Red Butte Gardens....again.

Well, I broke down and bought a yearly membership to Red Butte Gardens so you will probably see lots of pictures posted from visits there this summer. I took the kids up there a couple of days ago with lunch. It was a good time....now that I have a new camera, I'm going to have to go back and take some better pics. These were taken with my dear old iPhone... check out the view of the valley from up there. Breathtaking!

Two Random Pictures....

I told you about my poor camera breaking the other day....well, I replaced it a little quicker than I had expected. Isn't it pretty? It takes amazing pictures even with a novice like myself. I am very happy with it!

And here is one of Miss Addison, happily striking a pose while I figure out my new camera!

A Visit from Dad...

I've mentioned before that Denver is working in South Carolina with his company, Boeing. It was a good work opportunity that he couldn't really turn down but I was in the middle of school and didn't want to disrupt that, so me and the kids stayed behind. It turns out that it will not be a permanent move. Denver is currently working toward a move to Texas...but that is a different story for a different post. For now, he tries to come home every 5-6 weeks for a visit. The kids were really excited this time...more so than others...to see their dad. Here they are in the car waiting at the airport to pick him up...dont they look excited!

We have had a good time so far. Yesterday we headed up to Park City to ride on the Alpine slide.

I hadn't done this since high school and when I rode one in Steamboat Springs recently I knew I wanted to take the kids up to Park City to ride it. It was fun!

Addison rode with me and after the first few turns her nervousness disappeared and she was screaming right along with me.

Denver got a little crazy and went too fast, nearly coming out of his sled and scraped the skin off of his elbow and knee.

The boys were a little slow and cautious but I think next time they will go a lot faster!!

After we finished, we stopped at McDonalds for lunch...

...then took a drive up Lambs Canyon. It is so beautiful right now in the canyons...green and colorful!

Today we packed a picnic lunch and went to Liberty Park to eat it.

It was a beautiful warm day and after we ate we went over to Tracy Aviary to see the birds.

It was fun and everyone is pretty tired...I think tomorrow we will just hang out around the house or maybe head up to Red Butte Gardens for lunch....

Time For A New One....

After 6 years of great picture taking, my camera has finally died. Until I can manage to replace it, my iPhone will be my only camera :(

The Zoo....and Tracy Aviary...

Friday, my mom and I packed up the kids and hauled everyone to the Hogle Zoo. It was fun and the weather was incredible! They have made some improvements to the Zoo and it is much better than in the past... They have a bunch of life sized dinosaurs scattered about that moved and growled. They even squirted water at unsuspecting children (and mom's, haha)

The whole gang....minus me of course :)

Sadly, this is the only picture I took at the Aviary. Grandpa couldn't come to the zoo with us because he was watching the baby so it was fun having him with us at the Aviary. It was also a beautiful day weather wise and the remodeling they have done to Tracy Aviary was really awesome. We had a great time. I was happy that the membership I bought for Red Butte Gardens works at the Aviary too... I guess me and the kids will be making lots of trip there this summer!

Random Pics....

Bad quality picture but so cute of my little nephew Jude. Love him

My other cute nephew Soren....he is getting so big!

My mommy...she was so kind to come and watch my kids so I could go on my trip to Colorado..then she continued after I got home watching my nephews while my brother and his wife went to Colorado!

Me and Addison playing with the camera....silly girl.

I buzzed Evan's hair off for the summer. He loves the feel of having very little hair.... He is so handsome :)

Steamboat Springs, Colorado...

Every year I have my girlfriend reunion with Kris and Kellie, 2 girls that I met during my time in the Air Force. We go somewhere different each year and this trip was spent in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The Rocky Mountains are beautiful and the weather was amazing for the entire 4 day trip. I had a blast as usual....cant wait for the next trip!!

We hopped on the lift to ride up the mountain and then ride back down on the Alpine Slide. What a blast! I haven't ridden one of those since I was 18 years old :)

Downtown Steamboat...check out the beautiful background! We were going to fish while we were there but the water is so high and fast from all of the snow runoff this year that it wouldn't have been a great idea....

Lunch at a Mexican restaurant downtown...on the patio. Awesome food :)

This isn't the best picture but it is the only one taken with all 3 of us in it. We found a great steakhouse one night for dinner. It was a "grill your own meat" place...I was resistant at first to pay $30 for a steak only to have to cook it myself...but afterward (and thanks to Kris cooking mine) I was all over it. Excellent food!!

I Miss My Friend....

This is me and Julee. I first met her when we moved to Chandler, Arizona 8 years ago and we have remained friends even though we only see each other once in a while. She has since moved to sunny Florida. She popped into town last week, the evening before I was leaving town, so we met at The Cheesecake Factory for a very quick get together. I wish it could have been a longer visit. She makes me laugh!

Here is Julee and her cute sister Dayna...I love her sister too. So much fun rolled up into sisters!

A Fashion Statement....

Ian's Talent Show....

Ian's school had a talent show today which a month ago Ian announced he wasn't going to participate in "so don't even ask, mom"! A week later a second grader who sang in his choir with him approached Ian and asked if he would sing a song with her in the talent show. To this, he readily agreed. They were going to sing "Consider Yourself" from Oliver Twist....a song that they sang in their choir concert. So... fast forward to yesterday and we receive news that MacKenzies Great Grandma died and the funeral was going to be today during the talent show so she would not be able to participate. Ian was upset of course...I told him to go ahead and sing it by himself but he kinda freaked out about that a little. I told him to think about it and to let me know what he decides. After school yesterday, he came home and told me that he was going to do it alone! I was so happy :) He did a great job! I am so proud of him for having the courage and the integrity not to just drop out of it and to get up there in front of his whole school and sing alone! It was awesome.... Great job Ian!

Evans ASL video...

Was having major trouble posting this the other night for some reason so here it is now....a little late :)

Summer? Maybe....

Well, the kids only have 3 more days of school left until they are out for the summer. It always comes with mixed feelings because I do enjoy the little bit of quiet time I have while they are at school but I am also excited to do some fun things with them. We decided not to put Addison in her summer pre-school even though I do have a couple of classes.This past week we had some fun things going on. First, Evan had a solo part in a song presented to a retiring teacher at his school. The song was performed in sign language as the music was sung...Evan had a solosigning part. It was so touching to see him do this and to know how excited he was to be doing it. He came home and practiced all the time. The song is beautiful and written by Masa Fukuda the composer I have spoken about before. He has been a wonderful part of Evan's third grade experience. I posted a video of him at the end of the post...

Here is a picture of Miss Priss at the performance...

I took this picture of her and as I was putting the camera away, she huffed "Only one picture?!".... I figure it must be the sunglasses or her inner diva making an appearance. So, I took a second one to make her happy :)

I love watching my kids when they are concentrating on something that they find very important and engaging. Ian is a book worm, just like his mom...I can often find him this way with his nose in a book.

Addison is my artist (so is Evan actually) she is constantly creating her own masterpieces. I cannot tell you how much paper we go through in this house because of her and her pictures...here she is drawing something in the car while we wait for Evan to finish scouts.

She is also starting to show an interest in cheerleading, or gymnastics...I think it must come from some of the girls in her pre-school class. They have competitions to see who can kick the highest.

Here are a few more instagram shots. This will be a regular appearance on the blog until I get sick of it...if I ever do. I love the way it makes my pictures look.

This morning was Addison's spring dance recital. This year it was done to all the music from the movie "Tangled"... they were little Rapunzel's. We have finally overcome the stage fright phase and Addie was excited to dance up there with her friend Abbie (brown haired girl that Addie partners with in video) She was quite proud of herself when she finished the first number, clapping vigorously on stage....I just love watching her twirl. I hope she stays in dance forever. Here are a few pictures of the morning and a video at the end of her ballet number.

Today was Evan's last soccer game of the season. They really did a number on the other team winning 15-1. Addie and I enjoyed sitting in the shade.

She was a bit tired from her big morning. Evan had previously decided that after 3 seasons of soccer he was ready to do something different and planned on signing up for basketball instead this fall. After the game was over today he ran up to me and said he changed his mind...he still wants to play soccer. He has such a great team...they are all friends and his coach is wonderful. I guess we will just have to stay tuned as to what Evan will be playing this fall.

The weather is gorgeous today! 83 degrees finally! I am getting ready to go on my girls trip next week to Colorado so the next post will probably be an update from my trip. Happy Summer!!