Lake Time

Yesterday we went to the lake with the family. It was lots of fun but boy, are we ever sore today. Apparently I used muscles yesterday I forgot I had and I only went skiing once...what a whimp eh? Graham rode for quite a while on the boat and didn't seem to mind it even though his life jacket was more like a straight jacket. It looked like the kid could hardly move. Camarae on the other had didn't like the boat, it was "too loud" as she kept saying and proceeded to cover her ears the entire time. Sound like we need to go more often :o) But she did ride the tube and like that for a few minutes.





Corey testing out his new boat driving skills...

Jamie and Matt battling on the tubes

Megan knee-boarding like a Pro

I don't think Graham knew what to think about his first boat ride

Alaska

I think this post is long awaited. We had a fun time visiting with Sabrian, Robert and Aurora. We took a Fjord tour and were able to see lots of wildlife. The highlight for me were the killer (or Orca) whales as I'd never seen one in the wild before. We did a lot of camping and even spent a couple of nights in the rain. We also went up to Denali which was a trip. I'd worked there for a summer about 11 years before and it was quite a bit different, much to my surprise. But it was still just as beautiful as I remembered.

Corey & I at Portage Glacier

Our cool Yert at the Military Resort. They had the cleanest bathrooms I've ever seen and they were soo warm. I was very sad to leave them.

A very "cool" glacier - we saw it calving into the ocean. I think this was Corey's favorite part of the trip.

This is as much as they'd surface but it was still so neat.

Me with my favorite Alaskan girl.

We're wishing Mt McKinley would suddenly appear behind us...unfortunately we never did see it.

Zion National Park

Way back in May, just the weekend before Memorial Day, Corey and I went with his sister and her family to Zion National Park. It is down by St. George and is probably one of the most visited parks in Utah. We thought it would be fun to go camping and see the park (Corey had never been there before) while the temperatures outside weren't scorching. We went on a few hikes and we were so impressed with Alexa, who is 3, as she was able to make the hike on her own...what a trooper. Here is a picture of our adventure. (sorry we didn't have many)


Corey & Me on the Emerald Pools hike.

June Trip 1: Arkansas

On June 8th Suzi and I departed from Layton Utah and began our trip to the MIDWEST.   We drove all day and then the thought came to me, check the oil, so I did.  Sure enough we needed oil and I added a quart.  Before we left I also checked the tires, they were worn out and ready to go, wire tread showing and as bald as an ice sculpture.  (I'm funny eh?)  I knew we needed new tires, so Crystal (my loving older sister) did some online checking and we had to get 50 miles down the road in an hour to get the the last open place.  It was already 7pm central time.  About half an hour down the road the tire went flat.  I got out and changed the tire --it's recorded on camera so there is proof!  We very slowly drove to the tire and lube.  The men stayed ten minutes after their shift to help us, by the time they were done changing the tires, it was an hour past their closing time!  What great men at the Walmart in Grand Island Nebraska!!  We were so grateful and ready to get back on the road and to Arkansas.  Angie and Dustin (my cousins' whose kids we were going to be watching for 10 days) were really anxious to see us get there in time!  About half an hour down the road I was talking to my mom on the phone and Suzi was driving, next word out of my mouth was deer deer deer deer deer!!  Suzi switched lanes to avoid the deer and it jumped in front of us!  We pulled over as soon as possible, I got off the phone with my mom, and checked out the damage.  We saw headlights hanging out and a dented front passenger fender.... ouch!  So after calming Suzi down, we got back in the car, I took the wheel, and turned the a/c off.  I drove to the next possible town, 1/2 hr down the road.  By the time we finally found a hotel, apx. 10:30 at night, the temperature hit RED hot.  We turned the car off and settled down for the night.  To make a long story short now, the next morning we got a tow and went the the shop and rented a car to get us to Arkansas.  We drove all day and got to Angie's house by 7ish that night.  It was great to finally be at a destination, one that we wanted to be at!

We watched the kids and played for over a week.  It was ten days, by the end I was glad I don't have any kids of my own right now!  So much work with 5 kids to take care of, oh and a Suzi. haha, don't tell.   We did have some exciting days, Precious Moments Chapel and Civil War Battle sites.  It was quite an adventure with the boys in tow!  We hiked up to this waterfall, this is the lower shot, there was more waterfalls up higher on the hike.  It was Suzi, Carley, and I with 11 kids!  

 We also went down to Fayetteville and met up with one of my old friends, Michael.  It was a ton of fun, we toured the Razorback campus and went mini golfing and go-karting!  We found the road that had my name on it, my favorite thing in Fayetteville!  We finally bought Suzi a new car because her other car was totaled by the deer. :(  ...but the new Civic is awesome!  Then on to Milwaukee and Chicago and Michigan! I'll show that later.  Bon Voyage!