Summer Vacation 2008

Our Mini Summer Vacation this year was to Salt Lake. We decided to combine a vacation with the baby blessing of our niece Holland. We decided after many years of not going to Lagoon. That would be our first stop and we had so much fun. Rylee was intimidated by the rides and really didn't want to ride, but sit and watch. Reganne wanted to try everything and refused to take no for an answer. Ryder was just happy to be outside and look at all the people.

This ride "The Samari" Reganne wanted to ride so bad. Of course she is not tall enough, she told grandma to pick her up and then she would be. Or she could reach up there with her hand. The only ride she did not like was the Tidelwave. She kept saying all afternoon that she didn't like that ride as we would walk by.
The girls loved having Brinton, Uncle Randy, and Uncle Bryan with them to ride the rides and play with them.
Here we are at the end of the day riding the train. Ryder got to go on this one and he was so excited to watch everthing go by.


Saturday it was on to the Discovery @ Gateway. This is a 60,000 square foot hands on play ground for the kids. We arrived at opening and stayed for over 6 hours. The kids loved all of the activities, games, and meeting new kids. There was also a play area for the little guys. Ryder played in there and was able to have his own fun.

They had different classes that the kids could make projects. This one was a sun visor. Even Ryder got into the act and Dave helped him make one.


Here is how our future vacations will be. Ryder driving, Rylee enjoying the ride, and Reganne taking orders.
Our final stop was to visit our Great Grandparents Ralph & Jennie Henderson. They were so excited to see and play with the kids.

It was a fun weekend filled with family and lots of fun. The kids were really worn out when we finally got home on Sunday night. Rylee was able to stay with Uncle Randy & Aunt Janelle. She had a blast and is already talking about going again next year.

Summer Fun Continues....

We have a had a pretty uneventful week. Here is Reganne & Ryder playing together in the toy room last Sunday Morning. Reganne loves to give him toys and then take them away from him. He is now starting to roll and scoot. So she gets mad when he tries to take her toys. He has learned to hold on tight and she will start screaming. Let the fun begin.

Friday night St George City offered "Movie on the Square" They have completed this wonderful park area downtown with this stream that runs through, splash pad, and pavilions. There are also bathrooms, which Reganne used multiple times. The movie was Ice Age and the park was packed.

Everyone waiting for it to get dark.

Here is the big screen that the movie was on and you could see and hear it.

They had other activities like ice block sitting. Rylee was so fascinated by this and she wanted to try.

Dave found the old car seat for his bike. Ryder is now big enough to sit there and go for a ride with Dad.

He thought he was so cool and all smiles afterwards. Reganne wanted a turn next, but of course she was to big. She didn't understand at all and didn't want to be the big girl and peddle her own bike.

Ryder had his 9 Month Checkup and he is healthy and growing at his own pace. He weighs 15 pounds 13 ounces, and 26 inches long. His ear infections are gone and no more medicine. He did really well at the Doctors Office until I tried to lay him down to take his clothes off. Then he started screaming. This is from having those shots for his ears. I am constantly amazed at how smart my kids are and how much they remember.

Birthday Party Season

This was a Birthday Weekend...Rylee had three friends celebrating their birthdays this weekend. The choice was hard to make on which party to attend. The winner was Phoebe's Party since Reganne was invited also. It was held at Barefoot Gymnastics. So the games and fun were all about bouncing and jumping. They played Musical Mats, Obstacle Course, Parachute, and the most fun the Marshmallow Pit. It was fun for Reganne because her day care teacher was also the party leader. So her and Robin where included in everything.
Musical Mats

Marshmallow Pit....Reganne on the balance beam. She just climbed out and was going for another jump in.

Marshmallow Pit....Rylee buried down deep

Marshmallow Pit.....Rylee on the Rope Swing. Each tried it and I couldn't snap the picture fast enough. So this was just before she took off. Ms. Shayla had alot of energy to keep up with these kids.

Three friends that started at daycare. Phoebe, Rylee, and Stephanie. This is the first time they have been back together since last summer and each of them went to different schools. How quickly they picked up from where they left off.

Here is the picture of the week.... I tried to get them all to face me and smile all at the same time. It didn't work to well.

They were excited to go to the dentist this week. I am amazed that they enjoy it. Not Me!!!! They got a clean bill of health and with perfect teeth. He also checked Ryder and told us that his is not teething right now and is probably delayed by a couple months. Rylee is cutting new molars and so is Reganne. So we have a house full of teething kids. He also gave us fluoride pills since we don't have it in our water. I thought it couldn't hurt to try it. Anything to make their teeth better than mine.
Ryder has also decided that he can't sleep through the night. He is back to getting up once about Midnight for one last bottle. He usually wakes up screaming for someone to come and get him. We tried letting him put himself back to sleep. But he was so loud that he woke up Reganne. So we know get up as quickly as we can so everyone else can sleep.

Summer Fun Begins

What a way to start summer.....The weather over Memorial Weekend was so cool that jackets and long pants were the standard dress. Then by Saturday we were back to 98 degrees and the girls wanted to go swimming or at least play in the water. We discovered a new city park near our house. The Hidden Valley Park it is totally geared to family & kids. There is a splash pad, swings for both babies and big kids. There is also a play ground for all sizes as well. By the time we left at 5:30 pm the park was full and there was no parking available. This could quickly become one of our favorites.
Ryder even joined the fun and he was ok until the water changed directions and hit him right in the face.

The girls are showing me one of the spots they could hide or climb. They couldn't decide.

Check out the no slide splash pad. Reganne is trying to reach Dad so he could toss her in the water again.

Everyone is tired and cold....or are they??? They were actually resting up and ready for another go round on the play ground. We finally left when they were hungry and the smells of nearby barbeques were driving us crazy.

It is hard work learing how to crawl, roll, and torment his sisters. He was eating his dinner and fell asleep before he could finish. He is growing so quickly that I am amazed. He now weighs 15 pounds 7 ounces. That was a one pound growth spurt in 2 weeks. He has finally learned how to hold his own bottle.

Kindergarten Is Over

This was Rylee's last week of school. She loved kindergarten and her teacher Mrs. Guynn so much. They had fun final week with so many activities. Tuesday they had a Teddy Bear Picnic. They walked across the street to the Little Valley Park and played. They also were able to bring a snack. Rylee played so hard that she fell asleep right after lunch. On Wednesday they had their Nursery Rhyme Program for all the parents. There were 3 classes of 21 each for the morning. They did wonderful with memorizing all of the nursery rhymes. Rylee did a wonderful job. On Thursday they had a Read A Thon. They were supposed to save all their books they made this year and bring them back. The child with the most books could win a surprise. Rylee missed it by two books. She had 18 and another child had 20. They then had treats and sat on the floor with their books, blankets, and pillows.

We had a wonderful year. She is excited for First Grade. However, when you ask her what she is looking forward to. She says eating lunch at school.

Let the Summer Begin.......

Annual Hogle Zoo Trip

We finally made our Annual Family Zoo Trip yesterday. We met Grandma JeanAnn, Uncle Bryan, Uncle Randy, Aunt Janelle, Brinton and Baby Holland. The day started out really nice but it did get hot. When we arrived they had a Bald Eagle and a Russian Eagle at the entrance that you could have your pictures with and get up close. The girls were fascinated by them, but weren't to sure about being this close.
We found the Childrens' Discovery Park near the train depot. The kids love it with all of the animal theme toys to play on. It took us awhile to get them to go and look at the animals.

Each year I have taken their pictures by this elephant. It is fun to see how they have grown and changed. It was amazing when I asked them their favorite part of our trip. Both of their replies were the Bird Show. Rylee liked the talking parrot and Reganne like the white birds. It was amazing to watch all the birds up close and personal. Except when the Hawke brushed the top of my head. That was to close and a little to personal. My favorite was watching how excited Reganne was with each animal. Her excitment was catchy as well. The baby giraffe that she couldn't figure out why it was so big for a baby. Her & Brinton went full speed ahead and had to push each other in the stroller.

Here we are at the elephant exhibit. It was shaddy and it had places to sit down. Everyone was getting really tired and hungry.

Ryder did really well and only got a little sun on his legs. Notice his hair...he had his second haircut. She buzzed it clean and he sat still the whole time and didn't cry. We had the hat for him, but he learned to take it off and play with it.

What a fun day it turned out to be. We loved spending time with family and being outside.

We Made It

Every year at Boulevard Home Furnishings they encourage their employees to get healthy. They start in January with a fitness challenge. Each year Dave competes and for at least 5 months tries to be healthy. This year his team is in first place. The final event of the challenge was a 5k & 1.5k Run, Walk, or Crawl Event. We decided that as a family we could do the 1.5k and we would all walk. As you can see by the looks on Rylee & Reganne's faces they were not excited to be there. They were more excited about their new water bottles. I pulled up their hair so they wouldn't have it in their eyes and they hated it. There were 100 people competing and the money they raised went to Special Olympics. Then the horn sounded and we were off....
Here we are with our friends & neighbors the DeMacedos

Dave & Rylee took off and that left Reganne, Ryder, and I all going a much slower pace. Reganne surprised me she ran the whole way. She had to stop a couple of time to rest and wanted to be held, but she kept going. Her time was 19.25 minutes and she was the youngest person to finish. I was really proud of her. She then found the snack table and she was in heaven. It was full of fruit and bottled water. Which she loves.

This is was the finish line and the score board. We all finished!!!

Here are a few extra pictures of the kids being outside enjoying the warmth without the wind.