Jordan Conservation Garden Park - September 14, 2014

With Trace in first grade I finally had the freedom to sign up for field trips without the hassle of finding a babysitter! This one for Jack's fourth grade was a botanical garden which teaches how to conserve water in your landscaping. I'm all for it. Here is Jack with one of his besties, Nyk.

Talisms

I've been a single mom a lot of the last three months with Clint gone 80% of the time. Sacrament meetings are the hardest with my active strong-willed boys. This past Sunday they were in top form with all of them wiggling and fighting and talking non-stop. You'd think they were to old for this by now! At the peak of their craziness Tal turns to me and says, "Mom, we are your life's greatest accomplishment." Yeah, thanks.

On the radio the DJ described someone as having a subdued personality. Tal said, "I have a subdued personality!"
Me: Uhhhh..!?
Tal: Yeah, I'm really friendly. I'm always like, "Sup, Dude!"
Me: That's not what it means, Tal!

Trace's First Day of 1st Grade

He's a blur with excitement!

Lucky him. He got Ms. Okabe! Now Jack, Cole and Trace have all had her (for K, 4th and 1st).

Flaming Gorge with the Nielsens and Sandullis - August 21-24, 2014

First stop: Fort Bridger. So facsinating to see the place where my ancestor Sally of the Shoshone met and married French trapper Jean Baptiste. Turns out there was a whole village of such couples near this fort.

How is this for luxury bed pan. Lands!

Totem Kids

Olde time farm implements

Flaming Gorge! We had absolutely gorgeous weather as we floated the river. The sun didn't burn us and the rain didn't fall, for that four hour window!

 This is one of my favorite places on earth. So beautiful. So slow and peaceful.

Myself and Karly

 It's a good thing we had two canopies for our kitchen and dining area because nearly the entire time we were at camp it was RAINING! We spent the majority of our time in these tents!

 Clint, (Kilroy) Dave and Guido.

 Adah, Rebecca and Gwen

 What? Talmage with a stick? Acting in a threatening manner?

 Although the kids dubbed Flaming Gorge "Raining Gorge", we did see some of these.

 We had this huge group campground to ourselves.

 The campground was on top of the cliff on the south edge of the Green River Gorge. Before the drop off was a system of lichen covered boulders that made all kinds of neat caves and tunnels. The kids expored it for hours and luckily no one got so adventurous that they fell off the cliff!

 Clint managed to make a gorgeous loaf of sour dough bread in the dutch oven, which was a godsend for all of us freezing damp campers!

Gavin, Ian, Maddie, Adah and Elena 

Cute Elena was just about to remember that she was on a gluten-free diet. When she did remember she burst into tears! Poor girl.

 We'd planned to camp three nights, but after two nights of solid down pour, we pulled up stakes and packed out in the rain the second morning. The rain stopped only as we drove away! Then we had a lovely visit to Dinosaur Nat'l Monument in Vernal

 This time we walked the discovery trail. The rangers told us to look for fossils, but none of them were marked. So every time we found a dinosaur bone we felt like we were the first ones to find it!

The kids found more than the adults.

 The Sandullis. Salt of the earth. I really admire them.

 A living fossil.

 Petroglyph

On the way home we stopped in Heber. I'm pretty sure it would be a party foul to go through Heber and not get a shake at Granny's.

Aquarium with Huntsville Cousins - August 15, 2014

Priceless

 Jack and Trace (who has a shark hat on his head)

The Malmborgs, the Songers and the Cresaps in the Shark Tunnel

Random Summer Pics from August 2014

This is what retirment looks like--when you're only 44 and you're about to get another career. But it was nice while it lasted. Oh yeah, it was kind of stressful waiting for the companies to call back. When he got his job offer in January they said he was their first choice---he put his resume in in October! Then he got an offer a week later from a company he applied to in November and they said he was their first choice! I guess these things take time. Now we know. (Picture taken August 11 at the JCC in SLC)

 I can't even beleive this is Talmage 10 months ago. He's grown 10 inches since then and his feet went from size 4 at the beginning of the summer to size 8 at the end. He's standing at the pool in good old Fairmont Aquatic Center. The Cresaps have spent A LOT of time there. Swim lessons for three years swim team for two years, year round, up to three times a week. At the end it was Cole at 4 p.m., Tal and Jack at 5 p.m. and Trace at 6:30 -- most week days! A lot of back and forth just to tucker these guys out. But I think I'm the one who got tuckered out the most.

 Here he is Thanksgiving Point on August 12, 2014. A boy....Then

Behold, a teenager! (Taken June 18, 2015)

 Trace and Jack at Thanksgiving Point with neighbor Charlie.

Always the photo bombing...