The County Fair

I know that this is a little late since the fair was last week but I wanted to get it posted so it can be included in my blog book.

So last Saturday we headed out early to the county fair. The kids were very excited to go and I had heard a lot of great things. Our first stop was to ride the ponies. We had to brib the kids to get on and only Ben would do it. Of course once he rode the pony he loved it.


Our favorite area was the Science section. The kids had a great time. Jacob's favorite thing was the bubbles and the duck water run. Ben loved the marbles and the duck run. John loved holding all of scary insects. The kids had no interest. I kept saying come over and see what Dad is holding but the did not think it was a big deal. I can't see how Dad holding a huge spider not being a very big deal, but oh well. The kids did pet the 14-foot snake.

The kids were also able to milk a cow, play with blocks, play in the sandbox, eat a yummy hamburger, ice cream, cotton candy, see a ton of animals some of which they could pet and many other things.

We all had a great time including Katelyn!

Playing House

Whoever said boys don't like to play house.

Happy Birthday Ben!

Friday was Ben's 5th birthday. This was the first year we decided to attempt a friends birthday party. Ben wanted a pirate birthday party. He was very specific in what he wanted.


Here is a picture of the cake we made. We looked for cake designs on family fun and he was very excited when he found the ship. I was worried I would not be able to make it, but it end up working.



Ben's favorite part of the party was the pinata. When I asked him if he liked the treasure hunt he said it was okay just not fun enough for him. At least his friends enjoyed it.


Ben loved all of the gifts he got and was so glad he could have all of his friends over.

Later that night we were headed out for his birthday dinner when he said "Mom how come I don't feel different now that I am five?" Being the youngest amongst his friends he had been waiting to turn 5 for a long time. His one friend Michael likes to constantly remind Ben that he is older Ben. Ben must of thought something really cool happened when you turned 5 unfortunately it doesn't and you feel pretty much the same.

All in all Ben had a great day. It was a lot of fun to be able to give Ben the kind of birthday he wanted. We love you Ben.

Tools

This morning Ben was asking me for a real tool box with real tools. I told him he was too young to use real tools and that he had plenty of toy tools already. His response was well how old is Curious George because he has real tools. I tried to explain to him that Curious George was not real and he didn't seem to believe me. As his last effort he told me that if he had real tools then if I had a problem and Dad was not home he could fix it for me. He was so sincere about wanting to help I loved it. So I finally told him that maybe for Christmas. Now he wants to know how soon Christmas is. We may be hearing about this one for awhile.

Great Find

On Saturday I went to the Copper Frog with my mother-in-law. While there I found this hutch for only $140. I have been wanting one to put in my basement for a long time. I end up buying it and I am very excited to have a place to put all of the nice silver and crystal I have been given.

Snowbird

Right after the 4th of July we headed up to Snowbird for the weekend. The kids had a great time. It was nice to hang out and relax. The kids loved going swimming. Ben loved the Alpine Slide and the Bungy Trampoline. I really enjoyed hiking and going up the mountain on the tram. I couldn't believe how much snow was up there. John liked the Alpine slide and getting some quite time at the condo while the baby was taking a nap. Anyways here are a few pictures (click on the image to see a larger version).

Also here is my little brother doing a triple flip on the Bungy Trampoline. It was pretty impressive. It is a lot harder than it looks and you get tired fast.

4th of July

The fourth of July was a fun filled day. The highlight of the day was seeing my little sister Anne who returned that morning from her mission in Boston MA. But more on that in a minute.

We started the day by going to the parade. This was our first experience with the parade since we usually are at a family breakfast. My sister came out and joined us in the fun. The kids had a great time. I think they enjoyed getting candy more than actually watching the parade.


The parade ends with a big water fight. Just look at this picture and you can see how serious they are about the water fight. We headed up the hill pretty quickly to keep the little kids dry.


After the parade we headed over to my parents to see Anne. We had our traditional breakfast but for dinner so everyone could be there. It was great to see Anne. The kids were shy around her but still happy to see her. She was a great missionary and we are happy to have her home.


After dinner and swimming we headed out front to light off fireworks. The kids just loved the fireworks. They would get so excited with each one. Jacob would clap and jump up and down. It was more fun to watch the kids then the fireworks.


Even Katelyn loved them. She just sat there with her mouth wide open and her eyes really big. What a cutie. Overall we had a great day!!