Zoo Trip 2012

I decided to take the kids to the zoo about a week ago.  I met up with some of my college roommates at Liberty Park first (and didn't take any pictures! :(  ), and then we headed up to the zoo.  I hadn't been for two years since Nate's mom was nice enough to take the kids last summer while we were in Europe.  They opened a new exhibit a few months ago so it was fun to have some change.  It was hot for the first little bit, but then got cloudy and made the trip much more enjoyable!

On the train.

Could only fit half of Liam in to get them all in the picture. :)

The elephants!  There is a baby elephant that was having a great time playing in the mud and water.  The kids loved watching it!

My little birdies!

Part of the new exhibit were seals and sea lions.  The kids could have watched them for hours.  They also added polar bears and otters, but they were not swimming when we were there.

The Giraffes!

Ashlyn's favorite part the Carousel.

After the zoo we zoomed across the street to This is the Place Heritage Park.  I thought since we were so close I would show the kids the big monument.  It was close to Pioneer Day so I had a good teaching moment about the Pioneers and the significance of the park. 

Joseph and Brigham.

The big monument.

I had to add this picture because Ashlyn was telling me she was shooting me as I was taking the picture.  Maybe someday she'll like playing princesses. :)

Cub Scout Day Camp 2012

Gavin and I got to go to Cub Scout Day Camp at Camp Kiesel together this year.  I went last year because I'm a den leader, but it was much more fun this year to be with my own son.  I took a bunch a pictures of Gavin doing the various stations, but I just realized that I never got a picture of us together.  You will just have to take my word for it that I was there.  It was a little hot in the afternoon but overall it was a fun day.  Gavin had on a bright yellow-orange hat, so you can spot him in all the pictures.  

Gavin getting his BB gun ready to shoot.

Getting his arrow into his bow.

Getting ready to release the arrow.  (He had some really good shots!)

Hanging with his fellow cub scouts waiting for the next station.

Making the craft.

Hiking and finding treasures along the path.

The rowboats! (The favorite besides the trading post)

Gavin with his fellow shipmates and my brave friend/other den leader. (They always all end up wet)

Crossing the rope bridge on the obstacle course.

Until next year!

Bear Lake/Yellowstone 2012

This year we had a different kind of Bear Lake reunion week.  Because the water is still up high, the area in front of our cabin is really muddy/mucky, so early on in the year my parents made reservations to go to Yellowstone for a few days to break up our Bear Lake week.  We spent time at Bear Lake from Saturday night until Wednesday morning and then drove up to Yellowstone and stayed until Friday.  Our initial plan was to stay at Bear Lake Friday night and head home Saturday, but my sweet Aunt Martha passed away early in the week so our plans changed to make sure we were back for her funeral. (She had been sick for almost 15 years, so her passing was a blessing for her, but still sad for us left behind).  

With not much desire to swim in the mud of Bear Lake we spent a lot of our time fishing in the new man-made pond that Garden City built a couple months ago.  The kids had a great time fishing and we actually caught quite a few trout.  The most amazing was the last two fish we caught.  They were huge!  We decided to keep them, so my sister (the great fisherwoman) prepared and cooked them.  

Our time at Yellowstone was awesome!  I haven't been there since I was a teenager. Nate and our kids had never been there, so it was great to show it all to them.  The crowds weren't too bad and the weather was perfect.  We managed to see a lot of hot pots, geysers, buffalo, chipmunks, and one elk.  We were sad not to have seen a Bear, but maybe it was better we didn't. :)  We could have spent much more time there, so now we have to plan a trip back in a few years.  I only got one picture of our time at Bear Lake.  The rest are from the Yellowstone adventure.

The two BIG trout!!

A beautiful Hot Pot.  (Yes, it was the 4th of July too!)

Yellowstone Lake

We were warm at the Hot Pots. Can you tell?

I love this picture with the colors of the sulfur next to the blue of Yellowstone lake.

Liam and his cousin Lizzy.  You can see the "Yellow" stone behind them.  

Lower Falls

I should mention that I got a thumbs down the first time I took the picture.  After scolding them, I got a thumbs up!

A buffalo just walking on the road next to our car.  Too bad my flash hit the mirror. :(

Another buffalo up in the middle of the picture.

This is the funniest picture of Ashlyn.  She was doing some pose when I took the picture.  It makes me laugh every time I see it.

Old Faithful.  Sadly it was cloudy so we don't have the blue sky to contrast the geyser.  It went so high!

The boys showing off their one souvenir.  A pocket knife.  I know, I'm crazy for letting them get one.

The rest of June...

Life has been non-stop since we got back from Disney World.  I guess it's my own fault since I put the kids in 2 weeks of swimming lessons and then one week of golf lessons for the boys.  We had a busy two weeks before we headed to our annual week at Bear Lake (Pics to come).  Ashlyn loved her swimming lessons (she has no fear of the water) and the best part of it all is she finally decided to be fully potty trained.  I kept telling her she couldn't do swimming lessons unless she went on the potty (not quite true, but it worked).  It only took her 2 days with a couple of little accidents and she is fully potty trained!  I LOVE not having to change her diaper.  She seems so much older now that she is wearing big girl underwear and sitting on the potty.  Gavin also loved swimming lessons and made great improvements.  Liam, on the other hand, didn't do so well.  He has quite a fear of the water and had a hard time getting comfortable.  After the two weeks of lessons he was much more relaxed but still has a lot of work ahead of him to be as comfortable as Gavin.  During our second week of swimming the boys also had golf lessons.  They LOVED them.  They were able to learn how to hold the club correctly, how to chip, putt, and drive the ball.  Now we can just work on improving their skills.  After all the craziness of those weeks we packed up at headed to Bear Lake.  Summer is just flying by!