Trial Lake

For the second year, we headed up to Trial Lake in the Uinta Mountains.  We just went for a few days, but it was nice to get out of cell phone range for that long!

It was so nice to be able to let the kids just explore and I squashed my motherly instincts to tell them all "quit playing in that dirt!"

Sunrise showed no fear, climbing over rocks and logs and never looking back.

We went with friends who had canoes and a small sail boat.  Thunder took advantage of this and went fishing a few times.  There is nothing better than fresh lake trout cooked over a camp fire!

Sunshine decided to fish in his own way.  The kids traded off a few nets and actually caught quite a few fish.  They were dismayed when they all died in the holding pond (a small pot left in the sun).

We went on a hike around the entire lake.  They all did very well with the long hike and we saw some great views.  The bugs were sure glad we were there too.

Here we are mid way through the hike!  If this picture looks vaguely familiar, we took a picture on this exact log last year!

Have you ever heard that the Bishop carries the ward?  Well, he did carry us out to the sailboat.

We also played a fantabulous game called Chubby Bunny, where everyone stuffs increasingly more and more marshmallows into their mouths until there is one winner.

Clearly, being slightly crazy helps with this game.

And this is one last pic from when Thunder visited Girl's Camp for church and ended up leaving with a giant "U" shaved into his head!  Being an avid BYU fan, he said his hair nearly burst into flames :-)

Everything's bigger in Texas

Thunder and I just celebrated our official 10 year wedding anniversary, but we actually took a trip a few weeks ago to celebrate.  We decided to travel to Dallas, TX  to take advantage of a built in babysitter- my sister!  We have never visited her and she offered to watch the kids.... done!

My mom was also able to come at the same time.  We arrived on a flight at nearly the same time and met Jen and her roommate for dinner.  Then we headed to Jen's house to situate the kids.

Then we left.  It was wild not having to worry about grabbing the sippy cup or keeping someone from kicking their brother.  And speaking of wild, the kids had a great time without us!  They visited a huge aquarium with alligators and tree frogs and of course, fish.

Sunrise had to find a new bedtime snuggle buddy.  He ended up sleeping with Jen several nights.

We stayed at a really nice hotel called the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine.  Everything was HUGE in this hotel, including a several-block enclosed atrium in the middle.  The atrium had live plants, trees, a river, a few bridges and 4 or 5 buildings including a restaurant.  I thought it's how a colony on the moon would be.

Dallas was much greener than I thought it would be.  I guess I figured it would be a giant hot dessert with lots of cockroaches or something, but it was very nice.  There were lots of lakes and trees.

We visited the sports bar inside the atrium at the hotel.  They had a ginormous television screen 8 feet high and 15 feet wide.

We went to the Six Flags water park and it was so fun by ourselves!  We tried out all the rides we could handle and finally enjoyed the intense heat and humidity.

For our anniversary we decided to ride on the Sky Coaster- 180 feet into the air.  We were both strapped in, hauled to the top of this tower, and then Thunder had to release the safety latch to let us swing.  On the way up I said, "Well, 10 years ago we took the plunge.... here's to the next 10 years!"

We stopped by the Dallas Cowboys stadium...

... and also went to the JFK museum.  The tour takes you right by the window where Lee Harvey Oswold probably shot from.  It was interesting to hear of all the conspiracy theories.

On Friday we met back up with the kids.  We rented a boat and went out on Grapevine Lake together.  We had so much fun with the kids and Jen and Grandma.

We tried to water ski, but the boat didn't have quite enough oomph.  But everyone loved the tube!

Jen and I were able to go for a rough run that night.  I am training for a half marathon and had to fit the runs in sometime.  I was NOT ready for that humidity!  Thunder and I had such a nice time by ourselves and didn't stress, knowing the kids were in good hands.  It was a great little getaway and we're so glad we got to fit in a trip for this in the middle of everything else we have going on!  Here are a few other pics from the trip.

4th of July!

The 4th of July is definitely one of my favorite holidays.  It has sun, family, friends, patriotism, good ol' BBQ and a laid back feeling of FUN!  This year my brother Robert got to visit us.

He is in Colorado for a summer internship, and was able to come over for a long weekend.  It was short and sweet!

For the second time, our neighborhood had its annual parade.  I was able to sing the National Anthem with Cloudburst at my side and really enjoyed the colors ceremony.

There was quite a good turnout, considering how many people travel.

Everyone got all decked out to ride or walk!  It was so fun for the kids.

I brought our karaoke machine and we had lots of fun performances.

Sunrise just wanted to be held!

After the parade we had a few people over for a backyard BBQ.

This time of year is so nice.  We love the hot weather and the chance to swim.

Sunrise was convinced that he is a big kid like everyone else.  "Why can't I just jump in Dad??"

Then he discovered that the hose had a small leak at a connection... and thought it was a very convenient drinking fountain just for him.

Sunrise loved Uncle Robert!  Loved pulling off his face, that is...

Actually Robert was great with him and with all the kids.  He's a great catch ladies!

Then we geared up for fireworks.  Some friends brought little parachute men that the kids loved to go chase (anyone else read "The Kite Runner"?).  It was such a fun day, can't wait til next year!!