Independence Week 2012

We decided to celebrate Independence Day by going to the cabin for an extended weekend. Leading up to the 4th we hiked up in Bloomington Canyon, swam in the lake, chopped lots of wood & did cabin cleanup, and soaked up some rays on the beach. We came home just in time to celebrate the 4th in Salt Lake.

Saturday we spent the day cleaning up the cabin property. Last year Ryan cut down all the dead brush and wood surrounding the cabin. It hadn't been done in years so there was a lot of it. He and his brother chipped some of it last year, but there is still a ton just sitting in the back. So he got out the saw and I got out the loppers and we started loggin' it all. We only got about 1/3 of it done but hey, progress is progress even if it is slow. And now we have lots of good firewood the next time we want to make a campfire and smore's.


The next day we went hiking at the glacier lake in Bloomington. It really is an amazing canyon. So grateful I live near such beautiful areas that we can explore together as a family.

 

  

 

Bentley was loving the hike too. He found a ball left behind by another dog and was in heaven chasing it  along the trail and in the water. Straight back behind Bentley in the above pic, there was a real beaver swimming around. That was pretty neat to see. Doesn't Bentley look like a Beaver or Otter in the above picture? Thus, Berlin called him Bentley the Beaver all day long.


After coming home for a late lunch, we cooled down in the lake. We just walked to the end of the cabin road and set up our chairs. Ryan swam for a bit while the kids chilled out.

We bought a season pass to North Beach this year since the public beach down by our cabin is non-existent {again} with the high water levels. I love my beach time so it's worth the 20 minute drive up there each time. This is probably my favorite thing to do up at the cabin - hit the beach.


First Day at the Beach ...

LOVE LOVE LOVE these guys. They are such good buddies.

And since I posted a pic of Ryan, I have to be fair and post one of me (since apparently it's not fair that there are rarely pics of me on the blog). So here I am in all my shiny forehead glory, covered in about 10 layers of sunscreen and sweat. Sweet.


Second day at the beach ...


Berlin loves to just lay in the shallow water and sing. She was like this about 75% of the time we were at the beach.

 

Finley LOVED the water. He was in it pretty much the whole time. It was shallow for about a mile out and there were 3-4 sandbars in between which he would jump off of into the slightly deeper water. He was all smiles and did not want to go home once 4pm rolled around. He would purposely bury himself in the sand just to have to go rinse off, thus delaying the going home process.

 

We drove home Tuesday night and put the kids to bed. To commemorate the divorce of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (seriously, is there anyone who DIDN'T see this coming?) Ryan and I watched Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol. LAMEST movie ever!!! Anway, moving along...


On the 4th we slept in, rented a movie to watch with the kids in the afternoon, went out to dinner, attended the RSL soccer game, and watched an amazing firework show from the stadium.

The kids thought it was the best game ever because 1. they got their 5 seconds of fame on the jumbo-tron for the first time, 2. Our section won the "loudest fan section contest" (this it totally rigged by the way) and so they each got a bag of blue potato chips, 3. they got to see the sweet firework show, 4. all fans got an RSL metal waterbottle, and 5. the kids got a Slurpee at 11:00 pm on the way home.

I am so grateful for the freedoms that we have in America. I am grateful for the men and women who fought to help us gain our independence and for those who continue to serve and protect our country. I am proud to be an American.

Brigham City Temple

This Summer I took the kids up to Bear Lake for a week by myself. On the way up I decided to stop in Brigham City so the kids could see the new temple and stretch their legs. It was still a week or so away from the open-house, but it was still fun to walk around the grounds. It's a pretty little temple.

 

  

 

No, Berlin is not praying. She is in the middle of a fit. She apparently didn't want to walk and ended up on the ground crying. Great Temple behavior right.

Apparently sunglasses make it all better. Here she is all smiles. Yay!

Later, they got to run around the park in Garden City. This is how they prefer to stretch their legs.

Rocky Shores

The new Rocky Shores exhibit opened 2 weeks ago and we finally got over to see it last Friday. We only had a few hours to see it (in between track practice and basketball camp) so we hustled straight down to the new stuff. So worth it! It was crowded, but all the new animals were just fabulous! I love the new polar bears, grizzly bears, sea lion, seals, and river otters. It's about time! Our zoo may be small, but they have been trying hard the past few years to build new habitats for the animals that are larger and nicer. They did a great job. It's the one reason I bit the bullet and bought a season pass. I can't wait to go back on a less crowded day when we have more time.

Our tour guides planning our route.

The kids and the river otters.

The polar bear.

 

  

 the Sea Lion

 

The seals showing off for the kids

The Grizzly Bears were so funny wrestling each other in the water.

It was a great way to spend the day. Now, if we can just get new Giraffe and Monkey habitats.

Girl's Night Out

Ryan took Finley to our Stake's Father & Son outing this weekend. It was the first one they've gone to. So while the guy's gone were away, the girl's went out to play. I asked Berlin what she wanted to do and her reply was ... play hungry hungry hippo, walk to the park, run through the sprinklers, and watch "A Little Princess." Check, check, check and check! We did all of it and it was so much fun.

Here she is playing on the playground. She is such a funny little girl. I loved chatting with her on our walk to the playground. She had the funniest things to tell me and I laughed a lot.

Playing hopscotch.

 

Hanging from the bars.

Walking the wavy balance beam. She wobbled about half-way but was able to stay on and regain her balance. She is so funny with her expressions.

The next morning we went to the SLC Downtown Farmer's Market, got pastries for breakfast, bought fresh snap peas, squash, and zucchini, walked around all the fun craft booths, sampled fresh kettle corn, looked at the gazillion dogs (Berlin finally stopped counting after 31), chatted with Ryan's cousin at Siegfried's food booth and ordered up some brawts for lunch. YUM! 

Before heading back Berlin had to hula-hoop at the hula booth. She loves this spot and I had to drag her away. Was tempted to get her a hula-hoop until the gal said they were $20. Um, never mind.

So we headed back home to see Ryan and Finley who had just gotten back from this ...