Fishing with Dan

Daniel has picked up a new hobby -- fishing!  Which is fun for us because it is one of our favorite past times. A few weeks back we took him and Dad Barlow up to Duck Fork Reservoir where he caught this beauty of a tiger trout.   We love to have Daniel around.  He is always fun, and so nice, and Jeri thinks he is the coolest person in the world!

Park City

One nice perk to Michael's teaching job is the summer conferences.  The district pays for them as well as gas, meals, and hotels.  Naturally the kids and I like to tag along for a free vacation.  The last one was to Park City.  The kids and I spent whole mornings in the hotel swimming pool, then walked to McDonald's for lunch.  After lunch it was a quick nap back at the hotel and shopping at the outlets.  By the time Mike was out of  conference we were all ready for a good dinner and maybe more shopping.

We wore out the kids and the budget every day!

The hotel is always fun.  The kids think it's a grand slumber party.

A rare moment when all three are playing nicely together...

Of course we had to go up to the Olympic park.  We visited the museum and watched the ski jumpers jumping into the pool.  So cool!

7 Canyons

What kid doesn't love to romp around the seven canyons water feature in Liberty Park?

The boys had to be scientific about it and float a pine cone all the way to the lake from every head water.  Caitlin just loved splashing around.  Mike and I loved sitting back, and watching them have fun.

"Where did the pine cone go?"

Eclipse

I had never seen a solar eclipse before.  I have to say we were not very prepared.  We found ourselves scrounging around the house for sunglasses, and ended up looking through our neighbors tinted SUV windows.  But each of us got a good look at the eclipse.  The shadows on our wall were pretty cool too.

The neatest part for me was the change in the light.  Everything just looked.....different.  To look right at the sun you could not tell there was a big black mark on it, but it affected everything the sunlight touched on earth.  I guess you can say our actions are the same way.  They may seem insignificant, but the effects can be all reaching.  How's that for today's deep thought?  Whoa.

Emma

Emma is a special kind of best friend.  These two have been best buddies since they were born.  Emma's mom happens to be one of my best friends, Andrea.  As a result, these two have spent a lot of time together.

The Scanlons made a quick visit  and I had to get a picture of these two together.  I have been collecting pictures of these two together since before they could walk just for fun.  Who knows...someday they may thank me!

Movie on the Field

Our very last day with Rob, Karen, and Megan in North Carolina.  Rob is  a dentist and so very generous in his trade.  He took care of all our cleanings and filled a few cavities while he was at it.  In the evening the Young's took us to a family movie night on the semi-pro baseball field.  We laid out blankets and ate popcorn while enjoying "The Smurfs" on the big screen.    Before the movie started the kids were all running around on the field.  It was so fun to see so many kids frolicking.  Caitlin even got in on it with a blankie race with Mama.

After the movie Uncle Rob put Caitlin up on his shoulders as we walked out.  There was music playing, and they both started to boogie.  They were dancing so wild and laughing so hard I couldn't get a good picture!  It was so cute!

Myrtle Beach

I have been hearing about the famed Myrtle Beach for years now.  And at last, I can say I have been there!  We only went for one evening, but it was very fun.  Lots of stores, hotels, restaurants, etc. We walked around till dark and just looked at the neat sights.

  

Mike was enthralled with this upside down building.  It turned out to be an indoor roller coaster.

Josh, Andrew, Becky and Speedy, Laura and Caitlin, Daniel

I guess Andrew didn't read the sign...

Fun with the shops

A street vendor was selling pearls from live oysters.  I was really excited, so Mike bought me one for an early mother's day present.  I got to choose a live oyster which the man opened.  Inside was a lovely pearl which he polished up and mounted in a pendant necklace.    I found out I was pregnant the next day, so I have sort of associated this necklace with the coming baby.  My own precious pearl.

Not my best picture, I know.  Pretend my teeth don't have braces, I've lost thirty pounds, and the lighting is better.  Then you will know how I felt when it was taken.

Caitlin is obsessed with chairs.  we went in a pet shop and she made a chair out of a feeding tray.  Sometimes she is so cute it baffles me.

Dino fun!

There was a Wonka shop that I HAD to see.  The jelly belly castle was our favorite.  Reminiscent of a couple gingerbread projects...  Andrea, what do you think of adding this to our repertoire?