Free Entertainment

This weekend was the last one before I go to back to work. :( I wanted to do something fun with my family, but didn't want to spend a lot of money. Dinosaur Park in Ogden was offering free admission from 4-8pm so I talked Bryce into going. When we drove up around 4:30 there were a lot of cars and not a lot of parking spots. Bryce almost talked me out of going but then a parking spot opened up. YEA!! The boys and I had not been there in a while and Ellie and Bryce had never been there. We enjoyed looking around the museum and then walking around the outdoor exhibits. There were a lot of people but it wasn't too crowded. The kids and even Bryce seemed to have a lot of fun!!

After Dinosaur Park we traveled up Ogden Canyon and stopped at The Oaks for dinner. We had a great time eating right next to the river and enjoying the fresh, cool air. Everyone enjoyed their dinner and we even splurged and shared a chocolate lava cake a la mode. Dinner of course was not free, but it was worth the money. I love The Oaks!! YUMMY!!

After dinner we went further up the canyon to the Balloon Festival at Wolf Creek. We have never been to it and I thought it would be fun to see the 'Balloon Glow' they do on Saturday night. And yes, it was free. As we drove up to the park there were a ton of cars and people, but we found a spot off the side of the road that we could see the balloons from. There were about 7 balloons to start with, (we thought there would have been more), and as we waited about 15 minutes until dark three of the balloons deflated. We weren't sure what happened and we were a bit disappointed but the kids enjoyed seeing the HUGE pink Energizer bunny balloon inflate just before dark. (last photo-hard to see but notice the bunny ears) They didn't seem to get all of the balloons glowing at once, and the pictures we got weren't great because of the dark, but overall it was fun to see.

SuMmeR VaCatioN

Our family recently returned from our summer vacation to Southern California. We all had a great time, especially the boys. We were able to meet my sister Pam and her family from Arizona and my parents were there from Montana. My younger sister Megan lives in the LA area and we were able to spend some time with her family also. Pam booked our hotel for us. It was located in Santa Ana about 15 minutes from the beach. It had great accommodations, except the beds were a bit hard and only double size. Breakfast was made to order which came with the price of the room. We got a great deal, way to go Pam!! Our rooms overlooked the pool/hot tub area which the kids enjoyed every day we were there.

We went to Huntington beach the Monday evening we got into town and ate on the pier at a diner called Ruby's. The kids enjoyed wading in the ocean for awhile after dinner. My boys didn't take the time to change into their swim suits after dinner, so they came back to the hotel- wet, cold, and with a pound of sand in their shorts. Boys will be boys!!

The next day we went to a large water park at Knott's Berry Farm called Soak City. The kids had a blast. Ellie got tired by mid afternoon, so grandma and grandpa came to the rescue and took her back to the hotel so I could enjoy my time at the water park. Thanks, Mom and Dad. That night Megan and her three boys came and stayed over at the hotel. We all went to dinner at a yummy BBQ restaurant. That was an adventure to say the least. 7 adults and 9 kids, YIKES!! Overall, everyone behaved themselves.

Wednesday was our first all-day, beach-day at Newport Beach. We loaded up 3 cars and all our gear for the day. Pam brought an easy-up canopy so we were able to have some shade. We had about 6 boogie boards altogether, 2 coolers, 5 beach chairs, and several bags with towels and beach toys. It looked as if we were camping overnight. The kids had a great time. Tyler tried boogie boarding along with his dad and his cousins. Brayden was a little leery of the water that day but he enjoyed digging for sand crabs and sea shells with Sadi (Pam's youngest girl). Ellie is like me I decided. She doesn't like to get wet and especially in cold water. She hung out in the sand under the canopy and had a blast digging away with Megan's boys. That night my parents got KFC for everyone, that we enjoyed by the pool at the hotel. Everyone was a bit tired that night and seemed to sleep pretty well.

The next day we had a casual morning. The girls decided to go get pedicures and do some shopping. The boys found a batting cage and went to Laguna Beach for lunch. We all had a great time!! That night we traveled about 50 miles to Dodger stadium. That took about 1 hour 45 minutes. Yikes!! I could never live in California with all that traffic. My sister Megan was able to get $10 tickets in lower left field. It was Mormon night at the Dodgers!! I didn't enjoy the game much because I wrestled with Ellie the whole time, but overall I think the boys enjoyed it. I believe we spent close to $100 on food while at the game. Our most expensive day yet on the trip. Bryce and I decided we wanted to beat the traffic and so we left with Ellie in the 9th inning, Dodgers were losing 4-2. The boys wanted to stay and so my parents said they would bring them home. It turns out after we left in the bottom of the 9th- there was a walk-off home run and the Dodgers ended up winning 5-4. Bryce was a bit bummed he missed it, but I was glad my boys stayed with grandpa and grandma and we weren't stuck in traffic.

On our last day in California we ventured to Huntington beach for the day with everyone. It was a bit cooler that day, but it actually turned out okay. Brayden gave boogie boarding a try and loved it. They had fun finding more sea shells and building another sand castle. On the way back to the hotel we stopped and had "Cold Stone" ice cream. Yummy!! That night some of us got into the hot tub at the hotel and basically enjoyed a relaxing evening.

We stayed in Las Vegas on the way to and from California to break up the traveling a bit. Ellie is not fun to travel with. :( But I can't blame her. I don't like it either. I think we spent the majority of our money in Vegas. No, not on gambling, but on dinner at 'The Rainforest Cafe', souvenirs at M & M world, the Shark aquarium at Mandalay Bay hotel, and the roller coaster in Primm, Nevada. Overall, we had a great vacation. One I hope the boys will always remember. Enjoy the slide show of all our adventures below.
P.S. If you are wondering why we didn't do Disneyland, it was because Bryce didn't want to. Too crowded in the summer, but I told him we will be coming back in January or February to enjoy Disneyland then. :)

Tourney of Champs

Last weekend was the Tournament of Champions in Heber City. This is the final tournament of the baseball season. Tyler's team Shock was one of 10 teams in his age division that made it. Thursday was the first two games of the tournament. My sis-in-law Darcy watched Ellie and Brayden for me that day which made it extra nice for me to be able to sit and enjoy both games without any interruptions. They won their first game against the Box Elder Bees, but lost the next game to a team from St. George.

The next day we loaded up the car and traveled back to Heber for two more games. They played the Bandits first and that game didn't go so well. In the first inning, our best pitcher got hit by a line drive in his pitching arm, and was unable to pitch the rest of the game. That got into our players heads a bit and we were unable to focus and play a good game. The next game was against a team from Taylorsville. I was hoping that we would be able to pull it together and go 2-2 in the tournament, but that didn't happen. We only lost by 4. Tyler had a good tournament and a great season. He is excited to play fall ball with Shock starting at the end of August.

Making a play on 3rd

Up to bat

Tyler on 1st base, Bryce is the base coach

Ellie holding licorice in her toes

Ellie relaxing with a gatorade and doritos YUMMY!!Ellie and her friend Kate

That night we stayed in Park City at the Marriott. The kids had a good time swimming in the pool. The next day we went to the outlet stores and did some school shopping. I found a lot of good deals and I had a great time. The boys, not so much!! I told Bryce this is something I like to do myself. He agreed.

We then went into SLC and went to the Gateway downtown. We saw an I-max movie called 'Under the Sea, 3D' at the Clark Planetarium. Ellie didn't like that too much. She kept jumping in my lap when a fish would attack. 3D is not for her. The boys enjoyed just looking around the Planetarium. I don't think they have been there in several years. After the movie we did some window shopping and then ate at the 'California Pizza Kitchen'. We got home Saturday around 6:00. Everyone was exhausted from a long, hot weekend, but it was a fun one.

Big Girl Bed

Well, we finally got Ellie out of her crib and into a 'big girl' bed. She is almost 2 1/2 years old now and so we figured it was time. She has had some awful sleeping habits lately and we figured getting a new bed might help fix them. She has actually been climbing out of her crib for about 4 months now and hasn't been sleeping through the night either. It has been driving me crazy. She used to be a great sleeper.

The first night in the new bed didn't go real well. I think it was just the newness of it that made her not want to stay in bed and go to sleep. But she is doing better now. I tuck her in and sing a few songs, Twinkle Star is her favorite, and then she rolls over and goes to sleep. She has woken up in the night a couple of times, but goes right back to sleep. Overall, she is doing much better. She actually sleeps in until 9ish almost everyday. This morning she actually woke up at 10:30. WOW!! That will all have to change in about a month when school starts again and I am back to work, but for now I will take it!

Ellie pretending to go to sleep in her new bed
She loves to jump on the bed, what a monkey!!

Isn't it cute?

Finally a big girl bed

County Champs

Tyler has been playing on two baseball teams this year, a competitive one and a recreation one with his buddies from school and his cousins Brady and Creighton. His uncle Tom was the coach and they had a great season and were undefeated. Tonight they played in the county championship game against the Plain City Mosquitoes. It was a great game and was neck and neck the whole way.

Tyler started out at catcher and his cousin Brady pitched. It was 2-0 through 2 innings for us. In the 3rd inning Plain City scored 2 runs and the score was tied up. In the bottom of the 4th inning Tyler hit a 2-run home run to put his team up 4-2. (Notice the video below)

Then in the top of the 5th inning Tyler pitched and struck out 3 batters. He even used a knuckle ball. They won the game 4-2. It was so exciting. Everyone did great!!

Tyler with his sister Ellie!!

Tyler and his cousin Brady. The catcher/pitcher combo.

Tyler with his cousins, Creighton and Brady

Home run hit!!

Happy Birthday Brayden

I am about a week late posting this, but Brayden turned 7 years old last Thursday. He spent the day at Lagoon with his cousins and had a great time. He wanted a skateboard for his bday and I was able to find a cool Spongebob one. On Sunday we had a party with family for his bday and Tyler's which was in June. Grandpa and Grandma Garfield were here from Montana to help celebrate. My sister Megan was here with her family from California. Happy Birthday Buddy!!

They both wanted strawberry cakes, but they didn't even try a piece. Everyone else enjoyed them though. :)

Fun time with cousins

The month of July has been filled with visits from my two sisters and their families and my parents. The first part of July my sister Pam and her family were visiting from Arizona. We had a great time while they were here and did a lot of fun things. We went mini golfing at Toad's, spent a day at Lagoon, and went to the Hogle Zoo.

Bryce, Brayden, Brittany(behind her cousin),and her cousin Paige on Rattle Snake Rapids


Brayden riding the little cars. He didn't like the big rides. Maybe some day!!

Sadi and Brayden on the helicopters

Slide Show of our Zoo Trip

Around the middle of the month my parents came from Montana and stayed for about a week. While they were here, my sister Megan and her family came and stayed a couple of days. They live in California. It was so fun to see my kids interact with their cousins, whom they don't see very often. We all had a great time. We are looking forward to spending some more time with them in about a week, when we all meet in Southern California for a family vacation.

Fun With Cousins