"M" is for Mt. Timpanogos

"Crazy" is the word of the week! What was I thinking?! I really wanted to take the kids hiking up to the Timpanogos Caves- so when we knew we'd have the Harris kids at that time- I thought "the more, the merrier". Well, I grossly underestimated the amount of work it would take to get all 9 kids up the mountain!! Luckily, Drew & Colby are both big enough to help out rather than be a nuisance! The older girls, Jody & Ashley, both did well on the way up, but their shoes were really hurting their feet on the way down. The younger kiddos, of course, complained about how steep it was & hot & how tired they were! It was so busy that day that we had to wait for 3 hrs after buying the tickets for the next available cave tour! So, the majority of the kids & I headed down earlier, got the tickets, & then played around up at Mountain Dell while we waited for our time slot. Then Cam & Jody & Ashley drove down separately, arriving just in time to go on the hike! Let me just say- it was well worth the hike! It was so cool to be in there & hear all about the history & see all the cool features of the caves. Not sure I retained most of it (stalagmites, stalagtites, cave columns,??? it's all the same to me ;0) But it was really neat & the kids loved it! Parker got scared when they turned off all the lights to demonstrate how dark it'd be without any lights! Sadie tried to hike off & on, but spent most of the time in her daddy's arms! CJ got the best deal in the group by riding up in his pack on my stomach for a majority of the time, but Drew & Colby took their turns- happily!! It was cute- he was all smiles! Of course he was, his leg muscles weren't screaming for mercy like the rest of ours! I love the pictures I got of Drew looking down at CJ- the love & adoration are so evident! I would definitely recommend taking the cave tour to anyone who hasn't before! The hike is a bit scary & steep in a few spots- so be sure to keep a close eye on your little ones- but overall- it's such a cool experience!! (My calves & shins don't share that opinion ;0)

Saved by the Bell!

Just when I was sure I'd lose my mind because of all my children's constant bickering & fighting- school starts!! That's how it is every year at the end of summer! They have reached the point where we've spent SO much time together that everything everyone does gets on everyone's nerves- especially mine!! Please don't get me wrong- I absolutely love & adore my children! But a few hours of my own to work uninterrupted is purely priceless! Hooray for school- heaven bless the teachers who will spend their time giving my children an education! It means I can get work done and not feel guilty about neglecting my kids! I know where they are, what they are doing & more importantly- they're loving it too!!! I'm so excited at this point that I won't even belly ache about homework- YET! (That comes later on in the year when I begin to forget how glad I was school started & then we begin to look forward to summer! It's a vicious circle of emotions!) Anyways- excited for all the kids. As you can see- there are no pics of Drew or Colby. They were way too cool for that this year! Drew is now a sophmore at Davis High & loving it! So weird for me cause I swear it feels like yesterday that I myself was in high school! Colby is loving 8th grade! Jody is excited about 5th grade & of course Jessie is thrilled to be in 2nd grade! The weirdest change for me is Sadie baby starting preschool! She's going to Tiffiny's Flowerbox Preschool & yesterday was her 1st day! She loved it! She did so well when we dropped her off- no tears (okay- maybe a few from me!). Hopefully, this excitement & the novelty of being back in school lasts for a long time!!! (fyi Tami took the pics of my girls & emailed me them- I can't figure out how to make them bigger. But I will get it fixed later- until then, bear with me!!)

Belated "Atta Boy Colby"

This summer was full of soccer tournaments for Colby! He was excited to change teams & went from Rush Premier to LaRoca Premier. His coach, Pancho Ovalle, is great to work with & Colby is loving his new teammates!! His team competed in the Pioneer Cup/LaRoca Cup & took 1st place! The next week was the Park City Extreme Cup, which they again took 1st place in! The following week was the Sparta Cup. They walked away with 2nd place medals after coming up short in an intense game against Boise National. All in all- they performed wonderfully & I couldn't be prouder of Colby! They played their 1st regular season game this past Wed. against USA where they emerged victorious! Keep up the great work Colby- we love you!!

"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!