Monday, August 29, 2011

Father's Day Weekend


This is going to be quick and dirty because I have taken 1500 other photos this summer that still need a bit of attention. :)

We took a two week excursion to Washington at the beginning of this summer and it started off on Father's Day weekend with a stay up in Midway, UT.


Ben had a director's retreat for work that was held up at the Zermatt Resort in Midway. Friday he was in meetings all day, then they held a dinner that spouses were invited to and then the company extended a two-night stay to all the directors. Awesome!

So I dropped the boys off with Kaye and Riley (who were gracious enough to take the boys for the night) on my way up to meet Ben for dinner Friday night.

I have no picture to document it, but the dinner was delicious (of course Ben and I hadn't even stopped talking about the last dinner we had up there 3 years ago with smoked salmon...).

We left the resort early the next morning - Saturday - to come back to Provo to pick up the boys from Grandma Kaye's house.

Naturally, we made our Saturday morning trek to Provo Bakery for doughnuts while Logan raved about how much fun he'd had with Grandma Kaye and Grandpa Riley.



Then we went back home and packed everything that we'd need for the next two weeks into the van and headed back up to the Zermatt.

We spent the afternoon and evening at the resort with the boys and all stayed there together the second night.

Walking around the grounds - SO beautiful. Of course the boys were checking out the fish here.


There were goats along the back line of the property and you can tell they get frequent attention back there. They all knew right where to hang out to get loved and poked.


Riding the carousel there

Setting up the boys' beds. Logan loved his little nook in the corner.


Dinner at one of the restaurants in the resort. Lincoln loves lemons but this time he was making great faces.



Of course Logan had to take his turn at throwing coins in the fountain.


At the front of the resort

Ben and I played a fast-ish and only slightly-interrupted game of big checkers where I almost won. Haha.

The boys loved playing with the huge chess pieces.

Right about now Lincoln tripped and fell and bit right through his tongue. After a quick consult with Ben's cousin who's a doctor we decided he'd be fine and nothing could be done.


Me and Lo at dinner

And we swam too. Twice. It's a really fun pool that has a tunnel so you can swim to the outdoor pool, and a great hot tub too. You can see the outdoor pool behind the boys.

This kid LOVES the water. Or more like he loves drinking the water. And he loves his floaty toy here, but he spent most of the summer swimming in his life jacket because it's just easier.


This was the last time we swam and was right before the boys went to bed. The hot tub was more like bath water so the boys got in with us. Lincoln LOVED it. He was so wiped out by this point that he was just floating on his back forever. He was floating right in front of Ben, but Ben wasn't even holding him because Linc was so still and relaxed.

Caoursel round #2. Who knows why Logan chose the bore... weirdo.

Despite Logan's waking up sick in the middle of the night, we had so much fun with the boys up there. It was fabulous having a little family vacation and I'm so glad there was enough to keep the boys entertained at the resort and so grateful that Heritage was generous enough to offer that for the families this year.

We left early the next morning (Sunday - Father's Day) straight from the resort to go up to Spokane. That's two other future posts though.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

More Four

The old Kristi would have just skipped this post. Why? Because it should have been done 3 months ago!

But the new Kristi doesn't care. Logan absolutely LOVED his party and it was just too cute to skip. So without further adieu...

Logan's 4th Birthday Party Roundup!


Logan is a real cowboy at heart so he asked for a Cowboy/Toy Story 3 Party (or as he would say, " Stoy Story Two Free Cowboy Party"). And because we needed room for all the shenanigans that would ensue, we had his party at the church building.

Step #1 to becoming a cowboy: Look Like a Cowboy (or girl)

Upon arrival, the cowpokes hit the "Cowboy Up" station where they received a hat and a sheriff star to wear.
Logan and Adalee

(And I must take the time to note here that Logan had a plaid shirt that was deemed his "cowboy shirt" that he grew out of, so Jera made a new cowboy shirt for him just on time for his big bash. He LOVES his new shirt. We joke that he looks like Temple Grandin because the shirt is so authentically western.)

After gearing up, the wee ones headed over to the crafting station where they got to fashion themselves a real nice cowboy vest just like Woody's.
Abigail

Mercer, Logan and Abigail

Jera, the hot glue hand

Finn, Merc and Lo

And of course a cowboy isn't a cowboy without a face painting
Kyler chose a cowboy boot


Logan too

Tyler opted for a tattoo on the arm


Step #2: Act Like A Cowboy

First the cowhands learned to jump over a snake without getting bit
Logan making the leap

Owen giving it a try

Then it was time to learn to ride a horse.

Object: Ride your horse as fast as you can down to Buzz Lightyear, hit him on the head and circle back to hand off the horse to your teammate next in line.
This is very serious business of course

Team leaders (Jera, Ben and Jackie) all lined up and ready to demonstrate

The unsuspecting victim

Breanna

Owen (this guy was in love with Big Buzz...)

The Cowpokes interpreted, "Tap Buzz on the head," to mean, "smack Buzz as hard as you can with your horse."

Adalee

Bored Dads
Gavan, Ben and Danny


Kyler and Logan

Then the Cowboys and girls gathered around the campfire for present time
Andy and Finn


Step #3: Eat Like a Cowboy

This is where I held back. There were SO many cute ideas out there for cowboy food, but I opted for easy when it came to the chuck wagon.
Rainbow cupcakes (because Lo loved them so much at his 3rd b-day party)
Topped with Toy Story 3 stickers

and trail mix

Birthday Cowboy digging in

Janie-bo-banie

Tyler

Sol

Abigail

And of course Logan's Round Up wouldn't be complete without his favorite stuffed friends

And his cousinsFinn and Merc

Jane

And his boots

And his best friends!Haily, Logan, Addy and Sol




Much thanks to all the help!Linc (not so helpful) and Gav

{Insert picture of Andy the photographer here - thanks Andy!}


Marmie and Benj

Gamps

Logan had so much fun with his friends and seeing all his friends doing what he loves best... acting like a cowboy!

And a little side note... on his actual birthday two days later I made him a special Cookie Monster (like the kind we used to get at Craigos).


Happy Birthday Cowboy!