Monday, July 30, 2012

One Fine Day

I love living in Utah. One day I might have to work for the travel and tourism office because I love it so much and think everyone should come here to see what we have. I like being a tourist in my own state as well and try to get to all the touristy places in my own back yard. We spend one July day doing just that. We started at the Hill Airforce Base Museum where we met Laurie, my best friend from High School, and her kids.
 This place is really cool with a lot of history behind everything. They boys, especially Miles, loved the airplanes.


 The kids didn't really understand what all the planes were for. It is weird to me that they don't really have any background knowledge of WWI and WWII. So we had one of the volunteers explain to them what started the wars and who fought in them. We tried to read as many of the signs as we could, but mostly we just enjoyed these very large, amazing machines.
 After that adventure, we went to lunch with our friends and then were going to head home. But on the freeway, I saw the exit to Antelope Drive and thought, "What the heck. We don't need to be back for anything so lets go!" I hadn't been out there since Mitchel was really little and I knew we could earn a Jr. Ranger badge, so off we went.
 The visitors center is small, but has some interesting information in it about the lake and the brine shrimp. It also talks about how the bison and other animals got out there.
 The view from out there is amazing! The sky was so blue and the lake looked like it went on forever. It's no wonder the earlier explorers thought they might have found the Pacific Ocean.
 Unfortunately, the boys gave two thumbs down for the actual touching of the lake. They were all excited to put their feet in it until they ran down to the edge and billions of brine flies flew up all over their legs. They were totally grossed out after that and wouldn't get in the water. I don't blame them, the shore is pretty gross. There were some other tourists swimming in it though. (Crazy!)
We then drove around the island just a bit and saw some bison and birds. By the time we were done with our few hour visit, my boys had earned their Antelope Island State Park Jr. Ranger badge. This is the 17th badge they have earned.
It was a beautiful day and a great summer adventure for us. I love Utah and all that it has to offer. I think our slogan of "Life Elevated" is really true. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else!

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Awesome month of June

I love summer!! I know I say that every year, but it is true. It is by far my favorite time of year. We have stayed super busy so far doing lots of fun activities and outings. Here is just a run down of what we have been doing so far in June in no particular order....
 We spent an afternoon at This Is The Place State Park on the free Jon Huntsman day. I was surprised that it wasn't more crowded. The weather was perfect and they had even more activities than ever to see and do. Our favorite was this group of Native American dancers. We watched them while eating our free ice cream.
We celebrated Mike's 37th birthday.
Played in our pool one afternoon.
Max spent two days up at Cub Country. He has been dying to go for years and now it was finally his turn. Mike went with him the first day and I went up the second. His favorite activity was shooting the BB guns.
Father's Day up in Park City
Tracy and Aaron's wedding. It was perfect. We are so glad to welcome him and his three children into our family.
A day at Murray Pool with the new cousins.


A little tour of Taffy Town.
All the spring sports ended. Mitchel had been playing basketball on the Rec league, Mason had been playing soccer and Max's two baseball teams winded up.
A free day miniature golfing at Boondocks. (free is the best!)
A mom and me play date at the local splash pad with other kids and moms from the ward.
Slip and Slide with the neighbor kids.
Max getting his participation award from Taylorsville baseball. He loved every minute of playing.
A few days and nights spent at the condo in Park City.
Miles turned 3. We had a bounce house party with the family that evening to celebrate.
Mitchel participated in a Science Camp with his friend Hayden at the Salt Lake Community College for a week. They made rockets, robots, music, solar cars, kites, and all sorts of other science things. He loved it (even though  it was a lot like school).
A day at the Riverton/Herriman beach with the cousins.
So June was fabulous. Love this time I get to spend with my boys.