The Great Salt Lake

I will have to say that I really DID think it would be hard to let go of the van.  You know, it is full of memories.  We have had it since 2004.  Ten years in one vehicle is a lot.  I might have shed a tear but then I got into the Yukon with all five of my kids and my hot honey and the thought of getting in the van again quickly faded.  We are so happy to have this new ride.  Even Emry is happy she just doesn't know it yet.

I couldn't let Labor day weekend go by without some kind of fun family adventure.  I had been thinking for a while now that we live in the Salt Lake Valley and we have never even stepped foot into the Great Salt Lake.  I remember as a kid that I went out there and floated.  I figured this would be a fun adventure and if not at least we can cross it off the list of things to do in Utah.

 I will have to say the views are spectacular.  It really is a very beautiful place.  That is if you can get past that horrid smell, and the bugs, and the brine shirmp, oh, and the salt.  Other than those things  It is definitely a wonder to behold.  At first the kids were a bit skittish about going in.  I really couldn't blame them seeing that it smelled so awful.  The water was extremely warm which was a nice change from Pineview.  They started to dip their toes and then walk out a bit farther.  What I found to be extremely interesting is that Ellie got right in.  She won't step foot in Pineview or any lake for that matter.

 Who is this girl?  She wasn't scared at all.  It was refreshing.  Poor Elsie though.  She must have had a UTI or something because the water stung her so bad down there that she couldn't get back in.  Jeron had to take her and wash her off.  I felt bad for her.  She is my mini me and I know she would have loved to feel herself float and play with her siblings.  Emry on the other hand wasn't to sure about it all.  She hung back and stayed in the shallow end.

 Once you got in there far enough the smell dissipated and the bugs were left on shore.  That made it easier to get in.  I will have to say that the brine shrimp did give me the willey's.  

Then it was time to test it out.  Do you really float?  YES!  You really float.  I am still in awe about this.  It is crazy.  You literally feel the water push you up.  There is no effort at all to stay up.  This is a cool feeling that everyone, especially us in Utah should experience.

 There was actually a lot of people there.  The one thing that I noticed though is that they didn't speak english.  I think there was some German and French that I heard.  This made me realize that other people outside of our country think this is a place to go.  A must see...  I am glad that I finally took advantage of a must see that is literally in my backyard.  On top of that we had a great time.

 While we all played Emry fell asleep.  Elsie ate lunch.  Jeron stood by and watched.  The four of us played for a while.  JJ caught a ton of brine shrimp.  Emma and Ellie just played in the water.  It was a wonderful family day.  When you get out of the Great Salt Lake your body is covered in salt.  It is insane.  I probably should have rubbed it off and used it to cook with. Thank goodness the marina has fresh water spouts you can hose of at instead.  We got all rinsed off and headed home.  It was a great way to spend labor day weekend. 

After we cleaned up we headed over to the Hughes for a barbeque.  It was fun to spend time with them and get to know the kids a bit more.

A day at the lake

Today was a great day.  We headed up to the lake to try out our new kayaks.  We hoped that Ellie would venture in but she mainly stayed on the shore the entire time.  

There really isn't a better place to be for us.  This is our spot.  We got there just in time to get prime real estate.  Emry was so much easier this year.  It is amazing the difference a year makes.

These Kayaks are really a lot of fun.  In fact the second JJ took it he was gone and he didn't come back the rest of the time.

Ellie and Emry had a lot of fun playing on the beach together.  

I think she could have stayed all day long

Enjoying some peaceful moments on the lake.  Look at the scenery.  It can't be beat.

Everyone minus Ellie had a great time on the water.  It was the best thing for us to have at the lake.  They played so hard all day long.

My bookends having some fun together.

Paddleboarding babe

Me and my littles

For a brief moment right before we left Ellie got in the water.  She can be a real pill sometimes.  

All in all it was the perfect first day on the lake.  Hopefully we can get daddy out here with us.

Big day like every Saturday

 Emma had a sleep over last night for her birthday.  It was fun to have the cute girls over.  We had a yummy breakfast and a lazy morning. 

  There is never a dull moment when you have Emry around.  She makes me smile on the inside all the time but when she does this stuff I laugh.  She is so sweet.

 Sleepovers are hard on everyone.  Daddy and Ellie really suffered for it.  {{haha}}At least they had this sweet moment together. 

 The kids were so cute today.  They insisted on making Jeron and I dinner.  What went from just a dinner turned into a full on date night.  It was so sweet of them.  {Even if the mess in the kitchen was out of control}  They really did outdo themselves though.

 Look at that beautiful table.  Flowers, candles, folded napkins, and wine glasses.  They thought of everything.

 Plus, the meal was really yummy.  We even had homemade breadsticks.

 My hot date

 His hot date.

  After dinner we headed up to mama's house for the first Women's Conference where the young women and women meet together.  Pretty awesome.  Plus it was on TV!  Nothing better.

bOrEd

We just might have been a bit bored tonight.  It was just me and the littles so we decided to get out the eye liner and draw faces on our chins.  It really did help us with our boredom.  We were laughing our heads off.  

Mommy

 Elsie

 Ellie

 Emry

Piano time

JJ and Emma have a recital once a year.  Today was the big day.  They both showed improvement.  It is nice to show them off a little.  

Emma did a wonderful job and she looked so beautiful sitting at the piano.  She has real talent.  A little more practice and she will be ready to play for us.  

 JJ did a great job.  I know he doesn't love playing but I love him playing.  He does a great job and I am glad he does it, and he looks so good doing it.

First World Problems

I took miss Emry and Elsie shopping with me today.  While we were there it started to hail like crazy.  I told Emry we had to wait until the hail stopped.  She got some upset with me.  She threw herself down and looked out the window.  

 She then turned and gave me a "if looks could kill" kind of looks.   If she wasn't so stinking cute I could have gotten mad.  Good things she is cute.  She makes me laugh.  She just wanted to go shopping.  Who can blame the girl.

Its a Fizz thing

We decided to crash Emma's outing with her friends and head over to Fizz, a new drink joint that opened in Bountiful.  They have specialty drinks.  It is a lot of fun for the kids.  They tried three different flavors and we liked them all.  

 Look at my cute little ladies.  It is always fun to spend some time with the girls.

 Little cutie enjoying her Pink Poodle

 This little cutie was drinking Sharks in the Water.

We will have to bring Dad, JJ, and Ellie now.

Discovery Gateway

One of the ladies in our neighborhood home schools and she is always super sweet to invite us all on her field trips.  It was a lot of fun for the girls and they got to do a lot of fun things.  

Emry was in heaven.  Elsie and Ellie took their jobs really seriously in the grocery store.  They maned their posts for a long time.  Emma was a trooper and even though it was a bit boring she still helped the girls enjoy their time.

 I mean really, where can you go ride a horse and a helicopter all in one setting...?

 Something I found really interesting is that Ellie loved playing in the mock ER.  I guess it was fun to be the doctor instead of the patient for once. 

 Did I mention they also flew an airplane to France.

 Then there was the other adventures.  Log cabin, Teepee, Big high chair, and glow lights.

 This was a lot of fun.  When you walk away it leaves your shadow on the wall.  It felt like Peter Pan.

 There really is a million things to do.  

 Like I said Emry was in heaven.  She played house and loved every minute.

 As we were getting ready to leave I look over and see my cousin Abi's son standing there.  I sure he was a bit freaked out when I asked for his picture but it sure was fun to see him.  

Silly Little Lady

I have recently been going through all of the baby and trying to sell them.  I had a pile of them out and Emry took it upon herself to go through them and try on the swimsuit.  

 We may just have another diva on our hands

 The best part was when she came out of my closet with these high heal shoes on.

Movie Night

I love hanging out with my brothers and my SIL.  Even though I am the oldest one I am pretty sure I am the goofiest one.  Brynn is always good to go along with what I want her to do.

 See GOOFY

 You can't tell by looking at him but he is super excited to do this.

 He was the most excited.  It was hard for him to go last.  He couldn't wait for his turn.

I love when they kidnap me, even if it is only for a night.