"R" is for Reservoir- Strawberry Reservoir Camping

We took the kids on one last getaway before school started up to Soldier Creek Campground at Strawberry Reservoir. Now let me just say this- Cam is NOT a big fan of camping. That's actually an understatement! He pretty much hates everything about it! Hates the prep work that goes into getting ready to go. Hates the actual camping. Hates the clean-up. Which is hard for me cause I LOVE it! Always have. Love to get away from the everyday bs & be up in the middle of nowhere. I love the "primitive" camping- the freeze yer butt off during the night, get woke up by the sun blazing through the tent, soak all your clothes with the smell of campfire kind of camping!! But we've got a nice, warm convenient trailer that has a toilet, shower, fridge, microwave, stereo w/surround sound, tv & dvd/vcr! You'd think that would make even Cam like it- but still no! But- since he's such a trooper- he humors me & takes me camping every now & then! (This is our 1st time this year-also our last)The campground we went to wasn't the greatest. Not too many trees, which I prefer. This had more sagebrush. The shores of the lake didn't have any sandy areas for the kids to play on while the adults fished so that kinda sucked too. But they really didn't seem to mind. The kids entertained themselves with trying to catch crawdads (sp?), which they caught many! Nasty little things! They loved it though! Especially loved tormenting the girls with them by secretly putting them on their shoulders when they weren't looking. You gotta love camping fashion- the mismatched, dirty clothes you can't believe you still own, the fuzzy socks with your flip-flops, the hats to hide your hideous hairdo's! I love love love tin foil dinners & dutch oven cooking. We had them both nights! Any guesses on how many pounds of potatoes, carrots, onions, & chicken I chopped up this weekend?? Lots! Luckily, Sonia chopped all the chicken up for me! It was yum!! Everyone loved the dutch oven Apple Crisp! It was stinking cold at night! (Good excuse to cuddle ;0) My favorite part of the whole trip was what is my favorite part of camping= sitting around the campfire & shooting the bull!! I love to put all the kids to bed & have the adults sit & laugh our butts off, tell our deep secrets, reminisce about old times, & share some seriously spooky stories! I loved it & was glad we got away for the weekend! I hope my kids take after me in their love for camping- not Cam!

"V" is for Volleyball

So- since there have been a few "alphabet days" that have been more geared towards the younger kids (not that the boys didn't just LOVE the Kangaroo Zoo & Dinosaur Park ;0)- we decided to do one specifically for the older boys. The Saunders family were kind enough to host a group of us (our family, the Harris's, my sister, Taresa & her husband, Bryce, & the Blackham's) in their yard to play a good ol game of volleyball! It was really fun to play with my boys & see how far they've come over the past year! Who knew they could play so well?? It was awesome to do something that I love so much with my boys! Of course, while we played volleyball, the younger kids entertained themselves on the Saunder's monstrosity of a playground & then we were all rewarded afterwards with smores over the firepit & swimming in the pool! Fun night- thanks for hosting us Sara & Weston!

"F" is for Frontrunner & "G" is for Gateway

I have come to the realization that the summer is quickly coming to an end! To ensure that we can get as many "alphabet days" in as possible before school starts- I kinda consolidated! 2 Letters-1 outing= smart mom!! I've really been looking forward to riding the Frontrunner while watching the progression of it being built. My kids loved it! Rach, Amber, Sara S., & my sister Heidi joined us with all of their kids as we took it from Layton to Salt Lake City & then rode the Trax up to the Gateway to do a little shopping at Build a Bear & let the kids run through the water. It was a very hot day- but was very fun! The kids were so excited as they looked out the window- the ride was surprisingly smooth & quick! If I had to commute to a job in Salt Lake on a regular basis- I'd for sure be taking Frontrunner! (Tip to other parents with young kids: don't ride home in rush hour with all the commuters! I swear there were a few that about fainted when they saw the large group of kids getting on! It gets way packed!) I'm glad we took the time to experience this! Thanks for sharing the pics Amber!!

"H" is for Hiking

One of the whole points of our family's "alphabet days", is to find various activities that we can do as a family that are different, fun, & exciting! Part of the fun is to have the kids take part in thinking of unique things to do & helping plan them out! Last week for FHE- we talked about the many blessings our Heavenly Father has given us that are all around us that we may see every single day, yet not really recognize as a blessing! Personally, having lived all over the world, I know that one thing I always missed when not living in Utah- is our beautiful mountains! I LOVE camping, love hiking, just love looking out my windows & seeing the gorgeous view of our mountains! So- we went hiking up along the Bonneville Shoreline with the kids. Fairly easy hike for the little ones- good one for a 1st hike back for me since my ankle & surgery! It was SO stinking cute to see Sadie try to be such a big girl & hike on her own! It was also cool to see Drew offer Jess & Jody piggy-back rides when they got tired! The weather was nice & cool up there & there were no distractions like phones to take away from our family-time! We saw a bunny which reminded me of how different my boys & girls are from each other (the girls said "aww-how cute" while my boys said "oh- I wish we had a shotgun") It was fun to chat with my kids! We even got the bonus of watching a gorgeous sunset! I loved it! It reminded me of how much I truly love to hike & how much I need to get back to doing it more often!

"K" is for Kangaroo Zoo

Alright- so- I'm very behind on our summer alphabet days!! Unlike last year, I've decided skipping around is okay. Jenny was sweet enough to invite us to go to Kangaroo Zoo yesterday. Now- even tho this is embarrasing-I'll still share: when she said Kangaroo Zoo, I for some reason thought- an actual zoo! I know- I'm a goober! I thought, "wow, maybe it's some sort of petting zoo for like Australian animals or something"! Ya- it was definitely not one of my more intelligent moments, I admit!! But, the kids were still happy to spend time playing on all of the fun inflatable toys they had there. I took Tami's 3 kids while her & Megan were home with the stomach bug. They all played for a couple hours & enjoyed themselves being wild as they wanted! (PS- I was making a big effort to be a "good, fun, interactive mom" & play with the kids on all the slides, etc. However, I think it's pretty overrated- due to the multiple raspberries I received on my elbows & ankle from the toys! Maybe I'm better off just watching from the sidelines!)