Fun on Our Trip and Our Trip within the Trip

I've been dreading writing this entry because we did so much and I had so many great pictures all of which I wouldn't be able to post. Now that I'm finally getting to it, it will probably be lacking some detail but just know that despite the sickness (most of us had colds of some sort) and all the driving we did, we had a great time spent with family and a wonderful escape from the hot temps of Las Vegas.We spent a couple of evenings with the Schroeder Clan. The kids love seeing their cousins and aunts and uncles on both sides of the family when we go to Utah.

Aunt Robin and Bailey

After attending the festivities associated with my cousin Jordan's wedding (sorry no pics), we went to Rock Springs, WY and from there we traveled to one of the entrances of the Wind River Mountains near Lander, WY to do some high country camping with my brother Tracey's family.

Emma and Holly traded places with Will on the drive up.

Reagan and Lyndsee chilling by the fire.

Some more relaxing by the fire.

A traditional camping breakfast being enjoyed by all. It was so nice because Emily and Tracey took care of getting and packing all the food so we didn't have to pack all of our camping gear for our "trip within our trip".

The next day we did some hiking near the Popo Agie River. The kids found a grasshopper giving another grasshopper a piggy-back ride. Tracey made sure the kids didn't ruin the grasshoppers fun by smashing them.

Rock models Emma, Holly and Taylor

More rock models Samuel, Reagan, Hannah and Holly again.

We hiked to the Popo Agie Waterfall which was impossible to capture all in one shot because it covered this mountain side splitting up in all different directions as it flowed down.

Emily and kids

Within the first hour of camping, Taylor got bit on the eyelid and it swelled up. This exact thing happened to her last year when we were camping in the Uintas in Utah. She must be extra tasty on the eyelids or maybe its the only place I don't put bug spray--you decide.

Dutch oven birthday cake--We celebrated Holly's birthday and Emily made her a cake in the dutch oven. It was yummy! The next day we celebrated Eric's birthday and I was a lame wife and didn't bother with any cake. We did however stop for a 50 cent ice cream cone at Little America on the way back to Salt Lake and I don't know if Eric could have been happier!

A pretty pond covered in lily pads on our drive through the mountains.

Eric hiding in the shadows to protect Lyndsee from the sun.

We stopped in a couple of ghost towns on our way back to Rock Springs including Atlantic City and South Pass City. South Pass City has been restored to its former days.

One of the other highlights of our trip was taking our kids to Lagoon for the first time. We got to hang with the Shiflett family which made it even more fun because it allowed Eric and I to enjoy a couple of grown-up rides.

Will and cousin Kyle

Reagan and Taylor

All the kids had their moments of bravery but Reagan won out when she insisted on going on this ladybug ride in Kiddieland that the other kids refused to try.

I wish we could see Lyndsee's face in this picture. The train was the only ride she was able to go on (because it was free and we didn't buy her an ALL DAY ride pass). She seemed to sense the excitement of her turn to go on a ride before the train even started to move! We must be amusement park junkies because we ended up being at Lagoon from 10am to 10pm and even then we were dragging the kids out of the park by their ears.

So much more I could say about our camping trip, Lagoon and other parts of our trip but alas, I'm lazy and need to get my kids ready for the first day of school next week.

A Mommy Moment

We took our kids to the Black Mountain Rec Center to swim for the first time this summer. Every time we pass the place, Taylor will point it out and say "there's my favorite swimming pool!" It is pretty fun with its shallow beach type area, playground in the pool and water slide. Anyway, as we walked into the pool area, Lyndsee got so excited in my arms kicking her legs and getting giddy with laughter (almost hyperventilating) as we walked past the pool. IT WAS SO SWEET to see her get so happy over this big bathtub that had come into her view. I squeezed her as hard as I could without ruining her happiness and remembered once again why I love being a mommy. I LOVE seeing the simple things (this isn't Raging Waters people) through my children's eyes. Please stay a baby a little longer Lyndsee!

Lyndsee tuckered out after playing at the pool.

Our 3 Year-old Princess

Reagan is such a big girl now! She is such a sweetheart (most of the time) and is so warm and friendly with everyone she meets. I was extremely excited that she took an interest in potty training a couple of months ago and became my first child to be potty trained when she turned three! She's very independent but loves to copy and do everything her older siblings do. She loves Cinderella (thus the cake, dress-ups, wrapping paper, etc.) She looks forward to being in preschool this year that I will be doing with some other moms in the neighborhood.

She woke up on her birthday to a Cinderella cake and presents.

At the beginning of the week, we asked Reagan where she'd like to go out to eat for her birthday in which she instantly responded "Sushi!". Taylor asked her if she might rather go to McDonald's but she insisted on sushi. She's always been able to stuff roll after roll into her mouth to the point I would worry she was going to choke on the seaweed but this particular birthday evening she ended up eating maybe one piece. I guess she decided to save room in her tummy for that awesome cake her mommy had waiting for her at home.
Will says "Reagan plays scary Reagan (monster) with me."
Taylor says "I like how she plays with me"
Daddy likes how Reagan is always happy.
Lyndsee laughs endlessly watching her silly sister entertain her.

Cathedral Gorge State Park

Ever since reading about Merrill Jessop's motel in Caliente, I've been intrigued by the town. I don't know that I ever knew much about the town, and all my misconceptions about a potential FLDS holdout were based in little to no actual fact. However, when Cydnee suggested we head up to the cluster of Nevada State Parks that surround Caliente, I was in.

We headed out for a one day adventure on July 5th, taking advantage of a precious day off work for the 4th of July observed. We finally got to see the blur out the window known as Alamo. We saw some great dirt roads wandering off into the horizon. And we drove and drove, and then drove some more. Finally we wandered into the not so small town of Caliente (at least not the one motel gas stop I had dreamed up). It was a nice sized town surrounded by some nice desert landscape. There was even a large train station in the middle of town.

We passed through and headed north to Cathedral Gorge State Park. This little gem was totally unexpected. There are some very unique "caves" carved out of the side of the mountains surrounding a small valley. Even though they are called caves on the signs, they are really small canyons, which walls appear to be over 100 feet high in places, but never longer than around 500 feet. They were really fun to wander through.

Taylor, Will and Reagan all managed to get plenty dirty. The favorite of the kids was finding "secret doors" to crawl through, and climbing up to little caves.

We even managed to hike through as a family while I carried Lyndsee in her pack in front of me, because it was often too narrow to make it with her on my back.

Taylor felt like a real explorer.

After having some lunch and then exploring the caves, we set out on a small hike to the Miller Point Overlook. You can drive around the mountain to this overlook, but the really adventurous will brave the 1-mile hike each way (I especially like the warning sign). This was not a very difficult hike and all of our kids did fine. The biggest problem we had was trying to keep the kids from racing up the stairs.

After returning from Miller Point, we did some more exploring through the "caves" while letting Lyndsee take a nap. We then headed out of the park and drove through the small silver mining town of Pioche. There was a lot of historic buildings in this quaint little piece of history. One of the most exciting was the Veitch House (bottom left) that served as the first LDS meetinghouse in Pioche.

After driving through Pioche, we headed back to Caliente to grab some grub, and headed to Kershaw-Ryan State Park to eat our hamburgers and chicken nuggets.

What we found was a little oasis stashed away in the desert. The park was originally a private residence, but was donated to the state. In the day use area, there are multiple picnic sites, a playground and a volleyball court. There was even a small swimming pool.

We followed a trail for a little ways up the canyon at the top of the park, and found a fun little bridge to take some pictures on.

After dinner and wandering around, we finally had to call it a day. Driving back to Las Vegas in the dark desert, we all agreed that we had had a great adventure.

Fourth of July Fireworks

We decided to check out the fireworks in Boulder City this year.  We left what we thought was nice and early to get a spot on the grass at Veterans Memorial Park, but when we got there a line of about 50 cars greeted us.  Sigh.  We had heard that there was a good place to see the fireworks at an LDS Church building parking lot, so we headed over there.  Once we got there, we ran into our friends, the Kenningtons, and hung out with them passing the time until it got dark.

We left some space behind our cars next to the fence, and had a party.

It started out ok . . .

. . . but then it got a little wild.

When it got dark and the fireworks started, the kids got on top of the car for a better view.

We ran out of room on the Kennington's Pilot, so Reagan and Maddy got a private balcony on the Odyssey.

After the fireworks, we navigated traffic for a long while, and then caught a private fireworks show thanks to the Lynn's and their friends across the street.  It was a fun Fourth of July celebration.

Keeping Cool

Reagan and her best friend Maddy

Will taking aim

Most parks around here have splash pads. We don't play at the park during the summer unless we are wet--its necessary in keeping cool while enjoying some outdoor time.

More Pictures from Father's Day Weekend

I was able to bring my family to "This is the Place Heritage Park" as part of the MYSC reunion events. I haven't been there in years and was very surprised at what a fun and entertaining place it has become. My kids rode horses and trains, learned about the people who helped establish the Salt Lake Valley, panned for gold and exchanged it for candy at the bank, embellished an old fashioned puppet to their liking, and ate a picnic lunch provided by the reunion. It was a fantastic day for our family! Take your kids if you haven't been before!

Reagan loved the little community of playhouses they had in one area of the park.

Will and Taylor - All of the kids loved going from house to house where they had people dressed in costumes to engage the kids in learning more about its history and the family that had lived in it.

The next day we enjoyed "hanging" out with my family for Father's Day in my parents backyard. Eric brought his ropes.

My niece Olivia

My superhero nephew Noah

My niece Ava