The living room

We were invited on a hike that was 'kid friendly' and offered the best view of the Salt Lake Valley.  Once we got about 10 minutes into the hike, I realized we had different definitions of 'kid friendly' and 'easy hike'.  It was hot, sunny, and straight up a hill.  I obviously didn't bring enough snacks or lunch as I thought easy would be 30 minutes, not almost 2 hours.   After much grumbling from the kids, we all rallied and made it.  The view didn't disappoint.  It is called the 'living room' because of the rock shaped chairs, coffee tables and couches at the top.  Luckily, one mom had a bag of licorice for all to share.

You can tell it was hot.

Boise!

We went to Boise for the Hessing reunion over the weekend.  We stayed at this hotel which Taylor named the 'roadkill inn'.  It had a nice outdoor pool area which we didn't get a picture of unfortunately.  We had a great outdoor movie on Friday with more treats then you could imagine at Mark and Chris' home.  We stayed until almost midnight and the kids had a great time. 

Saturday, Taylor got to drive his grandpas restored 1950's Chrysler.   With that smile on his face, there has to be some car-loving genes coming from both sides of his family.  He said it was fun to drive and I wish we would have taken a picture of all our kids and their cousins in it at one time.

  Saturday we had a great time at Brent and Sherri's with a fancy dinner and party.  The kids finally warmed up to their second cousins by the end of the night and I was happy for Taylor to be able to visit with his cousins that he has so many great memories with.  They are such great people that I am grateful to know now through him.  Love this picture with Heather and Michelle who are his age that he grew up with.

We decided to stop and see Twin Falls on the way home which didn't disappoint.  The power and sound of that water is impressive and well worth the drive into "Twin" as the locals call it.

After church and before we left to drive home, the kids actually asked if we could move to Boise to be near all these great cousins they enjoyed.  I think we all felt part of a great family with a lot of love.  There is something to be said for putting down roots and living near extended family.  We need to plan more to be with the family we have in Utah and share more time with them.

An eyesore

Despite the eyesore of this thing in our driveway for 3 days, it is one of my favorite things about our county-- a green waste trailer.  We were able to fill this to the brim with all the branches and limbs from our yard for about thirty bucks!   It was  a lot of work so we were relieved we could only keep it 3 days. The kids thought it was a blast to climb around inside with their friends and survived with only a few scratches.  What kid hasn't wanted to play in a dumpster?

End of School stuff

The egg drop was a hit this year because we planned ahead and instead of taking some stuffed animals to DI, I offered them to the kids to put the egg inside.  I only helped with the needle/thread.  Ethan put this cape and diaper on his with writing all over it.  We tried to make it Zorro but the eye mask turned into a headband.  The teacher that threw it off the roof flew it around a bit which made the crowd go wild and Ethan proud. 

Sophie also opted for an egg in the bear and put cute ribbons on her to decorate it up. 

Carissa decided to used Ziploc, cotton and paper towels.  She hasn't participated with an egg for the last 2 years since she was too attached to her last egg in 2nd grade by decorating, naming it and then it cracked.

Proud to say all 3 eggs made it without a crack which made the kids happy and I had fun at the opening table to see the results. 
The next day was the fun run.  I helped at the usual corner with Gabe and Lily to spray the kids with spray bottles while Taylor started with Carissa and doubled back to run some with Sophie and Ethan.

Sophie and Carissa were too fast for a picture on the route but I got this cute one of Carissa and her good friend Brinley.  Gabe and Lily just liked the Creamies at the end.

It has been a great school year for the kids with great friends and fun memories.  I loved Ethan's teacher who actually won teacher of the year.  Carissa has such sweet girls in her grade and she has grown so much.  Sophie was pushed more this year than in previous years but has still been bored which creates doubt in my mind sometimes if we really did right to not have her skip a grade back in kindergarten.    Despite this, I still feel we did the right thing when we look at the entire picture.

The Float
Every Saturday morning over the past 2 months, I have been up at the building with the float and the kids get to fend for themselves on Saturday morning.  I think they are liking it a little too much with all the cereal and tv but I am trying my best at balancing responsiblities.