…and the summer fun begins
Utah and Montana Road Trip…June 2010
zionfest 2010
Highlights:
1st annual talent show
complete with video crew, spotlight guy, and MC
Hiking
Yummy Food
Lots of Cool Messes
And good all around fun
We love our tradition we have created for our family. We look forward to many more Zion trips in our future. Here are more pics!
looking forward
Summer will quickly be upon us here in the desert. And you all know how cranky I get when summer comes. So I try and make the summer as busy as possible for myself so that I can endure the baking hot sun.
Here is what we are planning:
MAY
—Zion Nat’l Park, of course. Year six. We leave tomorrow.
JUNE
—Spring Mountain Ranch, Willy Wonka. Planning this outing for months now with friends. So excited to take the kids to their first official play.
—Camp Invent. Danny is going to his first invention camp with a buddy. He is totally stoked.
—Bear Lake. The kids and I are planning a week at the lake with my mom and sister. (Adam will be in China on business–boo, boo!)
—Swim lessons. Hopefully we can squeeze a couple of these in. :)
JULY
—Grandma Penning Visits. YAY!
—Relay for Life. We are going to Oregon to participate in Team Georgie this summer. So Excited!
—Washington. Oh how I love escaping the desert heat, trading it in for two weeks in Yakima. I can’t wait to hang with my family, scrap with Jes, camp at Rainier with cousins, and see old friends and their children.
AUGUST
—The Beach. Yes! Who love the Oregon Coast? We do. We do. We have been planning this vacation since Thanksgiving with my parents and siblings. One whole week in Seaside with my family. The kids are going to learn to body surf this time around. Can’t wait for vacation with my hubby and kiddos.
the sun was shining
Denver, Finally!!! This friend trip seemed extra-long in the making (due to my canceling the summer). Here are our lovely hosts:
(yeah, we keep him around; great entertainment value!)
A mountain retreat with girlfriends is exactly what this girl needed after the holidays. The massive amount of talking, drinking (purely diet coke), and scrapping was enough to push any husband over the edge–good thing the boys didn’t come along this time. I only finished six scrapbook layouts, but I napped, ate, and lounged in between each layout. It was perfect. I think Jes’s numbers were in the 20’s and Amy’s were in the 30’s. They kick my trash every time–and I am totally okay with that.We also hottubbed in the snow, ate loads of sweet chewy Chex Mix, and walked around Breckenridge. A huge thanks to Grandma Carlson for letting us use the Mountain House.
Other highlights
Amy’s local day spa–I haven’t had a massage in so long. Thanks for the treat, Ames.
Downtown dinner and walking with Steffan–The chicken fajitas were also a treat.
Shopping for scrap supplies–Archivers and Hobby Lobby.
Talking until midnight in the basement–wish we could do it more often.
Spending time with Mya and Peyton–I miss them already. They are growing faster than any auntie would want.
Resolutions Made
Join Weight Watchers
Scrap more often
Drink less diet coke
Plan next girlfriend getaway
And could my friends be any cuter? I think our thirties suit us well. :)
bff trippin’
Six more days and I am on a plane to Denver. It is Amy’s turn to host our third annual bff trip, which I am soooo excited about. My back injury this past summer foiled our original vacation. We had planned a summer vacay with our three families. I know the girls, including myself, were super disappointed.
On the bright side, we get a girls weekend all to ourselves. Massages, scrapping in the mountains, and lots of talking on our short list. I am sure we will throw in a McDonald’s breakfast and a couple of diet coke runs just for good measure. Ladies, I can’t wait to see both of you!!!
a little bit of london
HELLO ENGLAND!!!!
Adam and I were able to take a trip across the pond in September. We spent most of our time in the English countryside at a very fancy resort. You know, the kind of place where the food is way too expensive and the staff is impeccably polite. Adam worked most of the time we were at the hotel (the reason we went), which meant I got a lot of down time–all to myself. After a summer of single mom-hood, it was a welcome relief.
From our hotel window:
And then to London for a couple of days:
On our last day, we headed out to the London Temple. We thought it was the perfect time to go since our children were already with babysitters at home. After a $50 taxi ride, this is what we saw:
All in all, we had a fantastic time. We have said it a hundred time since we’ve been back, but THANK YOU again to grandma and all the tias for helping tend the children while we were gone. More pics here.
say goodbye to summer
Our summer vacay ended with some time at Aunt Jaimee’s house in Logan. The kids played with cousins that they rarely see, tried their hand at fishing, and played non-stop in and out of the water. Man, we had a great time!
We sure were glad to come home to daddy though. A huge thanks to all of the tias and grandma and grandpa Penning for hosting us this summer. The kids had a blast visiting new places and meeting new family and friends. Summer 2009 was my first real summer as a mom. And for that, I am grateful.
to nana’s house we go
After July 4th weekend ended, the kids and I spent a month in my hometown, Yakima, escaping the heat of the Las Vegan desert. From the pictures you can tell how much time the kids spent outside. From dawn until dusk they slip-n-slided, filled water balloons, rode bikes, and swam–just how I remembered my childhood…
We also spent some time in the mountains.
The kids very much enjoyed meeting loads of new family, playing with nana’s dogs, and getting to know their other cousins a little better. The best part was stepping outside and not feeling my life drain instantly from my body as the scorching heat sucked it right out of me. :) Yeah, that was definitely the best part. Now that we are nearing the end of September and temps are back into the 90’s, things like grocery shopping at midday and touching my steering wheel and seatbelt have become bearable once more. I know, I know, it could always be worse–we could live in Phoenix. :)
4th of July
We started our summery vacay off with a bang. Fourth of July at Bear Lake meant family, friends, and fun.
It meant turning the bounce house into a water slide:
And exploring Minnetonka Cave:
And hiking Limber Pine trail:
And picking mommy lots of wildflowers:
We went boating, jet skiing, hottubing, fourwheeling, and we played lots of games. The kids were on sensory overload, I think. They had the time of their lives. It was exactly what I envisioned their first summer holiday being like. :)
We also watched the fireworks, of course, feeling grateful for the land that we so dearly love:
Thanks Hirschi Family for another wonderful July 4th together.