Little Buck-A-Roo's!

On June 29th, we are able to get out as a family and attend the Riverton Rodeo with our neighbors and friends, Jason and Natalie Bradford and their boys. When I was younger my parents would take me and my siblings to the Rodeo in St. George every year. We looked forward to watching the Clowns, The Bull Riding, Barrel Racing and the Bucking Bronko's. My favorite event was the Bull Riding. I loved it! I also loved that we got to stay up really late- like 11pm. That was so late and exciting when you're a kid!

 Mark and I have never taken our kids to a Rodeo before and I wanted them to experience it for themselves. Kaleb and Karmindy were super excited and both wanted to wear their Cowboy hats. Karmindy had a Jessie Dress from her Birthday Party that was perfect and I let her wear that as well. They looked so cute! Before the Rodeo we were able to watch some Skydivers dive into the Arena wearing the American Flag. It was really cool to watch them. The kids thought it was amazing!!

The kids really enjoyed watching all the events! They even had a calf money event for the kids where they attached a ton of bills to a belt that was tied around the calf's middle and the kids in the audience could come down from the stands and chase the calf and try and get the money. I didn't think Kaleb would do it but he did and he did a great job. He is truly motivated by money so he was in the arena chasing the cows for all his life. He was unsuccessful in getting any bills and was quite upset about it. I told him when we got home we would put a few bills in Kozette's collar and she could chase her around the yard. That seems to pacify him  and calm him down until we got home. We still haven't followed through with that and Kaleb hasn't let us forget!

 It was so nice to be able to relive something that I did as a kid and watch my kids enjoy something that I enjoyed when I was their age.

The Magic Kingdom

On Tuesday and Wednesday of our trip, we took the kids to the Magic Kingdom. This by far was the kids favorite thing that we did/saw while in Florida. We really could've spent all 5 days here because the kids loved it sooo much- we wish that we would've known this before we bought park hopper passes-you live and learn!

Going to Florida in January proved to be a wonderful time to visit WDW. The crowds were relatively non-existent and the lines were short. Surprisingly we were able to see almost everything the first day! After doing some research for our trip, I learned that when you arrive you get on the train and ride it to the lands at the back of the park and visit them and then move forward to the front of the park. The kids loved riding the train!

 This ended up being Good Advice and The kids LOVED riding the train each morning!Also, during those two days at the Magic Kingdom the kids were able to go on all the rides that they wanted and we even went back to their favorites.

We were also able to see 16 characters in those two days!!

The Princesses!

Classic Characters!

Our Sparkly and Winged Friends!

Pixar Characters!

I don't know if this is a record but we were thinking it might of been because the lines were so short!! The kids absolutely adored meeting the characters and it was really so magical for them. Karmindy was really funny to watch because she would approach the character we were seeing and give them hugs and kisses. Karmindy isn't usually this friendly with other people, including strangers!! It was really cute to watch her meet Tinkerbell, Jessie, Buzz, and Woody- all her favorites. She also was really into meeting Aurora and Belle. When she went up to meet Belle, she must have loved her dress because she kept patting and touching the chest portion of Belle's dress- it had sparkles all over it. Poor Belle truly got  more than she bargained for!! Kaleb also loved meeting the characters but was a little more shy-which surprised me. He was always hesitant to go up and talk to the princesses. I think he might of had a crush on them, especially Tink whom he wouldn't even go say Hello to! :)

The kids loved going on all the rides. Kaleb's favorite ride was Splash Mountain and Karmindy's was It's a Small World- we think she liked all the dolls. Mark and I went on some rides we never had gone on. Having been to Disneyland and Disney World several times, you would think that we would've gone on everything. We liked seeing the Country Bear Jamboree, flying on the magic carpets, and going on the Peter Pan ride for the first time. Our favorite rides are still Pirates of Caribbean,  The Haunted Mansion, and Splash Mountain-classics.

The kids tried their hand at trying to pull the sword from the stone. They couldn't budge it! :(

The kids were troopers and both days we stayed until around 8pm. We walked everywhere and really wore the kids out. On the second day we got smart and rented a stroller so the kids could switch off resting. The second day they faired much better!! We would stop several hours after lunch and get treats. The kids loved their mickey ice cream bars.

One night we stayed to see the Electric Parade which we all loved, we also timed it right and got front row seats!

We had such a Magical time at the Magic Kingdom and can't wait to take the kids back again soon! What wonderful memories we made!

Family Vacation in the Sunshine State!

For part of our Family's Christmas this year, we decided that going on a trip and making memories together was something we wanted to focus on instead of getting the kids a bunch of toys that they would get sick of with in a few hours. On Christmas morning the kids found their own luggage under the tree, as well as, some other treasures that I made for them- Disney Shirts, Autograph books and their own Minnie and Mickey Mouse. The kids were so excited and started to count down until our trip. Mark and I were also excited too! We were looking forward to going back to were we honeymooned 8 years ago! Our trip truly couldn't come fast enough!!!

After two weeks of waiting the day finally came!!

On Sunday January 15th, we woke up and headed to the airport bright and early (around 4:30 am). We had to be there two hours early to check in. The kids did great and enjoyed rolling their luggage through the terminal. We got lots of compliments on how cute they were with their luggage, I wish that I would've taken a picture but was a little drowsy and was more focused on getting all our crap  stuff checked in! :)

The kids were so excited to fly and they were troopers and did great on the flights. Me, however, I didn't fare so well for I have never really liked flying and tend to get incredibly motion sick. On our flight into Denver, we hit some pretty bad turbulence and I got really sick!! In fact, I threw up a couple of times(thank goodness for those barf bags). I was sitting next to Kaleb during the whole thing and while I was throwing up he said, "Mom, this is so cool!" He loved the turbulence and the bouncing to and fro. I laugh now at the whole experience but I really was not feeling well. After we landed in Denver, Colorado Mark went over and bought me some Dramamine. I felt better instantly and our flight from Denver to Florida was much better!

On Sunday night after we arrived in Florida, we needed some food and some odds and ends so we headed to Wal-Mart, then we just went back to our room to relax the rest of the night. The kids and Mark and I were exhausted!

On Monday we spent time at Sea World, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Magic Kingdom and Thursday at the Animal Kingdom. On Friday our flight wasn't til 5 so we took it easy and slept in and then headed to enjoy the pools, water slides and the sunshine at our hotel. It was so nice to be able to sit in the sun and bask in the warmth. I love Florida and love the warm weather, the palm trees, how green everything is!! It truly is a beautiful state! We really had a wonderful time spending time together as a family!! I hope the kids remember our trip for years to come!

* In stead of doing one long post about our trip I am going to break it up into different posts!

Barnyard Boo!

The Monday before Kaleb went back on track we decided to do one more big outing/event as a family before he headed back to school! I have wanted to check out Cornbelly's Down at Thanksgiving Point for the past few years but decided against it- I wasn't sure if the kids would enjoy the big crowds because it was so late in the month and Corn belly's gets crazy busy! We decided to take the kids across to the street (literally) to Farm Country. We have been there many times before and the kids have always adored seeing the animals; especially Karmindy. We thought they would enjoy going again especially since they were doing an event called the Barnyard Boo. It is an event that they put on that included the usual farm animal exhibits but the kids get to participate in a few carnival type games. The kids got to hear stories from a Witch named Millie, make ghost suckers, get their faces painted, ghost bowling, throw the rings on the witches shoes, play fuzzy monster horse-shoes, throw the eye balls in the bin, ride horses, enjoy a carriage ride, and run through an obstacle course. The kids participated in all the events and had a BLAST!! It was a really fun family outing and we are hoping to go again next year!

A Pumpkin Hunting we will Go!

Since moving to Northern Utah three years ago, we have made it a family tradition to go to our favorite Pumpkin Patch and get our Jack O' Lanterns for "All Hallows Eve." The kids really look forward to our annual pumpkin hunting tradition and they talk about it for weeks before our outing. Every year the kids really enjoy sitting on all the old vintage tractors, going through the mini corn maze and using miniature wheel barrows to place their desired pumpkins in.  This year's outing didn't disappoint- the kids had a wonderful time!! When I asked them what their favorite part of our Adventure was, they said they couldn't choose "just one" activity. We are so grateful that we live so close to such fun places! Now, we are all counting down until we get to carve our pumpkins!

Little Halloween Chefs

My kids love helping me in the kitchen! There is just something so special about being in the kitchen together. It has definitely been a way for me to spend quality time with  Kaleb and Karmindy and hopefully make lasting memories with them! I hope they will always have pleasant memories of these times/traditions. One of our family traditions is to make Pumpkin shaped sugar cookies each year around Halloween. My mom made sugar cookies each year around Halloween and Valentines Day and I wanted to keep the tradition going in our family.With Kaleb being off track from school for the past couple of weeks, it was a wonderful afternoon activity to keep his mind and hands busy.  (He is truly my little busy body.) Both Kaleb and Karmindy loved helping me roll out the dough and enjoyed using the cookie cutters. They also thought it was fun to smear flour on each other, which turned into a mini flour fight. We all had fun putting flour on our faces! This year we decided to get a little more creative and we used a ghost cookie cutter and a cat cookie cutters. All of the cookies turned out so cute looking. After baking and frosting them all, Mark, the kids and myself took a few around to neighbors (for Family Home Evening) to spread a little Halloween Cheer!

Cowabunga Dudes!

This past Wednesday (September 14th) we had the opportunity to go to Cowabunga Bay! Our friends and next door neighbors had some extra free tickets, so they offered them to our family. We graciously excepted. Kaleb and Karmindy love Cowabunga Bay and had begged Mark and I to take them this Summer. However, it never felt like we could find a day to go. The weeknights were busy and the weekends were crazy! Thankfully with school underway and Fall Baseball over with we were glad we got to go. We didn't end up telling the kids until Kaleb got home from school that day. We just told them to go get their swim suits on and get in the car. I was teasing Kaleb and it was driving him nuts because I wouldn't tell him where we were going. He would try and guess where we were going and I would tell him that his guess wasn't the place. He finally guess Cowabunga Bay and he was so excited!

When we got to the park we road the lazy river for a bit. It was starting to get a little chilly so we wanted to warm up. After we warmed up we headed to the slides. Mark took Karmindy and I took Kaleb. Both the kids had a blast. Kaleb was a little more timid when it came to the slides but Karmindy wanted to tear it up. Mark said she would've gone down the biggest slide they had if he would've let her. She is quite the Dare Devil and it totally makes me CrAzY!! Somedays  Most days I think she will drive me to an early grave!! It was so nice to get out and do one last BIG outdoor activity as a family before the weather turned cold!

Mark with the kids!

Kaleb getting warmed up after swimming!

Super Cheez!

The Children's Garden

In an effort to have one last hurrah before school begins next week, we decided to spend the morning at The Children's Gardens at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. We love Thanksgiving Point and all the fun things that are offered there. My kids have been begging me to go again and it has been a whole year since our last excursion to the beautiful gardens. On this trip we invited some friends to join us- we had so much fun. When we arrived we decided to walk through the gardens before it got to hot. The kids really enjoyed playing in the stream and floating their plastic boats in it. Another favorite was visiting the Bear Cave and going through the tall hedge maze (think Alice in Wonderland maze).  Kaleb and his friend said they actually heard a bear growl during there little adventure of running through the maze. I love this stage of life with my kids and I love that they have active imaginations! It is all very cute. Needless to say, the boys had lots of questions about bears and what they should do if they encountered one. :)

After walking through the gardens we had a picnic lunch. I had taken the kids grocery shopping several days before and let them pick out what they wanted to eat. They selected Lunchables and were excited to eat this special treat. After lunch, the kids enjoyed playing in the Noah's Arc water feature. It is my personal favorite at the Gardens and is so whimsical. The kids had a blast and I am so grateful to have good friends to go and make fun memories with.

Beating the Winter Time Blues

Kaleb and Karmindy Playing the xlyophone!

The winter hasn't been kind to me this year. In fact the snowy and hazy days have really gotten to me. I think I get seasonal depression during this time of year which makes for very long days. The sun rarely shines and when it does it is hazy. Blah! I like to blame my unproductive self on the weather. We as a family have done a lot of hibernating this year and haven't been up to too much, needless to say our little family blog has been sparse with new posts. At the end of January, one of my friends called me to see if the kids and I would like to accompany her and her daughter to Discovery Gateway in Downtown SLC. My kids and I love Discovery Gateway, so we jumped at the chance to tag along. My friend has a pass so it was nice because she was able to get us in free.

Kaleb the New's Anchor!

Karmindy the swan princess!

The kids had a really fun time playing with all the fun stations. The Market, Farm Country area and riding the dump trucks around were a favorite. My kids literal can spend the whole day in the farm area. I love that they love the great outdoors and I really think that stems from having a Grandpa that likes to raise chickens, and cows. Both Kaleb and Karmindy loved sitting on the life like horse, planting and collecting veggies and fruit from the garden and loading it into the make believe truck.

Kaleb enjoys the Market and being the Grocery Guru!

Kaleb shopping at the market looking for good deals!

Giddy Up Horsey!

Kaleb loading the veggies into the truck!

It was a nice little outing and it is really fun as a mom see their imaginations at work during our little excursion!

Dinosaur Museum

Mark had Martin Luther Kind day off this past Monday so we decided to do something fun as a family and get our rambunctious kids out of the house. January is not one of my favorite months living in Northern Utah. It is COLD, the inversion is YUCKY, and the snow ISN'T PRETTY anymore!

We have a season pass at Thanksgiving Point so we decided to head down to the Dinosaur Museum where walked around and let the kids look at all the cool Dinosaur exhibits. My kids love Dinosaurs and also love watching, "Dinosaur Train" on KBYU kids in the mornings, so this was a welcomed treat for them. It was so fun to spend time with the kids and watch them get so excited about looking at the Dinosaur bones! We asked Kaleb what his favorite dinosaur was after the outing was over and he said the T-Rex's. Karmindy's response, "Dinosaur Bones!"

After the museum we head over to JCW's Burger Joint for dinner. It was so nice to get out as a family!