Our solution for hunting with the kids!

I discovered last year that kids can really put a damper on your hunting season. Brayden came up with a way to just take them along with us!

Okay, not really! But aren't they so cute!?!

24th of July

We were home in Beaver for the 24th of July. Brayden was gone somewhere and for the life of me I cannot remember where he was. Anyway, we went to the parade and Autumn and Porter loved running around getting the candy. We ate a great lunch at the park and enjoyed the festivities going on. Later we went to the horse races which the kids loved. Each time the horses came by Autumn would say, "horses running fast." I love the expressions of amazement that they get with new and exciting things. That night we went to the Rodeo with the awesome Limb family who let us hang out on their truck trailer. Porter loved eating all their popcorn which they were nice enough to share with us.

Enjoying the park festivities.

Porter hanging out at the rodeo.


We had so much fun at the horse races the first day we went again the next day. They loved it again until the last race when they discovered a wasps nest under the railing they were standing by. They both were stung about four or five times and there was a rush of people from the stands to get them away from the wasps. It was very sad and to say the least it freaked the poor little ones out. They actually calmed down a lot quicker than I expected, but they still remember that they don't like wasps whenever they see anything that resembles them flying around.

The top two are at the horse races the first day and the bottom three are pics of the wasp stings from the second day at the horse races. Autumn got a pretty fat lip from one of the stings. It was a very sad time and I felt horrible for letting it happen!

Petting Zoo

Back in early June we went to Thanksgiving Point's Animal Farm with Sierra and Savannah. Autumn and Porter loved looking at the animals. This was back when they didn't talk as much as they do now so it was a special treat to hear them saying the animal names and sounds. They really liked the ducks, the baby calf, and the horses (from a distance). When they went on the pony ride they did okay for the first minute, then they both got terrified and cried until I finally took them off. I'm not sure what triggered their fright, but it happened about the same time. Autumn and Porter love their cousins and had a great time with Sierra and Savannah (Nana).

They really thought the white peacock was cool.

Fishing Fun

We took the kids fishing a few times this summer. We always have fun, but we are the worst fishermen in the world. We rarely catch anything but moss and weeds. We still like to go and enjoy the beautiful lakes. Autumn and Porter love it too and so far we've been lucky and they haven't fallen in!

I love Porter's face in this pic. He is such a cutie.

4th of July Week - Non Stop Fun

Last week's fun-omoter was sky high. We had a great time in Blanding with Grandma & pa Richmond and all the cousins. It was non-stop fun for the kids and I loved the free time I was able to enjoy. I'm sure Grandma was ready for us to leave when Sunday came around, it was a full house.

On Tuesday the kids had the farm tour. They saw pigs, goats, and sheep, then topped the outing off with rides on ponies. Autumn was reluctant at first, but loved it after she got the hang of it. Every time we got her down she would repeat over and over and over, "turn," "ride horse," "turn." She was quite persistant. Porter didn't like it from the start and didn't end up liking it at all. We had him go one round with Liz where he didn't cry, but he was very uncomfortable. After naps all the kids put on swimsuits and played in the backyard water park. They had a kiddy pool with all kinds of toys to play in. Autumn and Porter loved sharing the pool with all the cousins, as long as none of them dumped water on their heads.

The week was full of other random events. Wednesday they went to the Dinosaur Museum in town and then made hats that night. Thursday was a free day. We took Autumn and Porter fishing and had fun catching 3 inch bluegills. Autumn liked to touch the fish, but Porter only liked to look at them. Friday Liz was baptised. All the kids posed for pictures afterwards which is always entertaining with 10 kids 9 and under. When it was dark enough we had our own little firework show. I found out I am not a good lighter. I would use about two matches on average for every firecracker. I also threw a crackling ball at Jamie who had to jump out of her chair and dash away. Someone else should take over that job for next year.

On Saturday, the 4th, we enjoyed Blanding's celebration. The parade was fun. It was fun to see Autumn and Porter catch on to getting candy - well kind of. They were really slow and there wasn't much hustle from piece to piece. Still they had fun stuffing their pockets with candy and watching the floats. Brayden, Robby, Laurel, and I went for a ride up to Arch Canyon while awesome aunt Jen entertained Autumn and Porter at the carnival. It is a beautiful canyon and well worth the drive. In addition it was hilarious watching Robby rally Regan's Land Cruiser.

That night we watched Blanding's fireworks display. They did a great job and we had fun watching Autumn and Porter play with their glow-sticks.