Lagoon

We had a fantastic time at Lagoon on Sunday. Rhonda and Dave's grandchilren are in town and they, along with my parents, all went with us. And I have to say - it went so much better than I thought it would. Not that I thought it would go badly, it's just that the kids were so pleasant and had so much fun - we were amazed.

The kids are at a great age right now for things like this. Everything is exciting and it's easy to keep them happy. And we're past needing to worry about naps or bringing diapers along. Plus the adults outnumbered the kids :) That meant not only that we had plenty of hands to deal with things, but Sam and I got to sneak away a couple times and ride the big rides. We haven't ridden an amusement park ride alone together in...um...oh yeah, since Disney World in HIGH SCHOOL.

The kids rode one ride after another. I think bumper cars were one of the favorites, along with the baby rollercoaster. Emma was pretty brave and excited to ride the big rollercoasters but we had a hard time finding one that she was tall enough to ride. Eventually we did though (after Dave and Rhonda had left with the little one so he could get a nap) and managed to talk Kaitlyn into riding it with us (it required us to bribe her with cotton candy). Turns out that when we ask her now what ride she would ride first next time we go, the big coaster is the one she picks. Just goes to show that Mom and Dad are usually right and SHE SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO US (we tell her this all the time haha).

We finally admitted we were tired at 6PM and headed home after letting Katy and Ty get soaked in the fountain. (Ty LOVED it. Emma wasn't enthused about getting wet) Grabbed some dinner and were home just in time for bedtime. Perfect.

Father's Day

Green waffles and bacon

for breakfast in bed.

And lots of hugs from the kids! What more could a dad want?

Princess Kaitlyn

Last night was the Kamas Valley Fiesta Days Princess Program. Kaitlyn has been practicing for it all week and was SO excited. We spent the day getting her all prettied up (when we weren't just relaxing) - experimenting with hairstyles and painting her nails and glittering her toes, make up and of course her princess jewelry.

It was a cute little program (Princess and the Frog theme). The girls started off with a dance number.

Then it was time for their "interview question." Kaitlyn was asked what her favorite dance move is. Her response was "twirl" and demonstrated one when they asked.

They did a photo slide show while the girls got changed into their "evening gowns" for their big introduction and the presentation of their sashes and tiaras.

And they finished it off with one more dance number.

I remember being in the Princess Contest when I was 6. It's a fun tradition. Except they used to pick winners and now they don't, which I think works out better for this age. They are all just to happy to get dressed up and get their tiaras. Kaitlyn didn't want to take hers off last night. And you can tell she felt SO special. She said "Mom, I was the prettiest one up there, wasn't I?"

Under Water

It's like someone flipped a switch and said "here's summer!" We had fairly hot temps over the weekend and daily thunderstorms on top of it. Add that to the cold, cold, snow, cold we had only 2 weeks ago and we end up with this.

And this. (that is not a river - usually it's an open field!)

All up and down the Weber river they have been seeing flooding since Monday (today is Wed). It's at the highest during early morning (think 6AM) and even over the road in places, including the main road in Oakley all the way to the Polar King. They have been sand-bagging like crazy and pulling trees out from under bridges and all kinds of damage control. It retreats a little as the day goes on, so that helps a bit with the recovery efforts. The photos with the dates on them were taken on Monday around 9AM, after some of the water had gone down.

We went back out on Tuesday morning (again, 9:30 by the time we made it out so the water was lower than peak) to check out the Provo river down at Rock Cliff. We took my mom with us and it turned into kind of a fun family outing. The kids loved walking along the boardwalk

though at first Ty was scared to step on the cracks :)

and seeing all the water and everything.

We saw a lot of little squirrels that kept running across the path. The kids had a blast trying to catch one.

Mom told Ty to pose on this stump - muscle man poses no less :)

And no, we are nowhere near the river so the flood didn't affect us...until yesterday. The city culinary water, which includes ours, is contaminated and we have to boil it before use until further notice. Ugh

Dance Recital

We had our dance recital last night and I was so impressed with how well the kids did. Kaitlyn didn't forget a step and was so excited and happy about the whole experience.

Tyler has been hit and miss about wanting to dance in class so I was happy and a bit surprised with how well he did. He watched the cues very closely and did a fantastic job.

He started yawning during his 5th dance.

And when another of the little ones wandered off the stage during his final song he followed her off. It was pretty funny actually. In fact, watching all the tiny dancers is hilarious. And they're oh so cute! Look at this little lady that decided to do a climbing act in the middle of one :)

Mom gave them all flowers, a special dancer certificate, and a hug at the end.

Then we had refreshments. Clean up. The end. It was a good day.

Memorial Day

It wasn't planned but I did take the kids to the cemetary yesterday because I thought the flags looked cool and I wanted a closer look. It turned into a bit of a learning experience for Kaitlyn, who was full of questions. Once I realized she was interested I loaded them back into the car and took them to the cemetary where my grandpa is burried. In the car I explained about Memorial Day and remembering people that have passed away. She had a lot of questions about how/why people die, which I think I handled without upsetting her. At one point she said "but not kids though right?" Minefield on that one, huh? I just told her yes, sometimes kids get sick or hurt too.
We found my grandpa's grave and the kids thought it was pretty neat. This is Ty pointing to my Dad's name on the list of his children that is on the back of the headstone. He thought that was cool of course and even more cool was the cowboy statue someone had left by my great uncle's headstone nearby.

By that point Kaitlyn was recognizing the Marchants all over so we spent some time going up and down a few rows with her spotting them and me reading out names and dates. I found myself wondering about the connections and stories behind all of them. Not enough to want to look them up, but enough to make me think for a minute and appreciate the day for what it was intended.