because of that I didn't bring their swim suits or a change of clothes for them after they got all wet. I guess I should've known better and just brought dry clothes for them anyway, next time I will.

They stripped down to their wet shorts and undies and used towels and jackets to warm themselves up by the fire. Jantzen was a tough kid and didn't need to wear a jacket for very long, but Jaron wore his all night.

We all then enjoyed hot dogs and corn on the cob (cooked in the fire, it was yummy) and for dessert we had smores. It was all so good!



Jaedyn just chilled out by the fire, admiring it. I think she was fascinated by it, except the smoke kept following her, so we played musical strollers with her and moved her around a lot. I guess what they say is true...smoke follows beauty.


We got in some good chats and then decided to head back to camp for the night, stinking like a camp fire. We all had such a fun time at Lake Powell for our very first time going there. The boys can't wait to go back...

"Memorial Day" Weekend...Part 1

For Memorial weekend this year we went to visit our friends, Spencer and Jann, in Page, AZ. We left Friday after school, later than we had planned, for the 3 1/2 drive to Page. We got there after 10 pm, so we didn't visit long before we went to bed. The next day Josh and Spencer took off for some much needed bike riding time together. They haven't gotten to ride together since last July, so they were excited. Jann and I took the kids to a little park that was at the campground where we stayed.

The kids had a blast playing on all the toys, you would think they've never been to a park before. This one was pretty cool because of the red rocks and mountains behind us.

This horse was the first thing Jantzen got on. He thought it was awesome! He quickly got off though when he saw Jaron getting on the see-saw, so that's where he ended up next.


It was funny seeing these two play on the see-saw because Jaron couldn't kick hard enough to get Jantzen's feet to touch the ground, so he did all the work while Jantzen enjoyed hanging out in the air.


Next up was the swings. Jaron and Jantzen had a turn and then Jaron and Zeben had a turn together. I'm so proud of Jantzen, he can finally make himself swing really good so I don't have to push him anymore...yay for me!



While the boys played on the toys, Jaedyn just relaxed in her stroller...that is until her dad came to play. She loves it when he lifts her up in the air, then he drops and catches her, she giggles so much! She had fun hanging out and swinging with her dad.





After the kids played for a while, we decided to explore and go for a hike up the mountains/rocks. Jann and Spencer headed up with the kids while Josh and I took our time climbing with Jaedyn.


There were a lot of fun caves for the kids to play in on the way up. It wasn't a long hike, but it took me longer because I had decided to wear flip flops instead of shoes like I made the boys wear, I know, smart huh?


When Josh and I caught up to everyone, the boys were throwing rocks off the edge of a cliff. As soon as I saw them my heart sank into my stomach. I am deathly afraid of heights and I was freaked out, thinking they were going to fall off the cliff and I couldn't help them because I'm so afraid...I hate feeling that way. I just yelled at them to move back and Josh went and got them for me. I couldn't handle the rest of the trail because it was so close to the edge, so I walked back and took the long way around and met up with everyone at the end.



After the kids had had enough hiking, we headed back down the hill to go swimming in the campground pool. The boys had just as much fun running down the mountain as they did climbing up it. Jaron, Jantzen, and Zeben raced down a ditch and then Jaron and Jantzen had a contest to see who could jump up the side of the ditch the fastest. I don't remember who won, they both did pretty good.




I guess we wore little miss Jaedy Bug out...she fell fast asleep on our walk back to camp, so we let her have a little nap in her stroller under the shade of a tree. She was sleeping so peaceful, even with the noisy boys running around.


We then took the kids to the pool to cool off a bit. As you can see, Jaedyn didn't like it very much, but Jaron and Jantzen loved it! Jantzen did a lot of dancing and dunking himself, which he was very proud of, and Jaron enjoyed jumping in the deep end and then taking a break to enjoy the hot tub. Jantzen thought the hot tub was too hot, so he didn't get in very much.




The boys enjoyed some splashing time with Zeben...



...and then Jantzen decided he would be brave and go all the way around the pool by just holding on to the edge, he didn't have a life jacket on. He did good with it for a while and then one time while at the deepest part of the pool he let go. I totally freaked out because I saw him just splashing. I ran over to him to find him keeping himself up pretty good, but I pulled him to the side anyway and told him that was enough. I think two almost heart attacks for me in one day is just a little too much!


While the boys enjoyed the pool this is what Jaedyn was doing...chilling out with dad, showing us all how flexible she is. She's so stinking cute!



When the boys had had enough of the pool we left and got ready to go to the beach....

Prepping For Fun...

A few weeks ago we bought a new swimming pool for summer. Our old one, sadly, had to be put down at the end of the summer last year. It served its purpose well for two years at a cost of only $25. It was hands down the best $25 we have ever spent. We weren't as lucky this time around finding such a killer deal, but the money we did spend is well worth it in this heat.

The only part that isn't fun about having an above ground pool that is 20 feet wide (our old one was only 18 feet wide) is the prep work, but that's what kids and husbands are for, right? Josh is such a great guy to find time between his two jobs to get the pool ready for me and the kids to enjoy, and Jaron and Jantzen were so excited and willing to help out this year.

Here, my boys are moving rocks away to put the pool down. We never did move all the rocks back from the old pool, so they didn't have to move as much this time, but getting another two feet of rocks moved was still a lot of work.





It took the boys well into the night to get the rocks moved and the ground leveled...do you notice Josh's fancy laser level? He loves his toys and Jaron thinks it's pretty cool too. I think Jantzen had given up helping at this point, he'd had enough.


We had to wait until the next week to get the actual pool set up because, like I said, Josh works two jobs and he can only do it on the weekends. The boys, again, were willing participants in this process after the pool frame was up. They got inside and were supposed to help stretch out the pool floor and make sure there wasn't any more rocks underneath.

I couldn't see Jantzen at first, just his hand, so I had to get a closer shot. He's so excited this year!




After checking for rocks for a little while, the boys decided they needed to have some fun. I caught Jaron dancing, shaking his tooshy...so cute! Josh had put the hose it to fill up the pool and Jantzen had the hardest time staying away from it. That was the funnest part for him, he even sprayed Jaron a couple times.



Here, Jantzen had to show me his owie on his elbow from earlier that day...he fell off his scooter for the millionth time that week. I swear that boy needs to be wrapped in bubble wrap before he goes outside!


I had told the boys to not get wet because they weren't in their swimsuits, but while they were running around chasing each other Jantzen accidentally fell, after that it was all they wanted to do...get wet!


The boys kept playing in the pool and Jantzen kept slipping and falling down. I thought it was so funny. I know, I'm such a good mom to laugh at my kids' clumsiness, huh? I had to record them playing because they were giggling like little girls, having so much fun together. I love watching these boys play together, they are such great friends.

"Colonial Day"

Last Friday was "Colonial Day" for Jaron's class at school. They have been learning about colonial times and what the people of that time had to do for themselves. To give the kids more of an idea on how things were, Jaron's teacher planned some activities and had a professor from UNLV come to teach the kids how to make different things, just like people back then had to.

I came to help out at the butter making station. Each one of the kids had to make their own butter using only heavy whipping cream, salt, and a plastic container. I gave each of them some whipping cream and salt in their containers and made them shake it up until it turned into butter. This took a lot longer than the kids thought it would and most of them got really tired, so I did a lot of shaking for them.


After all the shaking was done, this is what Jaron ended up with...butter! He got to enjoy some of it on a cracker, but I don't think he really liked it. Almost every kid there told me they are so glad they didn't live back in colonial times because they didn't want to have to make their own butter.



Jaron's next stop was learning how to make a candle. He had to dip a wick in melted wax and then put it in cold water and keep repeating that process until he had a thick candle. This is why he's wearing a grubby shirt over his other one, so he wouldn't get wax all over it.



After he was done with his candle, he went to make a Quill pen and write in his book with it. He had to keep dipping the feather in ink and use it to write. He didn't like that very much. He said it didn't write very well and he's glad he gets to use pencils and pens.


The last thing Jaron got to make was his own doll (or action figure as he calls it) using corn husks. He actually thought this was the funnest thing to make out of everything else. I even caught him playing with it while he was supposed to be getting his picture taken with his class...funny kid.




Here's a group shot of his class holding their favorite thing they made that day. Do you notice how none of them are holding their butter? I guess it wasn't that much fun to make, but they enjoyed eating it.


Jaron told me after that he's so lucky and grateful to be living in today's times. He likes all the luxuries we have now. Maybe I should make the kids start making their own things here to enjoy...nah, I'm not that domestic!