Bear Lake Adventures

As if Hiking was not enough, the next monday we decided to take the day off and haul the kids to Bear Lake. It was beautiful and VERY full. The only beach was about 40 feet wide on the north shore (usually the north shore is about a quarter mile wide.) It was totally worth the vacation time!

Kyle loved the water. I usually take him out of the bath after an hour, kicking and screaming. He thought his dreams had come true!


This is what happens after playing in the water for several hours. He is still on the beach, in his port-a-crib, under a tree.

Andrea loved the water as well. She was the first one to run to it and dive in...of course. This is her pretend wave runner.

Little did she know that later she would be upgraded to a real wave runner! Mike is driving with Andi and her cousin behind. Andrea could have ridden it for hours. Mike was driving very fast and very crazy (I know, it doesn't seem possible) and she just laughed the entire time! Man she is an adrenaline junkie. I loved the wave runner too, but fortunately for you there is no picture of me.

Mike had a great time playing with the kids.

Nick showing off his beautiful collection of "Crystals."

What beach trip would be complete without the sand castle. Andi and Nick made this one.

It is times like this that I LOVE the DVD player in my van! By the time we got home they were both passed out though, and I think I was too. What a great day! Thanks to the Christensen's for giving us an excuse to go up!

Hiking through salad

We finally had an open weekend so we decided to take it and go hiking for the first time with our little family. It was great, we went up by Third Dam in Logan canyon and hiked the Spring Hollow trail. The kids did great and Kyle only cried in the carrier for the first five minutes!


On the trail we found a nice shady spot that had a lot of greenery. As we walked into the area Nick yelled "Hey mom, look there is salad for you to eat everywhere!" This is the picture of Andi and Nick next to the "salad." He kept telling me to eat it but I declied.


Kyle..."Are we done yet?"

After the hike we went to third dam to skip rocks or in Mike's case "ski" rocks. The water was perfect and we found some perfect flat skipping rocks, so he was able to get the rocks to water ski. It was amazing!

Mike teaching Nick how to skip rocks. He got it to skip two times. Not quite as good as his dad, but he is well on his way.

The water is still high in the Creeks so we played in the water going over the road. It was freezing! Kyle would cry to get down in it so I would set him down, then he would gasp and cry to get back out.

Nick resting on the bridge.

On the way back to the car Andi found a butterfly on the road that had been hit by a car, but was still alive. She was almost in tears over how injured it was. She picked it up and gently set it over in the bushes. I am sure it will live...right?

The kid were great for the whole hike. I think we will have to do this more often.

What do rodeo queens, storm troopers, and tractors have in common?

The Preston Parade!! Who knew right? Really this parade has everything to offer and the best part is you don't have to show up days in advance to save yourself a good spot to watch! Hands down this is the best parade in the western side of the US on the last weekend in July! Here is a little background info on the parade. It is actually takes place three times and coinsides with the famous Preston Rodeo. The parade is on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Thurdsay the parade is horses only, I am sure a specticle all in itself. Saturday though is our favorite day to go, that is when they give out the real goodies! My favorite part of the parade is the suprise factor in almost every entry. You really never know what is going to come next! There may have been a total of 2 traditional "floats" in the parade and they were county royalty from cities nearer to Logan. The rest were anything but traditional...let the parade begin!

Mike and Kyle getting ready for the event of the year.


Our parade watching crew.


Before I begin with the entries of course had to put a clip in of my Candy crazed child going after his first few pieces of candy. He ran like that for most of the parade, and almost every time it started with him screaming CANDY! As if he had never seen that before.



A major part of the parade were the Rodeo Royalty. In most cities the "royalty" ride on a float, but not in preston. They ride on a horse. Andrea said "Mom, that will be me someday." I can't wait...her father (a major cowboy he just never ever shows it) can't wait either. We always knew we were destined to have a rodeo queen for a daughter.





To start the parade we have the horse drawn wagon and flag.



Following them, the "pooper scoopers" ...naturally.


Oh, and a giant dog with a T-shirt tied on, very fashionable.


Next we have the mini restored boat. Notice the toddler sitting in the boat, I would guess he is about three years old.


This would not be the preston parade without all the restored tractors taking a nice relaxing drive down the road.




I guess this guy forgot his tractor, but the hair is awesome!

Now that is what I call child labor. That kid is pulling the jeep...no words.

Not to be out done Princess Leia and the Storm Troopers made a showing.

Oh and Darth Vedar, good thing Leia was there to keep the Dark Side in check.

He got me!

I don't even remember what Star Wars movie he was on.

Ah, Chewbacca. The experience is complete. Sorry my brothers, you missed out!

Of course following the Star Wars group was a ward group and the missionaries! They are hard to see in this picture but they are on the bed of the truck throwing candy.


And the fanale, the Walmart truck. Who could ask for more.

See...it was awesome. There were many other awesome entries like a "Herbie" replica car and a restored VW Van but I was tending to kids so I couldn't get pics. The stuff given to us was as varied as the entries. We all came away with loads of candy, water bottles, popcicles, chocolate milk, coupons, and did I mention candy.

Really, it was very entertaining, and I would highly recommend it be on your bucket list! See you all there next year!

Kyle is 1!

Our baby boy is 1 year old!! What...when did that happen? Kyle is such a joy to have in our family. Nick and Andi ADORE him! I usually have to fight them off when he is trying to take a nap. They just want to play, hold or cuddle with him. Andrea is basically his other mother. Kyle loves the both of them right back (at least most of the time.)

We had two parties for him, one at Mike's parents and one at G&G Sorenson's, but the pictures did not turn out well at the Sorenson's so this is what you get.

This is Kyles "Don't touch my cupcake" stare. I have the video of him devouring the cake at the end of this post.



After cake he and all the other kids in the room opened his present. His Buzz Lightyear Mobile Car was a huge hit for all the kids as seen below.



Finally, alone (kind of) with his new toy.



We love you Kyle!

Look Ma...no training wheels!

For some reason when I learned how to ride a bike I remember it being very difficult. I especially remember the skinned knees, hands and elbows. Because of this I made sure to buy Nick elbow and knee pads as he is a little sensitive when it comes to getting hurt. He has been riding his bike since he was two and a half. Over the last couple of months we have been raising up his training wheels from the lowest to the highest notch. We finally decided he was ready about a month before he turned 4. This is the picture of him all geared up.



Here he is on his first bike ride without training wheels!

Awesome huh! The amazing thing is since then he has only fallen one time. It took me months of skinned knees before I was as good as he is!

Cowboy Reunion

We had a lot of family reunions this summer but apparently I forgot to get my camera out at all of them except the Cowboy Reunion with the Sorenson's. Thanks to my cousin Heather and all her helpers it was awesome. We camped out in my Grandparents back yard, played a lot of games and ate a ton of food and that was just the first day! The second day my Aunt rented a giant waterslide...it was awesome!!! Even my aunt's went down the slide!

Kyle just loved being around any water at all. This was his dream come true.!

This Video is of Andrea doing a front flip down the slide. She is totally the family daredevil!

This is the video of Nick and I going down the side. Don't judge the white legs...I am trying to bring tan lines back into style!

We will be talking about this reunion for years to come! Thanks Aunt Sue!

Odds 'N Ends

So here are some odds and ends from this summer.

Yes, this summer was exhausting for Mike and Kyle. Lots of projects to do around the house.


Nick and Andrea have loved playing with their baby brother, and Kyle loves them back just as much!


We also added a new addition to the family, and the best part is the beautiful and amazing music already coming from my little concert pianists.