Day at Tibble Fork Reservoir...

Fishing, paddle boarding, and kayaking at Tibble Fork Reservoir was almost as good as being at the beach ! These kids caught three fish and brought them home, cleaned them, and ate them! Well, Alanna and I didn't eat any. But I heard it was good. 

Babysitting Luke's Kids...

We got to babysit Luke's kids for a couple days while Luke and Andrea went to Education Week. It was fun to take them to McDonald's to play since it was blistering hot outside. 

For whatever reason the kids started talking and laughing about poop during lunch, so I told Charlie about Poop Cookies. He asked if I would make him some, and so when we got home and he went down for a nap I did! He ate so many Poop Cookies. And Andrea said he kept talking about the Poop Cookies he ate at our house. I made sure to have spooky Poop Cookies at our Halloween party and he was so pleased!

Blaze and Alanna's first day of school 2018...

This cute girl was so ready to start 5th grade and go back to hanging out with her best friends, Lucy and Kaya!

Can't believe that Blaze-er-roo is now a second grader who LOVES math!

And, they love each other. Almost all of the time!

Annie...

Our amazingly talented neighbor, Bonnie, played Miss Hannigan in the Hale Center Theatre's production of Annie this summer. She was born for that role! It was so much fun to see her act and sing! Such a fun night!

Lake Blanche...

On our hike up to Lake Blanche, we talked to a couple visiting from Poland who told us we are so lucky to live in UT. They said they have been to 70 national parks, and UT is always their favorite place to come. We did great on the trail until we came to what looked like a rock slide and we weren't sure if we should go over it. A guy (who we joked was a serial killer because he was wearing strange gloves and happily made the treacherous journey across the rocks) was in front of us, and 6 hiker piled up behind us and we couldn't figure out where we were supposed to go. The serial killer made his way half way across the rocks and turned around and saw that the trail picked up around the bend after scrambling over 2 big rocks. That would have been nice for All Trails to point out! Now we know, for future reference. How gorgeous is this lake! One of my favorite hikes of the summer!

Silly Kids...

Jackson and Paul had an ongoing argument with James that this delightful meal is called "Cup Noodles", while James claimed it was "Cup 'o Noodles". They boys found some at Costco and had me take a picture and text James right away. They are inheriting his need to always be right. 

One night, after I bought Blaze a new pair of running shoes, I convinced him to take a long walk with me. He wanted to try out his shoes and we had a great time walking and talking. This kid is so imaginative and has so many stories to tell about super heros and dreams he has had. When we reached Walgreens on our walk, I let him go in and pick out a juice that he wanted. He couldn't wait to get home and flaunt it in front of the lazy bums who wouldn't come with us. Actually, right after he got the drink, he said "I bet Daddy wishes he came with us now!"

Love the late nights on the deck! The kids set up forts on the deck and slept out there every night for about 2 weeks straight. They finally got tired of the sun shining in their faces too early in the morning and decided to move back indoors.