Moms go play

 

Some friends and I were able to sneak away for a couple Mom's days on the lake while our older children were in school.  The early fall is the best time for boating as the air temperature is perfect, the water is warm, and you have the lake to yourself which means glassy water ALL DAY LONG!   The little ones come along for the ride but love just hanging out and swimming on occasion.  

Pictures in the sunflowers

There were sunflowers everywhere this fall so I thought it would be fun to take pictures of the kids in this field of them nearby.

 Trying to get a group picture but it quickly deteriorated, due to Jonas hitting his sister with a stick!

What Jonas really thinks about taking pictures!

Lake Powell #2

Labor day weekend we headed down to Lake Powell for our second trip of the summer.  This time Sue and Jimmy joined us for the fun.  It was the first time we've taken anyone on a boat camping trip with us.  It was a little tight in the boat but we had fun with the company along.   This time we launched at Wahweap marina for the first time to be able to check out the lower half of the lake.  We found a great campsite in West Canyon with our own little cove that was perfect for the kids to swim in.    We spent time checking out some slot canyons in Face and Driftwood Canyons.   Each required swimming a little ways through the narrow slot before you would hit dry land and could hike.  We also made a trip to Rainbow Bridge with a stop for gas and ice cream at Dangling Rope marina.   Of course lots of time was spent skiing, wake boarding, and riding the tube.  Whitney even tried water skiing for the first time getting up for a few seconds. 

This is how we'll travel next time!

Summer highlights

When school started we were not ready for summer to come to a close.  We all enjoyed the lazy mornings and low key days of summer.  The kids loved spending every possible moment outside playing with their friends.  Highlights of the summer included:

Bike riding- This is the first house we've lived in that's had a nice, safe place for riding bikes and our kids have all really taken to it.  In fact Whitney got a new bigger bike with 6 gears and a front shock at the end of the summer and even saved her allowance and money from grandparents to pay for half of it.  Maybe next year she'll be able to tackle some trails with Mom and Dad.   Jonas loves his Dora hand me down helmet and doesn't mind a bit that it's very girly looking.   We also got a hand me down bike trailer and he's been enjoying rides in that.  We had a ward bike ride on the rail trail out of Park City.  Whitney enjoyed riding the trail with her friends.  Maren made it about a mile on our training wheels and then hopped in the trailer to ride for a bit.   Jim and I have been road biking frequently and doing some occasional mountain biking this summer with many brutal rides up the various nearby canyons and Jim has really gotten into following the professional bike races.  We even went and watched the local professional bike race that is one of the top ones in the US.  It was fun to cheer on riders who are familiar names from the Tour de France. 

Hiking-  We've explored some new trails this summer.  Rocky Mouth trail which is nearby our house is less than a mile round trip and takes you to this cool hidden waterfall.  We also went to Albion Basin to check out the wildflowers.  Due to the late snow they were just starting to bloom but Jonas hiked all two miles by himself.  

Boating- We've been to Lake Powell (twice), Bear Lake, and Utah Lake multiple times with friends, family, and neighbors this year. 

Swimming- two sessions of swim lessons, multiple trips to the local pools, and time spent at the lake swimming from the boat.  The kids are all getting more confident in their swimming.  Jonas has learned to swim independently with a life jacket on so has enjoyed the new found freedom. 

First day of school

Whitney was excited for the first day of second grade!  They get to meet their teacher for the next year on the last day of school so she was ready to head off to Mrs. Smith's classroom having kept her commitment to read all summer long.    Maren started her co-op preschool that same week with Mom teaching and making school buses for their snack.

McMorgan Reunion

Papa-san flew into town and we picked him up at the airport and then headed to Idaho for the McMorgan reunion.   However we just had to stop for lunch at Maddox in Brigham City for some yummy rolls with raspberry butter, shrimp cocktail, trout, and other delicious food!    Afterwards we made our way to a church camp tucked in the mountains south of Burley, Idaho.  The kids enjoyed seeing but not smelling the cattle lots as we drove by.    We had a wonderful weekend catching up the McClellan and Morgan families!  The kids had fun camping, hanging out with their cousins, hiking, and enjoying being outside all day long.   

Airborne trampoline center

We bought a coupon deal to check out this trampoline center for one of our summer activities.  The kids had a blast jumping throughout the different areas.  Each area is comprised on a bunch of trampolines joined together so you can jump from one to the next.  Some have foam pits to jump into, trampolines angled up the side of the walls, platforms to jump off and a place for playing dodge ball on the trampolines.   It was a kids dream come true and they were plenty tired by the end of our time there!