Utah Trip 2016

I took the kids out to Utah for two weeks at the end of June. It was my first time flying alone with both kids. We had a layover in Las Vegas where we got stuck on the runway for about two hours. (aka my flying nightmare...besides the plane getting hijacked, I guess). These kids were pretty good, but things started out rough. Luckily, they were back to normal by the next morning at Grandpa Tom and Grandma Sheila's new house! 

Lucy even learned how to do stairs. I was so happy her cousins were excited to play with her, because they helped her go up and down and up and down...

After two days in Salem, we drove down to St. George. I hadn't been back for about three years, so it was a great feeling to be "home." I just love being there. 

 

I got to see my house in progress as my dad and Sheila are getting it remodeled to sell, and visit old friends. It was a nice trip, but quick.

Back up north, we celebrated the 4th with a parade and, later, a picnic in the canyon with cousins!

Having a fire in the mountains with marshmallows is one of my favorite things ever (luckily we did it twice in Utah!)

Later that week, we hiked up to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. I'd been there several times, but didn't know you could hike up close!

The kids liked the water at the bottom. Next, we drove up to Sundance Resort for some snacks and relaxing!

Another day, Kristen and the kids and I got lunch and drove up to Kaysville to visit my Grandparents. It's always nice to see them!

We then visited the Hill Air Force Base Museum. It was much cooler than we were expecting! Ty LOVED it, but we didn't get to stay long as they were closing (and announced it every 10 minutes...then every single minute)

Above: Ty with "Wind-lifter" from Disney's Planes Fire and Rescue.
Below: "Sarge" from Disney's Cars.

And don't forget Ty with every other vehicle around Salem. It's a farm town with a lot of new construction, so he had a lot of fun! Below is him with Frank's cousin. Frank is the big red combine harvester on Disney's Cars that chases Lightning and Mater while tractor tipping.

"Mater's cousin:"

 and a tipped tractor:

Don't forget all the construction vehicles!

The second weekend we were there, Mindy and Ben's family came up to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. On Friday, we had fun at Thanksgiving Point's Farm Town.

Lucy may have had the most fun of anyone. She got to ride a pony!

Eating at Cafe Rio after. Even Lucy loves it.

Ty and Kash are becoming cute little friends. These two are only three months apart.

For Dad's birthday celebration, Sheila had planned a great party starting with these Knocker Balls:

 

Next, we played a few active family games on the grass. Below we are playing a relay tic-tac-toe. It was cute because even Ty could participate! 

Next we split into three teams and did an "Amazing Race" picture scavenger hunt game. I was on Ben and Kaitlyn's (and Carter's) team (where are those pictures too!?) We drove all over Salem and Santaquin to take pictures with a goat, on a boat in a lake, with a school mascot, etc. It was so fun, and we ended up at the Red Barn in Santaquin for some delicious ice cream!

Dad and my team members.

 

The pictures below are just of all the fun family time we had.

 I love that our family did so many active things together. The Utah weather was pretty amazing for being July, and I think we all enjoyed being outside in the beautiful scenery. Below are pictures from a kickball game we played at a park pretty much on the edge of a mountain. It was beautiful!  

Our last day we hiked to a pretty waterfall, then roasted hot dogs and s'mores on a fire in Payson Canyon. 

Did I mention that I love the mountains? 

And I love these kids.

I just love spending time with my family.

Fun in Nashville

It's a lot of work trying to take advantage of all Nashville has to offer. Who knew there was so much to do!? 

I wanted to take Ty to Monster Jam last summer but backed out, so I jumped on board this year. I thought Tim could take Ty for Father's Day, but he ended up talking me in to taking Ty and Tim had a blast on a "date" with Lucy. It was a lot of fun for all of us.

Once we made it to our seats (the stadium was horribly laid out, disorganized, and strict on rules-no umbrellas or purses caused 1.5 trips back to the car), the show was fun! Ty and I especially liked when the cars flipped over!

L

Last Sunday we got to celebrate this amazing dad!

It was cute seeing Ty so excited to celebrate!

Lucy got Tim his favorite "kids" book called Jamberry, and Ty/I made this race-track shirt that is supposed to be a "back-scratch" shirt!

 

Wednesday we got a babysitter and headed to The Factory at Franklin for the Music City Roots show. It is a live radio/tv broadcast with several performers each show. It's fun because they interview the bands and announce commercials all throughout the show, but our show was special because it was the annual Dance Show! 

The bands were called the Lil Smokies (new-grass/bluegrass), 50 Shades of Hay (classic country), Music City Dough Boys (country swing), and Uncle Shuffalo and his Haint Hollow Hootenanny (square dance). Tim and I danced just one song, but it was a blast! I'm so glad we went! 

It's been HOT and HUMID! We finally headed to the Maryland Farms YMCA to check out their outdoor pool area. We were there about 5 minutes before the cool kids pool closed due to some kids poopy in the water. :(

Last night we headed to Centennial Park downtown for Big Band Dance where they teach you how to do certain dances for the first 30 minutes, then play music. What a fun idea! We danced with the kids for a song or two, then just listened and played outside. 

The kids have been busy at home, too. Ty has been building with Legos and doing lots of crafts (the picture below is when he went to a Michael's Craft Camp), and Lucy loves eating, playing, and  getting attention. They are both great at smiles! Yay for fun in Nashville!

A Mammoth Day Trip

We had heard Mammoth Caves in Kentucky were worth seeing, so we put it on the bucket list and headed up. 

We stopped for a few pictures once inside the park. It's hard to believe there are caves under most of this!

 

The original plan was to go on a Saturday, but as I looked information up the Friday night before, I realized that if you want to get into the "cool looking" part of the caves, you need advance tickets. We went on the Frozen Niagara tour yesterday (a Tuesday afternoon).

 We choose this specific tour because it was shorter and easier for the kids. It was a hit. Ty loved exploring the caves and our tour guide even turned the lights off and lit a batman signal on the wall.

The pictures turned out ...pretty much how you would expect pictures taken in a dark cave to turn out. I didn't even save the ones of a  mini waterfall that is only there when it rains. (It was pouring just before the tour.)

 

The ride isn't too bad from Nashville. Just under two hours. On our way home, we stopped at the Corvette Factory to take a look at the "racecars" out front. Unfortunately, you have to be 12 or something to do the factory tour. :(