Tropic Vacation

Having family living down in this part of the country isn't half bad, I love visiting this beautiful part of the country 2, 3, or 4 times a year.  Now that our kids are older, Sam wants me to go out on some of their excursions.  After this trip, staying behind and letting boys be boys will be preferred.

The kids and I got to Tropic Monday night.  Tuesday morning we were up and ready to go out in the hills.  Sam really wanted me to go so I wouldn't be so bored.  The girls stayed behind, Sammy was working at Ruby's Inn (hosting and busting tables), so Jackson, Max, Zack, Dalton (our friends the May's son), headed out with Sam and Clint.

Sam and Clint went out the day before and said the gnats were really bad, but little did we know how bad they meant. 

 Zack and Clint went one way and we were to drive down a little further and meet up with them.  Sam was with us, but left us for a few min.  If we stood still for more than 1 second, the gnats were all over us.  The boys were hot and tired from walking and were trying to get shade, but the gnats wouldn't have it.  Max, as you can see below, had his head down in the dirt trying to cover himself up.  Dalton later joined him.

Finally, Sam came back and we headed for the car.  The boys did not want to get out again.  We found Clint and Zack.  They found some pretty cool stuff.

Me?  Well, I had a hat, a long sleeved shirt, and my beach wrap.  Don't I just look spiffy.  I did manage to get a few pictures of the beautiful flowers that grow out there and the gnats did get me in the face and arms before I suited up.  I was itching for two weeks.

I wish to never be out there again!

The next day was my choice for the activity.  I chose to walk down Bryce Canyon to Tropic.  Sammy had the day off so was able to come with us.  Maren, again, wanted to stay and play with Ryley, which I'm glad she did.  She wouldn't have like the fast walking :)

I love Bryce and the beautiful scenery.  It was a hot day, but we got some shade most the time.  The boys were way too fast for Aliza and I, so we met up with them at the bottom of the trail.  We took two separate trails too, I didn't think they were going the right way.  I guess both trails get down there.

We enjoyed eating breakfast at Ruby's Inn a couple of mornings.

That's when Sammy is working, and we loved sitting in his section watching him work.  We were able to see Steven and David as well, they were waiting tables.

So, Sam talked us into going out in the hills again.  I can't believe the boys and I went again.  We went to a different place, and the gnats weren't as bad this time.  Steven came with us which was fun.  We saw some beautiful things out there.

Later that night, we went to the rodeo that Ruby's puts on.  The kids had fun watching as well as listening to all the different languages.  I think I heard French and German while sitting there.

When we weren't out and about, the kids played Mario Race on the Wii, along with swimming, going to the restaurant to get ice-cream cones, and hanging out with Hayley's nieces.  We got to see Grandpa a few times as well.  We always love to see Grandpa.

It was a fun trip down to Tropic and Bryce Canyon.  Thank you so much, Nick and Hayley, for letting us stay at your beautiful home.  Thank you Megan for letting the girls hang with you for a little while as well.  Sammy stayed down there to work for a couple of more weeks.  We sure do miss him.  It defiantly isn't the same at home with out him.

Till next time.......

Cousins Camp Utah Day 8 - The Zoo

The last day of Cousins Camp, actually, this was an extra day.  We didn't have time to go to the zoo the week before, the kids were disappointed, so I decided to stay for the morning to go with the kids. 

(We were meeting Sam in Tropic for a week there)

Anny sprinkled "Fairy Dust" on the girls so they could be so sparkly today.

Jackson under his breath was saying "hurry up with these pictures mom"

We loved seeing the new baby elephant Zuri.  He was fun to watch.

My camera ran out of battery half way through the day, so I borrowed some pictures from Anny.

The funnest part of the day, was watching a new gorilla on it's first day of display.  He was walking around his habitat, looking at everyone and even once started running while beating his chest.  I had seen that only once at the Omaha Zoo.  The kids enjoyed him.

It was getting late, and we had to still drive to Tropic (a 4 hour drive south).  We invited our friend's son, Dalton, down with us, along with Max and Zack.  We met Dalton at the zoo, then took off.

It was such a wonderful week.  I hope the kids will look back at these times with great memories.

Cousins Camp Utah Day 7 - Jenna's House

Jenna invited all of her family over for a house warming party.  She finally got her house put together after buying it a year ago.

Her house wasn't quite big enough for everyone inside, so we were glad it was a good day to stay outside.

Most of the siblings that were in town were there.  Curt and Diane, Doug and Rhonda,  Anny and Jim, Kass, Mom and myself and all our kids.

Jackson, Callahan, and Zack

We ate, talked, and watched the kids play and have fun.

Brynn and Maren

Thanks for letting us come to your beautiful home Jenna.  We enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Cousins Camp Utah Day 5 and 6 - The Cabin

We spent most of the day preparing for a cabin that we were invited to by Kass's Bishop.  We decided to do tin foil dinners and s'mores for the evening.  When we got there, it was snowing, therefore, unable to find dry wood for a fire.  So, we cooked the dinners in the oven, and the s'mores in the wood stove.  Close enough :).

Mick went along with us, and Sam and Jim met us up there a little later.  It was a fun filled night and next day.

It snowed pretty much the whole time.....

So, we found some games and toys to play with.  We had a great time.

Right before we left, Bishop Judd took some of the kids for a ride in the wagon.  They had the best time, and came back a little muddy.

The cabin was huge, with 4 floors, lots of places to sleep and run around.  We appreciate the hospitality of the Judds for allowing three crazy families to invade their place.

Cousins Camp Utah Day 4

Today, after some much needed massages for Anny, Kass, Mom and I, the kids did their 2nd annual service at the care center.

Aliza, along with Max, Abby and Zack played the piano.

The girls, Maren, Aliza, Abby and Brynn, made up their own choreography to the song "We Are Family"

Cade and Blake did a couple routines.  A song about a Mother Gooney Bird, and a ninja routine.  Breezers and Brooklyn sang their ABC's, separately, they couldn't do it together I guess.

The three boys, Max, Zack and Jackson were into yo yo tricks, so they made up a little routine.

All of the kids did this on their own, mainly because us camp councilors were too busy to sit down and help them.  I think next year we will make a point to make sure they have solid routines.  They all did great, just needed a little polishing on their routines.

They went around and shook everyones hands, I think they had a great time, and enjoyed performing in front of the older people.

Mom was able to be there with us this year, and enjoyed watching her grandchildren as well.

Cousins Camp Utah Day 3

We started the day out with some fantastic crepes.  Thanks Kass for making them.

After the Summer Bridges, we packed some lunch and headed to Cottonwood Pool.  This has been a favorite for the kids in the past years.

Trina met us there again, and the kids had a blast once again.

Jackson hasn't jumped from platform three yet, but he has a blast jumping from the second level.  Hey, it is still pretty high.

We saw cousin JJ come in with half his teammates from the Utah Football team.  When he saw us, he said he couldn't miss Cousins Camp.  He is so cute, and was a trooper for taking pictures with his cousins.  I'm sure with three or four camera's shooting he felt like a celebrity.

  They had a great time... as usual and was hard to get them to leave.

Cousins Camp Utah Day 2

After our walk on Monday, Kass and I stayed at my moms with the kids so we can all be together and not have to meet somewhere.  After Summer Bridges were done, we piled in two vans and headed west to the Oqurrih Mountains to the Kennecott Copper Mine.

Mom is not in any of our pictures, because she was in the car when we were taking them.  She was a little pooped after her walk.

I've always seen this amazing mountain site while in the valley, so it was amazing to see how things actually worked and how the mountain ends up that way.

We met our cousin Trina with her kids and started the fun.

The visitors center was very interesting with a great movie that the kids enjoyed learning from.

Trina, Kass, Anny, Becca

The Camp Counselors

It's amazing how big these trucks are.  You can get a small glimpse from the size of their tires.

Jackson requested visiting the Great Salt Lake this Cousins Camp.  So after Kennecott, we drove along the mountains to Saltair, had a picnic lunch in front, then walk out to the "Beach", then out to the water.  It was a very long walk.

Of course the kids are always faster than the adults, so by the time we got to the water they were all in, clothes and all.  It was shallow, so they kept going out farther and farther, then sideways.  They were getting a little too far, so I had to run, quite fast, to get them back to where we were.  They were very hard of hearing as well :)

The boys found a little pool of fish, and tried to catch  them.  They were having a blast, and we would have stayed there a lot longer, but we were not prepared with sunscreen, swim suits, towel, etc.  Why not?  We were going to a beach!

With the beautiful scenery, we tried to get the perfect picture with these girls, they weren't cooperating very well, so this is the best we got.  (Nice open mouth Aliza)

It was a great day to start the week off.  

Two great places that I haven't visited before.