July 2022

July 30, 2022

We finished off a fun trip in Colorado before coming home mid-week. On Monday we went to a lake with Burnside cousins and grandparents and the kids had a blast going out on the kayaks and paddle boards. But the most fun came from fishing and playing "lifeguard". Hinckley caught a couple of fish and the kids took turns touching the scales (and the worms that were used as bait) and were all excited/grossed out. Then Hinckley caught a crawdad! He was pretty energized by that.

Addie having some quiet time with dolls

Greyson's antics with cousins

Summit of the notorious Incline hike

Addie and Lilah playing "Lifeguard" at Palmer Lake

Greyson tree climbing at the Lake

Ready to ride! 

A Fishing Boy

Investigating worms and other bait with Lilah

Shep and Greyson conversations

It's a crawdad! 

Dinner with Shep

Burnside cousin treat time 

After bidding farewell we came home to Lehi and everyone was pretty happy to be back in their own beds. We had a great trip but it also feels good to come home again. The kids all had friends over the next day and we've been aiming to find things to keep everyone busy and going strong, but it is hard to compete with a fun 2-week vacation! They weren't too excited about having chores to do again. While grocery shopping Hinckley took up my dare to ask an employee for help finding coconut milk and I took his dare to use the word "because" any time I talked to an employee. It was fun!

We had a really fun time at Splash Summit on Thursday and Greyson had his first experience on tube rides (Cave In, Mud Slide). Hinckley and I had fun on some of the big ones and Addie loved her time in the lazy river and the wave pool. She turned around right at the key moment on the Mud Slide tube ride for the second year in a row. I had a fun date with her on Saturday getting a pizza at Mod Pizza and then watching the live-action Cinderella (2015) in her room. I really enjoyed it! The message of living the values of being courageous and kind was really positive I thought. Addie also baked some cookies along with Kassie to bring to her school friend who has been unresponsive this whole summer despite phone calls, texts, and even a snail mail card. The cookies worked! And she has a playdate set for next week.

We did it! 

Stuffies and blankets

Hinckley immediately threw himself into projects when we returned. He pumped out 4 new lego creation videos he wanted to upload to YouTube, made a new website on Google Sites about his favorite TV shows/characters, and completed a complex mask/helmet out of paper mache based on a character costume from the show Amphibia that he loves right now. It can be tough to keep up! And his younger brother is not a wit behind him.

Greyson loves creating "Guuby traps" in the kitchen, which means pulling out all the drawers to annoy and trap anyone else in the kitchen at that time. He is always hunting for treats and candy and has been refining the art of the fit and his efforts go unrewarded. He loves talking about "spooks" and continues to seek after Halloween-themed books at the library.

Cool kid waffles

Sky high garden! 

Guuby trapped...!

Mod Pizza date

Splashing in the backyard

Our garden is bursting at the seams and our battle against the squash bugs fairs well this week, though I don't think we've fully won the war yet. Kassie made pickles out of some very tubby cucumbers that we produced and those were goooood. I've finished reading The Power of Fun and am determined to have more true fun, so on Monday I start Improv Comedy lessons in Provo which will be every Monday for the month of August. Here's to hoping I make it through and still have a smile on my face!

July 24, 2022

This week I finished up work at Weave and joined my family in Colorado Springs. I don't start my new job till August 5. 

Last day at Weave

The kids have been enjoying many activities such as paddle boarding at the lake, going to parks and splash pads, taking dips in the hot tub (including making "beards"), and more.

Addie at "Rock park" with "wind in my hair"

The Alice in Wonderland Park exit

Kas wrapping up the Incline hike

Hinckley in heaven on a paddle board

Grandma and Addie on the water

Beards in the hot tub

Addie's first 100 piece puzzle (by herself)

Dream team on the rocks

Skittle artwork with Grandma

After I arrived we drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado with Kassie's parents. We went on some hikes, played in the water, earned some Jr. National Park Ranger badges, saw lots of wildlife, explored "spooky forests" and climbed on many rocks. The kids also really loved the hammocks that the Burnsides had brought and there were many fun times and bitter battles over those. Hinckley was overjoyed with a small hike we did up in the Alpine Tundra and kept commenting "I just love this so much" as he inspected little tundra wildflowers and plant life. Greyson kept wanting to do more hikes, especially ones that would take us "higher". While Hinckley and Addie were fishing with grandparents, Greyson and Kassie and I hiked up to Dream Lake on our last day there.

 

Game night after returning from the National Park

Playing video games with Aunt Liana

Addie after completing her first row of monkey bars

Dream Lake with the Big Hiker

a Hiking Man

On top of the Alpine Tundra

Hinckley's favorite wildflowers on the Tundra

Learning about rocks with Rangers

Learning about laundry with Rangers

Preparing to fly fish with Rangers

Two boys on the "island" at Sprague Lake

Family at Sprague Lake

with Grandma and GranDad at Sprague Lake

Recovering from a camping fit

Hinckley's stick fortress creation

Camping dinner

Hammock fun

Everyone got really tired and overwhelmed, but we made it back to Colorado Springs in one piece on Saturday. We have a couple more days here before we head back to Utah.

July 17, 2022 

This week Hinckely turned 9 years old! It is hard to believe how big he is getting. He seemed extra mature on his big day. Patiently reading cards before opening presents, giving hugs and gratitude to gift givers, being patient with himself on his new roller blades (“I’ll learn!”), and more. They went swimming at the Lindon pool which was a new experience for everyone. He got his hair cut into a mullet! Hahaha, it will be hard not to laugh when looking at him now. He certainly looks older with it. We had the Kay kids and Nana and Grandpa over, and Naomi (Kassie's mom) flew in the night before so it was a good little group for the dinner, ice cream cake, and presents. Addie was very excited to give Hinckley her gift which included a very sweet card and picture along with orange Fanta. Both she and Greyson did better than in years past with not being too jealous or throwing fits during the present time, so that was pretty incredible!

Hinckley's new birthday haircut

Birthday!

Ready to roller blade

Reading Addie's card

Sunday night kicked off the fun Cousin camp that Hinckley and Addie attended with Nana and Grandpa and some of the Kays. They had so much fun up the canyon hiking and playing in the water, and also learning about looking for the good and journaling.

Cousin time near Big Springs

Roasting hot dogs

Girl time near Big Springs

In the water

On Thursday I helped pack up the van and Kassie and the kids left for Colorado. So far they've done some hiking, visited petrified forests with huge ancient trees, gone to a dinosaur museum, and stayed up too late among other things. It sounds like they are having a blast!

Picnic in Colorado mountains

 

A hiking boy

Petrified Trees in Colorado

Dino Museum in Colorado 

On the homefront, I've enjoyed seeing Lucy and Kendall's family and I got to meet them at the Museum of Natural Curiosity on Saturday. Those boys are a joy to see how they explore and mimic one another. Peter's cheeks command attention and demand respect! It was good to go up to the Grand America Hotel with Mom and Dad to commemorate Grandpa's being awarded the Legacy Award from the Days of 47 folks. There were some cousins there and also neat to learn about some other community members earning awards for all their contributions.


Also this week I hiked Mt. Nebo with Steph. It was epic! It took us about 3.5 hours to get to the top, and there were some amazing wildflowers out. It rained on us a bit but it was perfectly overcast and just right for hiking. We lost the trail a few times among the rocks but luckily found it again before straying too far. What a beautiful world we live in!

On top of Mt. Nebo

View of the trail looking down

Kassie's flowers coming into bloom

 

July 10, 2022

We had a busy full 4th. We woke the kids up around 5:45 to go down and see the hot air balloons in Provo. Unfortunately due to weather, the balloons didn’t launch and everyone was pretty let down. The next adventure was to obtain donuts from Provo Bakery. We found a temporary spot to park about 10 blocks away and Greyson and Addie walked with me. We had to run through the Freedom Runners but we made it. Inside the bakery, it was mass chaos (think Black Friday Walmart videos from years gone by). We managed to snag 16 donuts and get out of there and walk back successfully without any major meltdowns…until we were about half a block away from the car I noticed Greyson no longer had Perplexus (his stuffed valentines bear Addie gave him for his birthday). So as he fell apart into tears and Hinckley ripped into the boxes of donuts, I ran back and luckily found the bear inside the bakery. Phew. We then made it to the Parade and the kids enjoyed that a lot. This year they had a pre-parade and they threw out candy which everyone loved. Thanks to Mom and Dad saving us seats, we even had some shade and a small breeze!

Victorious at Provo Bakery

At the parade with the Kays

Ready for the parade to begin

Addie's block temple

The rest of this week flowed by in a combination of swimming, hot weather, errands, friends coming over, tears, and more. Friday Nana and Grandpa came and took Greyson for a special grandparent date and he was in heaven! They went to a jump park and Mcdonald's where he put down a ton of nuggets and soda. The next day I took him on a Dad/Greyson date to hike the Y. I loved watching him take it all in as we went up the Y. He was excited about sticks, “dark forests” (some trees off to the side of the path), and finding the “big rock” that he recalled seeing a picture of me on when I was a kid hiking the Y. His greatest excitement came from seeing “chip and dale” on the Y itself. We could see a few squirrels scampering around down near the middle of the Y when we sat at the top. We got a “Y” donut at the Creamery after and he only took a break in stuffing his face in order to sneak up behind a trash can and chase a crow.

At the "big rock" for the second time

Spying Chip and Dale on the Y

Ready to hike! 

Saturday afternoon we finished lunch and faced the prospect of 2 more hours with the kids before a babysitter came and Kassie and I went to the temple. They were already done with media time, it was over 100 degrees outside, and I was already tired from taking Greyson on a hike. So... we went and saw The Rise of Gru at the cheapo theater and that made everyone happy including me. Sometimes such decisions truly change the trajectory of the day!