Utah Trip 2013--Part 1

We are nearing the end of October and I still haven't documented our Utah trip--wow!!  Well, since we are near the end of October and since our lives show no sign of slowing down and since I desperately want to get caught up (which is NEVER going to happen), I will make it an abridged version.  I always have so many awesome pictures from our trip out West that I could fill an entire book just on that month alone.  The task of sorting through all of the photos and narrowing down my favorites is always the most time-consuming.  I actually got that part out of the way several weeks ago, and if it weren't for the crazy busyness that is the standard at the B-Hive these days, I might have gotten the whole trip recorded.  However, when kindergarten started I literally became the carpool mom.  I carpool to soccer, I carpool to and from preschool, I carpool from kindergarten.  When I am not carpooling with other moms, I am shuttling my own kids from one play date to the next or our other soccer league (Max has soccer 4 days a week) or parks or pumpkin patches or apple picking with friends.  I swear my boys have quite the busy social lives!  My main concern with all of this crazy busyness is that it has to only get worse.  My kids are still so young. The carpooling and social calendar are only going to increase as my kids get older.  Yikes!!

Back to the task at hand--2013 Utah trip (abridged)...

The trip begins for us very early in the morning in late June.  We have to wake up around 4:00 EST to get everyone ready and make it to the airport in plenty of time for our flight.  We manage to somehow retain our insanity after pleading, bargaining and bribing our three excited, energetic and impatient little boys to calm down through the painful processes of check-in, security, airport pit-stops, breakfast and the boarding of the plane.  But, by the time we are actually airborne Paul and I are exhausted and more than ready to close our eyes and catch a little catnap.  Or at least our breath.   On the contrary, our busy little bees keep us hopping and busy throughout a seemingly endless flight.  Actually, I am exaggerating a little bit.  Max and Sam were quite good--as long as they had a movie to watch or a device on which they could play a game.  Jack, on the other hand, was the intolerable one.  He was pretty miserable and he let us know it.  He hated being trapped in the seat and seemed to restlessly jump back and forth from Paul's lap across the aisle to mine. There was no talking him into a nap, either.  At least we could hold on to the knowledge that the plane could not fly forever.  At some point we had to land in UT...

(Okay, so far this isn't very abridged and my eyelids are starting to get heavy, so I am going back to the plan...)

Once we landed in UT and climbed into Papa's big, nice, white truck, we could finally relax a little.  Just a little.  Our kids were still restless and tired and impatient and Paul and I were functioning on just a couple hours of sleep--and, we still had a 2.5 hour drive ahead of us.  (I won't even go into all the shopping we had to do before we left the city...)  But, eventually we made it to Holden.  Jet-lagged, and haggard and weary, but we made it safe and sound to Papa and Gramma Jill's house.

I have only been living here in South Eastern Pennsylvania, amongst the lush rolling hills and huge green trees and wild fragrant foliage nursed by constant moisture and regular rains, for 4.5 years now, but every time I return to Utah in the dead of the summer I am slightly taken aback by how dry and brown and dead everything seems.  It almost seems lonely in a weird way.  Even though Utah is my home and everyone I love lives here, I always feel a fleeting lonely sensation when I first arrive in the Beehive state.  It disappears almost as quickly as it comes, but the sensation of it is remarkable.  

Anyway, back to the abridged version...

We all had a blast in Utah!  I could probably end my commentary with that line and let the pictures do all of the talking and get the entire month's worth of awesome events and pictures posted tonight.  But, obviously I am having a difficult time keeping it short and sweet (and I have no idea why as I am literally typing with my eyelids closed...)

One of the most fun things we did was play on the huge inflatable slide Grandma Jill got for the kids.  The boys had so much fun splashing and sliding with their cousins on many hot July mornings and afternoons...

Cousin Brooks is fundamental to Max and Sam's enjoyment of the Utah trip.  They never wanted to start any activity or even plan anything until Brooks showed up.  Max and Sam really love him.  When they would wake up in the morning and we asked them what they wanted to do that day, unless Brooks was already there they would say, "Ummm, I want to wait for Brooks to come."  Fortunately, with the exception of maybe 2 or 3 days, we saw him every day.  We miss him...

Here they are enjoying some of Grandma Jill's amazing homemade root beer on the trampoline...

And rootbeer floats of course...

The day before our flight to Utah I gave the boys their backpacks and told them they could choose a few small toys to stick in there for the plane ride.  Max stuffed his back pack as full as he could get it with all kinds of random things including a laser gun and a sword.  When I told him he had to leave those behind since "weapons" are not allowed on airplanes, he was particularly sad about not being allowed to take the sword.  So, I promised him that when we got to Utah I would make him a super cool sword.  He held me to my word, and Gramma Jill and I made them these awesome swords out of cardboard and duct tape.  They were a hit!   

The boys loved riding around on the 4-wheeler and Wildcat...

We went to a lot of softball games where the boys had fun running around and sucking down snow cones...

We had a couple of lazy days...

We made quite a few fun trips up the canyon for picnics and BBQs...

Jack LOVED the canyon.  He enjoys nothing more than playing in the dirt.  He would leave so filthy every time but the kid was so happy...

Paul dusted off and tuned Jake's guitar and provided us with some cool impromptu tunes and old favorites...

The 4th of July is always a blast.  The boys love the parade (especially the candy), and the fireworks are spectacular...

We got to go on many fun tractor rides with Papa...

And we got to finally meet Kristi--Jake's beautiful and talented girlfriend.  We all love her--she is so amazing!!  Good job, Jake!!

Okay, that is all I can keep my eyes open for tonight.  Hopefully I can finish documenting the rest of this fun-filled trip before the end of the year...

Oops, The last bit of June...

In my last post I thought I had finished documenting all the fun things we did in the month of June, but I just realized I forgot two very important events:  

A trip into Philadelphia to visit daddy at work.  His office is right in the heart of Philadelphia, on Market Street.  He works in a skyscraper--among the tallest in the city, on some super high floor that I can't remember.  The view was spectacular!  We all enjoyed visiting daddy and getting to see where he spends his time when he is working hard for us.  It was a lot of fun.  We concluded the afternoon with lunch and a stroll through a park.

A few nights before we headed to Utah, Paul organized a little "campout" with the boys in our backyard.  He invited his friend, Mark, to join him along with Kassidy, Mark's 10 yr. old daughter.   They roasted marshmallows, slept in tents, and even told a few ghost stories.  The boys really enjoyed it.  Jack and I slept in our comfy beds aways from all the bugs and creatures of the night... 

The Rest of June

Yep.  I am blogging about June in the end of September.  That's the way our life is these days--it is really busy at the B-Hive.  But, I can't leave these pictures out...

Paul had a big birthday--#45!!  we did a very low-key celebration per his request.  I made Jambalaya (one of his favorite dinners) and Yummy Banana Cake (one of his favorite desserts).  We enjoyed our wonderful celebration dinner on our deck.

T-Ball seems so long ago, but in June the awesome Coach Paul had the teams get together at the field for a little awards ceremony, pictures and snacks.  Did I mention he is such an awesome coach?  Somehow it turned out that he was the head coach for both Max and Sam's teams, and he did a remarkable job.  All of the parents were pleased to have a kid on his team :)

In early June, Paul and I had the chance to do something we have never really done since having kids almost 6 years ago:  Go on an overnight date--just the two of us.  We hired our favorite babysitter in the whole world to watch the boys for 25 hours so that we could head to the shore and enjoy a little mini vacation.  Our destination--Rehoboth Beach, DE--was recommended by several people and it did not disappoint.  In fact, it was amazing!  The town seemed really laid back, the beaches weren't too crowded, and the food was incredible.  This is definitely a place we will go back to, hopefully soon!

The ocean was beautiful.  West Chester is so close to both the New Jersey and the Delaware shores, but it is rare that we ever take the time to make the 2 hour drive and go.  My boys think that the Schuylkill River is the ocean (that's pretty sad)...

In June, Jack became obsessed with Mickey Mouse ("Mouse," as he calls it).  He would wake up in the morning and demand that we immediately put it on the television.  Too bad he wasn't this into "Mouse" a couple of months ago during our Disney trip...

Jack is so funny.  He loves to wear goggles and hats and sunglasses...

Max and Sammy are still into wearing costumes...

These boys need haircuts!!

Max and Sam love to sleep together in each others' beds.  Max's is a queen so they have plenty of room.  But, when they decide to sleep in Sammy's room on his twin-sized bed, it gets a little tight.  We check on them every night before we go to sleep and usually wind up repositioning them a little bit, but this particular night was so funny.  Sam is literally using Max as a pillow.  It is so heartwarming that they love each other so much--they are great friends!

Sammy LOVES artichokes.  I am not sure if it is the actual vegetable or the butter he likes better, but he can eat two full chokes in one sitting...

We got TONS of rain in June.  Sometimes our driveway looked like a river.  We had so much fun splashing and playing in all the water...

 

 

Here we are enjoying a picnic at a local park between going to the Y and swimming lessons.  I think this was our first official picnic of the season!

Max and Sam took lessons in the backyard pool of Carolyn Bingham.  She is a local lady who has been teaching for years and years.  The boys learned so much from her and never complained about going.  I was amazed at how much they progressed in just two-weeks time.  Now I just need to nurture these skills by taking them swimming regularly so that they don't forget...

The thing to do (what every body does) around here in the summertime is join a pool.  The are several around with different perks and prices.  We never join because most of our summer is spent in UT, but we had the opportunity to hang out at a couple of different pools with some friends this summer.  The boys had a blast!!