Fun Weekend @ The Logan Fair/Rodeo

This weekend at the fair was really fun for the kids. Last year we did not get to go to the fair. I think we were out of town and the kids were way bummed. So this year we promised them that we would go.

Friday night, just our family headed over to the fair and let our kids go on a few rides. WOW, those rides are pricey. So they only got to choose a few rides each. I am not much of a "Stay-at-the-fair-all-day" kind of person...I like to go at night, when it is shady and not so freakin hot. Plus the lines are so long and the rides are not all that safe! I would rather spend the money and go to Lagoon. But for some reason...the kids love it. Casen was loving all the lights...He did not whine once that he was not getting to go on rides. I did take him on the Carousel...which was a pain in the butt getting him off. He threw a fit. And it cost $6. They charged me just to stand there with him and make sure he did not fall off. Freakin rip off. But he loved it.

Then Saturday night, we went with Matt's family...his brother Toph and his family and his sister Mandy and her family. We met at the fair and ate dinner on the grass and let the kids dance...the most relaxing part of the whole night....I could have sat there for hours and just talked and relaxed. But we had to get over to the rodeo...which was fun for the first hour, but after that Casen was terrible and my other kids got antsy...so we all left early to go over to the fair for a little while before we went home. That is when we went and saw all the farm animals, which the kids loved. Then we walked around the ride section of the fair again and decided we'd call it a night. It was fun to be with the family...even though Mandy ended up going to the hospital that night with stomach pains....and towards the end all the babies started falling apart...and that was OUR SIGN TO LEAVE! Plus the pregos were warn out and tired. It was fun, but every year I tell myself how I would do the fair differently the next year....go earlier, no rodeo, and just sit on the grass and eat and let the kids play...and buy a wrist band early for the kids to go on more rides. The fair is the fair I guess and KIDS LOVE IT NO MATTER WHAT!

Shoving A Few More Activities into Summer

I can't believe there are only 2 more weeks of summer before the kids start school. It is making me sad. And yeah I am tired being prego and all, but I keep telling myself that once school starts...I will get a major break from kids and activities....so we are trying to squeeze in a few more activities before summer is over.

Last Saturday we met some friends down in Draper and tried out that Cowabunga Bay Water Park. It was way fun to see our friends...the Wilcocks and the Bundersons, but the weather was terrible. It was hot, but windy and overcast. So we were all freezing. We only stayed about 3 hours because all the adults were having to hang out in the kiddy PEE pool just to stay warm. My older 2 kids loved the slides and they were so brave and went on all of them. The water was chilling....Matt attested to that. He got to go on some of the slides with the kids. The lazy river was also warm. And it was nice that Cade could touch in the water....so they just kept checking in with me every couple of minutes....So it was nice! I would love to go again, but with warmer weather. Maybe next year!

We also took another pool day this week with the Bundersons and our neighbor Alyson....trying to get those last pool days in and our last summer tans. The kids really do have fun just being in the water and playing together. They also are big enough now to go on the slides by themselves, which makes it nice. Next summer might be a little rough for me with a 5 month old and a 2.5 year old. I guess Casen will just have to get use to wearing a life jacket ALL THE TIME. Even this time he would get a little brave and walk out to where the kids were playing and I would have to make a MAD MOM DASH out to rescue him cause he had FALLIN AND COUDLN'T GET UP. So annoying. I wish he would just swim next to me. Still did not get much of a tan! But oh well...it feels good to bask in the sun and be in the water!

Then just yesterday...I took the kids down to Ogden to the Childrens Museum. The older kids liked it and so did Casen. They do not let you bring strollers on the main floor, so Casen was free to run around and I just had to follow him. The other kids wandered together and checked in with me every so often...or if they wanted to show me something they had made or discovered. And then sometimes they would hang out with me and Casen and let me snap a few pics. (Notice I did not get any pics of the pool or Cowabunga Bay...BUMMER!) But after 3 hours or so...mom was bored and hungry and so I managed to sneak them out of there with not too much complaining. I think my kids favorite part everytime is the ART CENTER. They love crafts and projects. They got to make GLITTER EGGS yesterday. So fun! My favorite was the Indian Tepee.

Need to think of a few more fun nearby activities that we can squeeze in before summer is OFFICIALLY OVER! I guess we are saving camping for September when Daddy is not so busy! I think this weekend is the rodeo and the FAIR. Maybe we will mosey on over and check it out!

Trip to CA. - Cousin Taylors 7th Bday

The last day we were in California...on our way to the airport..we left a few hours early so we could celebrate a family birthday party for my little niece Taylor who was turning 7. We had a nice dinner at a nearby park....let the kids play...had some cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday...and let her open a few gifts. It was nice to be with the family one last time before we had to get on a plane and go home. Taylor actually got to choose what she wanted to eat...she chose crap legs , but we all got hot dogs and hamburgers. I tried the crab legs. EEEWWW. Not my forte. I like fish and shrimp, but lobster, crab legs, and a few other sea food things are not my thing. A few of the cousins cried and so did Aunty Steph and Grandma when we had to leave. It is getting harder and harder to leave...especially where my kids are growing up and I feel like my parents are missing out. But what can we do about it? NOTHING! We also had to say good-bye to gramps at the airport and that was hard too....brought on some more tears!

Trip to California- Saturday in Venice/Santa Monica

One of our last days there, we decided to make the 2 hour drive up to Mike and Angies apartment in Venice, CA. It was fun to see where Mike lives and works and just how happy he was in his own little element. Their apartment was so clean and decorated cute. We were sad we missed Angie. She was out of town.

So for the next few hours, we went down to the beach in Santa Monica and took some pics and then we ventured through this little farmers market and sampled some of their yummy fruit. We also visited this street called 3rd street (I think) and ate lunch there and people watched. It was a very interesting street with vendors everywhere and street performers. Very interesting. Mike didn't even take us to the Venice Boardwalk because he said there are some pretty crazy people there and it might scare the kids. But it was very entertaining.

Afterwards we went to this neighborhood that is built around these canals. In fact..these canals were in that movie Valentines Day. This is where it was filmed. But it was such a cute little neighborhood in Venice and such a neat place to live. We walked around that for a bit and even found a little park with ducks for the kids to play on. We had to say our good-byes to Mike then cause he was headed off to work, but it was fun to see him and where him and Angie live.





Sunday was our last day there. We decided to ditch church and just hang out together. We just vegged and then on our way to the airport that night...we stopped at a cute park in San Clemente with Steph and Wrights family and celebrated Taylors birthday a few days early with a yummy dinner. It was fun to see the cousins one last time before we had to leave, but it was also hard to say good-bye. We do not really know when we will see my parents next. I will not be able to travel anymore because I am pregnant and have to take it easy and my parents are not really sure when they will be able to come to Utah next. So it was sad to leave this time. We all got teary in the car because we had to say good-bye to grandma, Em and Stephs family at the park. And then we had to say good-bye to my dad at the airport and that was hard too. I love my family and love to go visit, but I am always sad when we have to leave! It was a great trip!

Trip to California - Aquarium & Oceanside Pier

My kids and I did have a couple days alone with me and my sister Em and my parents. I feel like my kids sometimes need that one on one time with grandma and grandpa to get to know them better. In fact Casen really warmed up to my mom this trip and she really cried when we had to leave. And I got teary too. My mom said that he was a little toddler this time and not a baby since she last saw him in April. And she was sad she was missing him grow up.

But I did take my kids to this Aquarium in Carlsbad. It was Ok. Not worth the money, but the kdis still enjoyed it. I thought it would be a little more hands on, but not so much. Casen was loving it. I don't know if he was so intrigued by everything or if he was just excited to be out of his stroller, but he was running around and OOOOHHHing and AAAWWWing at everything. So funny. Wish I had it on video. There were tons of fish, sea horses, starfish and snails. There was even jellyfish and an octopus and sharks and sting rays, but the whole aquarium took about an hour to walk through and that was it. Sea World is way better to see Sealife and worth the money you have to spend there. But we did get some good coupons from my thrifty sis Em. So that helped.

That night my parents took us for a walk on the Oceanside Pier and to dinner at the cute little diner Rubys at the end of the pier. It was pretty fun! The pier was quite impressive because there were a ton of people there, strange ones included, and so many people fishing. They were all catching a ton of fish, but little ones. So we were not sure if it was for sport or for dinner that all these people were fishing. But all the fishy smells were really making me feel yucky and I was starving. So I was just excited to get inside the restaurant and eat. It was just like a hamburger/fries/shake kind of place. So we all ate and enjoyed our food and headed back home. But yeah like I said before...Is it really summertime when you have to wear a sweatshirt at night because it is chilly?

Trip to California- San Diego Zoo Trip

The San Diego Zoo was another day that we all got to hang out together too. My dad was not able to make it because he had some important stuff at work to do, so it was my mom, and her 5 kids, and me and Stephs kids. So we did have 7 kids to keep track of, but 6 adults to help do it. So it was a long day of walking, and walking Hills, and keeping track of 7 kids, but it was alot of fun. We only lost Cade for about 5 minutes and he was quite panicked, but he did the right thing and stayed put. The kids really enjoyed it and there was not alot of complaining about walking either. It was nice to have all the help with the siblings though. In fact, the last 30 minutes were were there, we decided to take the 30 minute bus tour and it was great. Who knew you could see the whole zoo in a 30 minute bus tour. (No, the bus actually drove pretty quick past the animals, so you could not see a whole lot, so it was worth it to walk the zoo and get to see all the animals.)I really enjoyed the new Elephant Habitat. Pretty cool. My kids loved the monkeys. And I think all the kids loved the SKY-RIDE that we got to take twice. All in all it was a great day and great weather, but of course I was exhausted again at the end of the day. But it did make me feel better to hear everyone say that there legs were sore from all the hills and walking.

Trip to California- Beach, Pool and Park Days

It was pretty funny because Stephs house was far enough away that we could not keep driving back and forth, so we chose a few days to hang out with the cousins...go and see their apartment, go to the beach, go to their awesome neighborhood pools, and go to a few fun local parks. The funny part is that my kids wanted to hang out with Stephs kids everyday....they didn't care about spending money and going fun places..they just kept saying they wanted to play with the cousins. And a few of the days...Corey said to me..."mom this has been the best day ever...we had a good morning, we got to color with the cousins, swim with the cousins, and just play at grandmas." I was laughing because she considered that her best day ever. I guess my best day ever would be on a beach in Hawaii, laying out, with no interruptions, maybe reading a book or something. I just thought it was hilarious. They wanted to be with them every second of the day.

So we did get to go to the beach, and swimming at a few pools, and out to frozen yogurt, and also to a few parks. So we did have some fun days. And the kids also did a sleepover at Stephs one night and a sleepover at Grandmas one night also. In fact that night at grandmas house, we had Brett and Janice and Kyle (my relatives) over and Matt's cousin Marnie for dinner. We made those awesome PF Changs Lettuce Wraps. So freakin good. It was so fun to catch up and laugh. We always laugh when the Allans are around. I also had my high school friends and their kids over one night for dinner too. It was fun to see their kids and to catch up. But can you believe I forgot to take pics again. (I even went to the beach campsite in Carlsbad to see them on Sunday and forgot to take pics there also. )

My kids love the beach..Corey is really into the water and Cade loves the sand. Casen was not so sure about either, but he finally warmed up to the sand. He hated getting his feet dirty, but by the end, he was dipping his granola bars and crackers in the sand and eating them. So like I said he got use to it. Cade also became a better swimmer this trip. We went to a few pools with Steph and if I just let him get in the deep end and swim, he could do it. He looks like he is struggling to swim, but he floats on his back when he gets tired and he makes it all the way across the pool. I still have to watch him though because he makes me nervous and is not that strong of a swimmer yet. But I could tell my kids were really going to miss their cousins when we return home. I really did miss Utah summers though because California is nice weather, but not hot like Utah. The beach and pool were both a little cold with that ocean breeze. And wearing sweatshirts at night, in the summer, does not feel like summer to me.