Bubbles and Horses, and Hiking oh my!

More from our UT trip, I'm only a week behind now!
I'll be back to my regular schedule soon here! Still enjoying being with family! Matt got here this week and it is so good to be together again!

Monday July 29
We stayed home to play today. The kids played in the sand, on the trampoline, in the soccer room.
These little boys played super heroes. I followed them to their hide out and took a photo of them in action!

It's fun to see these two play air hockey together. E gets so frustrated at A because she'll randomly turn the game off, or won't let go of the puck! They are starting to get the hang of playing together.

They have made up several games to play in the soccer room... star wars, the line game, running around the track, and asteroids. I love that they are creative, they just need some space and the games get created.

Sunday Cand had said she was trying to get home on Monday. This is nothing short of a miracle since Chelsie was so sick. They told us at the beginning she'd be in the hospital anywhere from 4-6 weeks. It had just been 2!

Candice did come home Monday evening. It was great to have her back, to be with her!

We did several movie nights in the theater room. The kids watched Little Rascals, Holes, The Adventure to Mysterious Island, Spy Kids 2, The Crudes. It is so much fun in the theater room!

Tuesday July 30

Mom came down to help me with kids and/or help Cand with Chelsie. We got to sit and visit and clean together. She played and snuggled with the grand kids and helped clean. She is amazing at just walking around and cleaning! I was happy to make lunch... mom was on cleanup! We are a great team!

It takes some doing to get Q to play. She has a hard time trying things she's not immediately good at. She wouldn't play G, but played C.

Everyday... 'come clean up these Legos!'

I took the kids swimming after lunch. They love Monica's pool!

It was good for Candice, she got some rest.

We took another trip to get shaved ice, this time with grandma and Candice joining us. It was great! E got Tigers Blood each time, he also asked to taste everyone's flavor every time! The rest of us changed it up a bit and tried new flavors.

Little A loves Q. She calls her JJ. Don't know why, that was the name of the horse that lived in the field next door! It's super sweet and we love it! Here you see that A has stolen Q's flippy's. Q tried to steal her crocs as payback, but A didn't care much!

It has been fun to watch Q take care of her cousin, learn to change a diaper, carry her around. This is how I was with my cousin Kaylyn, who I'll introduce soon. It was invaluable for me as a tween and I didn't have little sisters so I loved taking care of her much more than her older sisters did. I like to think we had a special relationship because of that.

I enjoyed visiting w/ Scott and Candice until the wee hours of the morning!

Wednesday July 31

This may be the only shot I have of the soccer room. G tried to kick the ball at me several times!!!

I had made plans to go to Thanksgiving Point on this day, this day specifically so my SIL Wendy could come, but I totally forgot to invite her! She ended up doing a little fund raiser for Avery, outside their house. Avery has diabetes, he is also amazing to me!

Kathy met me at Tpoint and we walked through the little petting zoo. It was good. I think this will be our last year doing it. The big kids weren't as entertained, getting bigger and all. The buggy ride was cool as was the pony ride.

Last year Q opted not to ride horses with us, she was too scared. I tried to sign her up for riding lessons in NY and I ended up riding alone, again too scared. I'm so proud of her for getting up on the biggest horse and going on that pony ride. She overcame her fear! What a beautiful girl!

We did let the kids feed the ducks, although they didn't eat anything we threw at them. We got more feed and gave it to this little bald chicken. It was so sad to see him. We had a good time together.

Initially we were going to hit the dinosaur museum as well, but since we were running later we decided to meet up and do that the following week, then Wendy could join us too. I took the kids down to Avery's little fund raiser. We bought popsicle's, and treats. Love supporting him. He made some good money to give to the JDRF.

Thursday August 1

My special plans and the treat for the day today was Paige Chamberlain driving up from St George to come to spend the day with us! They got here in the morning and we had so much fun all day!

The kids played the computer, air hockey, games in the soccer room. Paige and I had so much to catch up on! I hadn't seen her for two years! Way too long! It was so good to see her family and meet her new little man! We talked, fed the kids. We took them on the train that runs around the property. They were all excited about that! We also took them swimming.

I love this lady! We met she and Nick in NY while they were in law school. We connected and will love them for life! We laugh so hard when together. Paige has been there for me through some tough times and even though we are so different we value each other and what we add to the other person. It was sad to say goodbye, but I'm confident our friendship will always be strong.

The previous night the big kids got to do 'hot tub' together. They all wear swim suits and fill up Cand's big tub with bubble bath, then she turns on the jets. I didn't take any pics of that. The little boys were ready for their turn tonight. They were hilarious so I had to take pictures!

O in particular loved making bubble costumes, then looking at himself in the mirror. They were cracking us up!!! Here are some bubble-rific images!

Check this one out... that is some serious bubble build! They had such a great time. We put them into the 'car wash' after to get all the bubbles off. Magical!

Friday August 2

This was one of my most favorite mornings here in UT. I got up and met Heather Smith and Rebecca Jennejohn in Provo. We took at power barre class. The class was a great workout, my arms were sore for days after it! The best part was reconnecting with these girls! I danced with both of them at Ricks College. I hadn't seen Heather since my wedding day. Rececca came and danced at the UofU so I'd seen her before we moved toVA. But, it has been at least 10 years. Crazy how much time has passed, but how little that matters.

I walked in and saw Heather and we laughed and hugged. She is still the same. Still a hand talker, would confuse any deaf person that is near her because she does weird things with her hands when she talks!!!! Her laugh is infectious... it's a belly laugh, I love it! She makes me so happy!

Rebecca got there right before class started. We worked it together then needed some time to visit. We tried to find a place to get a juice, drove around some more. We ended up sitting on State Street in front of a Whole Foods and drank our wholistic drinks while we caught up. We really could've used a few more hours together, but alas the kids need supervision!!!

It was hard to say goodbye, but so filling to see each other.

I took the kids swimming again. Cand stayed back at home with mom. Chelsie had been up the night before. She'd thrown up her food along with her medication. They were tired!

That night we grew concerned for Chelsie and ended up taking her to the ER after the HH nurse came to check her. Scott and I stayed up to hear how she was. We went to bed at 3ish and Cand got home around 6am (Saturday).

Saturday August 3

Mom came down again, not knowing how the night had gone. She helped with A while Scott and I took the big kids out of the house.

We first headed to downtown Provo to see the old tabernacle that had burned. The LDS church is transforming the old building into a temple. Very cool! They have dug under the building to add parking and more stability. Have you seen the story on that? It's pretty cool. It was neat to get up close and personal!

We then took the kids to lunch, then drove to the base of the Y hike. For those that don't know along the mountain side all up and down the valley there are giant letters. Up in SL there is a giant U on the mountain for the University of Utah. In Provo there is a giant Y for BYU. You can park at the bottom and hike up to the letter itself. We didn't do that with the little one's but we did get out to see the view, and take a picture for Uncle Shawny who is a devoted U fan... the rivalry runs deep!

Our last stop was this little bakery, for fresh doughnuts. Then home for quiet time so we could all take a nap, AFTER we ate our doughnuts of course!

Scott and I had planned on getting up early to go cycling, but that didn't happen with all the commotion. I thought we'd try to ride that evening, but instead I went shopping with my mom!

We went to check out some outlets in American Fork. We ended up really enjoying ourselves, minus the crazy traffic getting there. We took our time and found so many great things! I'll have to show my new purchases! Mom has lost some weight and we found her some great pants, look so good! I hadn't spent much time with just my mom, so I was ok letting go of the ride.

I actually came home and went on a short ride by myself. This was my first time on that canal trail I posted about in a running post. The sun was setting, it was beautiful. Glad I got at least a little something in.

Sunday August 4

We got up and went to church. It was fast and testimony meeting. I felt uplifted and inspired. I loved it! I've been thinking and feeling much, being on my own, conversing with the hubbs long distance. There is some stuff to work on. I loved hearing my sister witness her personal miracle as she almost lost her daughter. It was good for my soul. I'll write a bit more of what I'm learning and feeling in a Sunday post.

After church and lunch I went to Lehi to see my aunt and uncle. I love these two. I spent so much time with them in my childhood. They loved me in a different way than my own mom and dad could. They are my family. We all need that, people outside of our direct family to lift us and mold us. It's healthy for us.

Three of my cousins were also there. This is who I was talking about earlier... cute Kaylyn..

We got to visit for just a little bit before they had to go. Then I got to just visit w/ my Aunt Conna. I love that woman! She is fabulous! Mom had come down too, so we all visited for a while before I had to leave for our next appointment!

We headed to Jane's house. She came to visit us in NY on their way back from Boston. I went to HS with Jane, we were songleaders together... I may go back and bust out an old photo. Anyway, it has been through blogging that I've kept track of her. She blogs HERE.

I loved that she came to see us in NY and she invited us to come see her when we came to UT, we took her up on it and I'm so glad. You can't have too many friends and I feel that we have much in common, strengthening a friendship that was just simmering!

She invited Brandy, who we also cheered with. LOVE this girl too! I hadn't seen her in years. She is battlling her own life struggles right now and she still is faithful and stalwart. She is a beautiful example and I was so glad to her about her life right now as her family struggles through cancer.

It was great to catch up, meet new kids, see them connect and play, make smores, and laugh together.