Speed!

The sun falls on my face, chest, arms and legs I welcome it's warmth as a reminder that summer is nearing it's end. The sun's heat is almost to much in the hot dry July afternoon, but it is suddenly cut to nothing as a spray of water five feet high rains water droplets down around Kerstina and me. The cool water sends shivers down the length of my body as I push the gas past it's climax. We shoot forward gaining speed with every passing second, in front of us looms a boat sailing past. I turn the handle bars and pull up nearly parallel to the wake that the boat has so generously left behind. We hit the first of the 3 waves that are coming toward us, I push the gas even harder and we clear the 2nd wave and hit the 3rd sending us both flying off from the seat.

Kerstina hoots behind me and I let out a giggle then let off the gas slightly and crank the wheel hard to the left and hit the gas somehow Kerstina stays on the back. We spin in nearly a complete circle and I punch the gas and were off again hunting for another set of waves.


Up until Monday I was terrified of Wave Runners and Jet Skies. Now I think I might start saving up so that Kevin and I can buy a pair of our own. It was great! I loved the feeling of the wind whipping past me as we shot across Huntington lake. I am a changed woman!





Oh and the kids had a lot of fun too. Kira was a little intimidated by the speed but Emma loved every second of it. She would giggle with delight and then scream, "Faster mommy, faster!"




Izzy liked a slower paced ride but she enjoyed it all the same.


They had a ton of fun swimming near the shore and playing on the wave runners when they weren't in use. Kira and Cadance had so much fun in the water they only came to shore once or twice the entire time we were there.


The kids found all kinds of interesting things on the beach dead fish, crawdads, rocks, and lots of mud. Caden put the mud to full use by creating his rather impressive 5 o'clock shadow.


The weather was perfect, the water was warm, and our picnic turned out spectacular! Thanks Keith for letting us use your toys!

Simple Pleasures Week 8

Here's a fun game we all can play, review your weekend, list the top 5 things that made you smile. Here are mine:


1. Dog pile on Uncle Doran.
This happened during the week not the week end but it put a smile on my face to see all the grand kids and Doran laughing and smiling and playing and just enjoying the moment. Oh it's great to be a kid!











2. Brit's generosity! And her famous Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brit took Izzy and Emma while Kevin and I took Kira to see Harry Potter with my Mom and Dad, Kerstina, RaeLynn, Annie, Tiger and Ryan at the Provo Mall. They had so much fun that when we came to pick them up they didn't want to leave. And not only did she take the girls so willingly, she baked them her wonderful chocolate chip cookies!
THANKS BRIT! The girls had a ton of fun!




3. Popcorn!
Kevin and I went to get treats at the Movie, we figured there were quite a few people so we grabbed 2 HUGE tubs of popcorn figuring that it would feed all 10 of us. Well Kira horded one of the buckets and ate nearly half of it by herself. When our bucket was gone and the movie was too confusing for her to follow she made her way down the isle to Grandma's lap where she proceeded to eat the rest of their popcorn. Is anyone surprised to hear that on the way home she complained about an upset stomach.

4. Sleeping in.
On Saturday morning Kevin got up and got the girls dressed and took them to the park. I was still sleeping when he gathered the kids up and left so I continued to count z's while they played in the warm summer sunshine. Thanks Kevin, it was great!

5. Walks in the warm summer sunshine.
Saturday afternoon Kevin and I took the girls out to Spring Canyon. We parked and walked up to the top of the tipple and let each of the girls stand on the thick cement wall and brave a look over the side. The drastic drop had Izzy scrambling back as quickly as she could. Kira steadied herself and then took a moment to look at everything on the ground. She found rocks, brush and lots of shotgun shells. Emma climbed right up and Kevin held on tight. She looked down and then turned around and got down, then she wanted to get back up. Then she got back down, then she wanted to get back up. Are you seeing a pattern?
After everyone was done looking over the side we walked through what is left of Standardville. It was wonderful to watch my kids as we told them about people that lived there many years ago. My kids have a wonderful respect for old things, they love to see them and learn about them. They were quite distraught over the graffiti that stained every available wall. We had to cover Kira's eyes so that she couldn't read some of it.
It really makes me sad how disrespectful people can be sometimes. But watching my kids as they crawled through the bricks and masonry and imagined what each building could have been used for brought a smile to my lips.

6. Piggy Back Rides!
I know I was only supposed to do 5 but... what's one more. On our way back down the trail from the old houses that still had at least 2 walls or even just a foundation the girls decided that they were tired and thirsty. Emma begged to be carried and Kevin obliged, hoisting her up on to his shoulders. This started Izzy into a temper tantrum so Kevin pulled her up onto his hip and we started down the trail again.
Emma sang as she sat on top of her dad's shoulders, then suddenly she stopped and looked at Kira and said, "Kira, Dad's 'The Fat Man' he can carry you too! Come on."
Kevin and I laughed, and I told Emma, "It's too hot dad can't carry all of you."
"Yes he can mom, he's fat." She said matter of factly.
"Does fat mean that he's strong?" I asked her.
"Yep, and dad's really strong, like me!" That made me smile again.
It was a great adventure!

On Vacation!

Yes, I mean my brain. It has left and may never return.

Really I just wanted to do a post about all of the great vacations that we have been on so far this summer. It has turned out to be quite an eventful summer which is why I have slacked off on posting, we have just been so busy.

At the end of May we went for "A Day Out With Thomas" for Derek's birthday

And later in June we went to a Party for Derek's birthday. If you want to see his cake before it was devoured click here.

On June 6th Annie got married, yeah! And my kids got to stay in a "hotel" for the first time. They were beyond excited. They were so wound up they didn't go to sleep until well after midnight. Poor Kevin, he really did try to go to sleep early. It was a little bed and breakfast in Manti that had a lot of room for my kids to run and play. Plus they had a new litter of kittens that entertained them for hours.

Kira met a new friend that was the owners granddaughter, who also ended up being her long lost cousin that we didn't know we had. She was in 7th heaven.

Then a few weeks into June we went to Box Elder County for a great camping trip. Tiger did a project in school on Box Elder so we decided to take a tour of the county. We camped at the creepiest camp ground I've ever seen. I think I will do a separate post about that camping trip. I have way to many photo's that I want to share on that one.

In July the girls got to go camping with the Jensen's in Huntington Canyon. They took dirt bath's, went fishing, and spent some time Geo caching. They came back filthy and happy. Kira said that she wished camping never ended. Maybe she'll follow in Grandpa Bates' footsteps and go into the Division of Wildlife. I think she would love it.

We went out and watched fire works on the 4th of July with Dennis and Donna and had a tasty barbecue with them. It was a ton of fun!

Overall it's been a great Summer! Thanks to everyone for making it great!