San Diego

At the first of July we headed to San Diego for about 5 days with my parents.  We had a great time.  The weather was in the low 70s and perfect, and it was great.  When the kids weren't swimming in the pool we were out having fun somewhere else.  They literally crashed into bed each night.

Our first day we went to Legoland.  None of us had ever been there before.  The kids had a lot of fun.  I think once was enough for me.  At first the lines were really long but by evening it was about empty, and the kids got to go on lots of rides.  Most of the rides are small, but they had a Lego Technic roller coaster that was pretty fun.

My dad and I took the bigger boys on this "ride."  You pull yourself up.  When we were about 15 feet off the ground Seth pushed this big, black button in between us.  It raised the lap bar up.  For the rest of the ride I kept telling him not to push the button.  Doesn't that kind of seem like bad ride design?

Luke waited forever to drive the cars on this course, but he thought it was worth it.

At the end of the day the boys got soaked in the fountain.  They had their shirts off, and we had to put them in the family dryer.

Our next day was a beach day, and we had a blast.  Luke was Mr. Kelp and for some reason Seth was scared of it, so you can imagine he capitalized on that.

Ian liked the sand but wasn't too interested in the water.  He was constantly wandering off and a bit of a pill!

Seth does not mind having sand in every crack and crevice.

I showed the kids how to find crabs when there were bubbles after the wave came...and sure enough they were still there...just like my San Diego beach days as a kid.  Luke was way into the crabs and Ian was pretty excited about them too.

The next day was Sea World.  The weather was not too hot, and the kids loved it.  Luke especially was totally amazed by the animals and took tons of pictures with his little camera.  I thought the dolphin show was way cool myself.

At the end we really wanted to ride the roller coaster, but the wait was 90 minutes.  We decided we didn't want to ride it that bad.

Our last vacation day we spent at two different beaches.  We first went to La Jolla cove and did a little snorkeling.  Both Jer and I love to snorkel and swim in the ocean but California is just not that great.  We've been here before and it was especially murky and wavy this time.

There were all sorts of crabs and critters to be found, and there were a bunch of seals out on "seal rock" that were noisy.

We also went to a beautiful state beach and played in the surf.  The kids had a blast.

Ian once again enjoyed the refreshments most of all.

As the tide came in Luke stayed and watched until every last bit of this sand castle was gone.

This is not a great picture because light was coming down through a skylight and I just had my little camera, but it's the only one we got with both grandma and grandpa.  We all had such a fun time!  Ian was so tired on the way home that he even crashed out on the plane, and we enjoyed some peace and quiet for a minute.

Random Summer Fun

Blogging has not really happened this summer so I'm attempting to do some major catching up. This post is just a mish mash of some fun stuff we've done the last month or so.

We borrowed Grandpa Boyd's Jeep and took the kids for a ride from Cub River up to Gibson Lakes.  It was a pretty rough ride, but it was fun.  Poor Luke was in the back in the middle, and he got sick.  When we got to the lakes and got out Luke was puking with millions of mosquitoes swarming him.  He didn't complain!  On the way back he got to sit shotgun with me so he could see, and he felt much better.

On the 24th of July we were down at my parent's house for Sunday dinner.  The kids were sporting their patriotic shirts my mom got them.  They love chilling in the swing on my parent's deck.

We've made a couple trips to Bear Lake this year.  We went up with my family and cousins' family on the 4th and then went up again for the day on the 24th.  On the 24th it was really windy, and the kids had such a blast at the pool.  On the 4th it was pretty nice at the beach, and we spent most of our time there.  There isn't much of a beach this year though because the water's so high.

At one point Ian was using that black thing as a straw and drinking that gross water.

My aunt and uncle have owned a red boat for years, but it has been a lot of trouble lately.  Last year it left us stranded and this year the first time they took it out it started on fire.  They retired it, and we rented a boat.  It was lots of fun.  The kids tubed and some of us who haven't waterskied for years tried it again.  I can't remember the last time I was on a waterski but it got smooth, and I decided it was one ski or bust. Apparently it's like riding a bike because I got right up and it was really fun.  My cousin Jodi showed us her skills too.  It was just like old times...except we're 20 years older.

Pretty much all the kids were buried at one time or another.  I think Andrew is happy with his work.

We live in a cul-de-sac with great neighbors and lots of kids!  We always have a cookout in the summer and this year we did fireworks too.  This is our cute neighbor Klein with Ian.

Little Luke and Seth doing sparklers.  It was a little sketchy for a minute when lots of small children were waving fiery sticks!

Ian alternated between liking and hating the fireworks.  He was really not a fan of the noise and kept wanting me to cover his ears.

This is just part of the group...we have over 30 elementary age kids on our street and a handful of older kids.

We also headed up to P town for That Famous Preston Night Rodeo and parade.  We left Ian home on this one because sitting with him in open bleachers is a disaster.  Jer got home from his high adventure with the young men just in time to come with us.  Parades, candy, rodeo burgers, the rodeo itself, and of course family...you can't beat small town traditions.

Mr. E

Ian has been keeping us all on our toes this summer.  Everywhere we go it takes effort not to lose him because he's such a wanderer.  He is also getting quite the spunky personality.  He lets you know in no uncertain terms how he is feeling.  He is usually happy but has quite the temper and pulls some hilarious faces.  He has also picked up some sayings that are naughty, but I also can't help laughing.

**Ian loves Kung Fu Panda.  He pitched a fit when we tried to go see #2 because the previews freaked him out, so he and I ended up leaving Jer and the boys.  Despite that he has developed a love for the original, and I sometimes let him watch parts of it while I'm showering.  He talks about the "scary Dragon Warriory" and says "I love kung fu."  The unfortunate thing he has picked up is "big, fat panda."  Yes, my two-year-old has called me a big, fat panda.  He says it like an insult just like in the movie.  Naughty I know yet the first time he said it I turned my head and laughed hard.  Now we're working on it so he doesn't say it to his nursery leader or something!

**Lots of things are "scary."  Scary guys, water, you name it.  In general, Ian is a pretty fearless kid, but he describes just about everything as scary.  He picked that up in Moab when I told him it was scary when he choked.  Just yesterday at Macey's he told me he didn't want to "see the scary cookie guy ever again."  He was referring to this guy dressed as a giant Oreo we saw at the store back in March!  He has a "scary" good memory.

**Ian loves riding his "motorcycle bike."

**If you call Ian anything besides his name he argues with you.  Like on our camping trip everyone kept calling him a towhead, and he would say "no I Ian."

**When he wants something he orders that person to "share him."  He means share with him which really means give it to him.

**On a recent trip he told my dad "don't say no to me."  Yikes!

**He says "yours" instead of your.  Like I want to sit on "yours lap" or I want "yours drink."  It's pretty cute.

**Ian likes to sing and dance.  He sings Staying Alive.  He also likes that Shake Your Groove Thing song.  His brothers taught him that the words are "Shake Your Booty," and he really belts that out.

 Ian is fascinated by bugs or buggies as he calls them.  He puts endings on lots of things and likes to eat chippies and grapeys too.

I found him in the dryer the other day.  I also found him eating this ball of bird seed Seth made.  It was a pine cone covered in peanut butter and bird seed.  I found him secretly eating it in Seth's room.  When I walked in he held it up and said "this is nummy!"

You've got to love this kid, but I think he may definitely give me a run for my money.  Right now he has this face he makes when he's mad that's downright mean looking!  He's a handful.  He's also stinking cute.  None of these pictures do him justice.  He has big, beautiful blue eyes and his hair is white these days!  

Downata Hot Springs

Each year in June it's time for the annual Burbank family campout.  We normally head to the mountains but this year the campground was a mess of snow and mud, so they came up with a last minute plan B.  We camped at Downata Hot Springs right outside of Preston.  If you've never been there--think scaled down Lava Hot Springs.  The kids of course would have fun anywhere, and it was a relaxing weekend spent in good company.

 Ian and Tucker had fun playing together, then they fought over everything, and then they played some more.

 There was a lot of food.  Ian would not eat a real meal the entire time, but he ate tons of junk food.

 In this photo by Luke you can see the sweet camp trailer we borrowed from my parents.  Where the slide out beds are there is some elastic that goes around the edge to keep the canvas in place.  On the one side it was broken, but we didn't realize what a big gap it created.  During the first night I heard a thump and then Seth crying.  Jer told me he was outside.  I'll be honest in the middle of the night I was so confused.  He and Luke were sleeping on a bed together, and he rolled out of bed under the canvas and fell on the ground.  It was like a 5 foot drop!  Jer had to go retrieve him in his Gs, but he wasn't hurt.  He didn't really even remember it in the morning, and we've got a good laugh out of it.  Jer and TJ rigged a fix for it the second night.

 In the commons area Seth loved playing in the sand.  He was "baking" and creating all sorts of stuff.

 Luke loved playing basketball with Jer, TJ, grandpa, and K'Lee.

 Ian took off his shoes everywhere and then wandered everywhere.  We were not exactly the only campers in town, so he was checking out other people's tents, picnics...keeping track of this one is a chore!

 Getting ready for s'mores.  Poor Addison--earlier in the day she crashed on her bike and had to go back to town for stitches.  She was a trooper!  The other kids had lots of fun riding their bikes around camp.

 Arts and crafts time.  In the background you can see Seth taking advantage of the lounging camp chairs.

 There was a little pony in the field by our camp.  He got lots of attention, and the kids nicknamed him Rusty.

 You can see Addison's battle wounds.

At Downata of course the big attraction for the kids is swimming.  I couldn't believe how hot the water was...they aren't kidding about the hot springs part.  It felt like a very warm bathtub and wasn't exactly refreshing.  Luke loved the big dragon waterslide and really wants to go back.

T Ball Seth

Seth played t ball in River Heights again this year.  I must say his team this year seemed much easier than the one Jer and I "coached" last year.  They were all pretty young and mostly cooperative.  The whole team was from Paradise except for our neighbor little Luke.  Seth did a great job and had lots of fun.  He was lucky to have his grandmas and grandpas come watch him play several games.

 Seth and little Luke with their coach.  She was so nice.  She had a baby like right before the first game and her husband stopped by with her and the new baby in the car on the way home from the hospital to coach.  By like the third game she was out there coaching too.  That's dedication!

 Seth's so into the action that he has time to discuss the Lego guy in his pocket!

 Little Luke's younger brother is Trey, and he's Ian's best neighborhood buddy.  They had lots of fun playing and running all over the place during the games.  All the games were right by Ryan's Place Park so my Luke chased Ian for a while then ran off to the park to play each game.