Camping…

The summer is almost over and we finally get out to go camping. We were meaning to earlier on in the summer but things happened and then we moved. So when Travis’s friend from work said that she had property by Dushcene, we jumped on the idea of camping.

We left Friday after Travis got off work and went. The boys were so excited. They loved the flash lights we got them and the fire, and the smores! They were so excited Friday night that they didn’t go to bed until around 11:00pm. Saturday morning at 7:30 am (very little sleep with the boys waking up, and then Brandon talks in his sleep!) We had a wonderful Dutch oven breakfast. Travis really enjoyed cooking over the fire. We then got ready to go swimming at Starvation Lake. They had a little beach area that we went to, and the boys had a blast! Nathan at first wouldn’t go near the water and would only go ankle deep then, and 3 hours later he would go to the waist. My thought is that he didn’t like extreme temperatures, and the water was a little cold. Nathan also made a sand castle with Daddy, although a few minutes afterwards Brandon tried to knock it down. Oh well, boys will be boys. But Brandon loved the water, he was a fish! He loved hanging on to mom and dad while we swam out to the deep areas. I really need to get him into swim lessons! Kimball loved the water too, but rather sit at the edge of the water and watch the water come in and out. Travis and I enjoyed swimming out and riding the waves that the nearby boats created.

Then after swimming they had a shower in the nearby camping area! YEAH A SHOWER! So after getting cleaned off we went into Dushcene to their local grocery store to check it out. Travis’s friend from work was with us with her boyfriend and her mom. Her mom was taken with the boys and bought the boys a toy! And guess what they had, they had transformer dinosaurs! (We are in a big dinosaurs kick.) For the rest of the afternoon we just relaxed and played card games. Although the boys were tired and needed a nap, so we went to lie down in the tent, which was flaming hot! Nathan and Kimball fell asleep but Brandon was restless, so we finally got up and Brandon got to ride on a four wheeler. He really enjoyed it, but said it was different from Daddy’s scooter. The guy that took him said that he would speed up to try and scare him a little, but he just loved it more! I can guess what he will be like when he gets older. That night after some wonderful steak that Travis made we made toasties (bread with pie filling in it sandwiched together and toasted) we went to bed. Travis stayed up later, but I was beat after the day, and the sun had gotten to me. Brandon was out fast, and Kimball and Nathan shortly followed him.
The next morning we enjoyed yet another yummy Dutch oven breakfast and got ready to go. We really enjoyed ourselves but more than 1 day of camping right now is just too much. With the boys not sleeping well, and just all the work we can only hand e a short weekend. But we all enjoyed ourselves very much! We came home Sunday afternoon and took naps and relaxed!
It is nice that we can get away and have a great time as a family. The boys had a blast and next year (if we don’t go again this year) will be even better because Kimball will be able to walk and the boys will be a little more used to camping.

The Gardens at Thanksgiving Point

Today we took advantage of Thanksgiving Point "Two Dollar Tuesday". So we (my Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law and her children and my boys) went up to Lehi to see these gardens. When we first got there we went to the Children's Gardens. They had fountains and mazes, but when we got there it was jammed packed and busy. So we opted out to the go the regular gardens. You would think that 5 children under the age of 5 would get extremely bored with looking at flower, but they had a blast. As the afternoon wore on we all got rather hot and needed lunch and a good nap but we all had a great time. I would say that my most favorite part of it all was rose garden and a tunnel that had honeysuckle growing over the top. It was georgus. If I ever had a mansion (yeah right) but had tons of land to put something in there, I would want a garden just like they had there. Flowers, trees, shrubs, ground cover everything you could think of. It was beautiful and the smell! Oh I can now understand how my Aunt Ruth Ann feels about her flowers!

Brandon and Nathan also had a rather fun time with taking pictures. Brandon would get down on one knee and get close to a flower and click. He suprisinly enough got a few good shots. Nathan on the other hand just hit the click button and was done. Brandon was a splitting image of his father, it was exactly what Travis would have done if he was there. They also loved the map. They "needed" a map so they knew what was going on. And I just thought they were pretending to know what to do, but they actually knew what was on there. Both Nathan and Brandon pointed out landmarks and told me that it was on the map. I was quite surprised. Kimball had a good time lounging in the stroller and was completely okay looking out at the different colors that he could see. He was a perfect baby as usual.

I usually don't like nature that much, I appreciate it, but not a big fan of looking at it constantly, but I would love to take Travis to there and walk hand in hand together through the gardens, that would make a very romantic date….hmmm….I will have to get on that.

The first one is of some beautiful orange red colors....then Brandon and Nathan looking at a map....then Brittnay, Sierra, Nathan, Kimball and Brandon posing for a treat.

Brittney in the frangres garden....I love this pink flower...then of course Nathan and Brandon looking at the map again.

Brandon, Mommy, Kimball and Brandon posing for a treat again...Nathan after a snack waiting to be pushed....Brandon saying cheese.

Brittney waiting for her snack...Brandon pushing Nathan, such a big helper...Brandon, Sierra and Nathan waiting for their gold fish.

Sleepy…

Nathan was very excited to play computer the other day but had a hard time staying awake. I happened to look over at him and he was asleep. Remember those days where you could fall asleep anywhere and be happy?

Nathan's Birthday

My baby turned 4! How do they grow up so fast, I just remember when we were in the hospital and he graced us with his presence. Now four years later he is just a big boy and so independent.

We decided that Nathan was now aware of friends and how like a party for his birthday. Since he went to school last year we had a lot of friends that we could invite to our party. But since Nathan went to an autism preschool, guess what type of children there were, Children with Autism. It was great! A great environment for our children to be “normal” for once. No one cared that your child was right in their face talking about transformers because their child does the same thing. We had kids playing in the swimming pool, or in the living room putting together tracks or up in their bedroom playing on the very high bunk beds. It was great turn out. We had 17 kids, 3 babies and 14 adults. Out of the 17 kids, 10 of the kids have autism. Nathan was thrilled with everyone who came, he got so excited. Brandon did end up having a friend from his class come by and he was ecstatic. But after an hour of swimming in the pool, he was done. After trying to get his friend to come watch Scooby doo with him, he decided that maybe if he wrote it down he could get him to come, so he finds paper and pencil and writes it down, still a no go. But another hour later he was fine with the fact that his friend was playing elsewhere, and he was enjoying Scooby doo by himself. It was just cute the way he was completely done after an hour. Nathan was thrilled and looked overwhelmed at times with so many people. So towards the end of the party he would just wander from room to room.

We had his party on a Saturday but his birthday was actually on the 31st, which was a Thursday, so we had a mini celebration with that and had cupcakes. He was thrilled because he had a 3 day birthday. Even now Nathan tells everyone about his party that he had, cashiers, and people standing in line behind us, anyone within range once he sees anything that you use a birthday party. So all the work and stress involved was completely worth it, just like I knew it would be.

Waiting for Cake

My only picture of his cake....opps

All of the kids were so excited to see his toys.

Brandon watching Scooby Doo, while others are playing trains

Mommy's watching their kids swim

Sword fight with noodles

Brandon Sun bathing or trying off?

Nathan wondering from room to room....where to next?

Swimming fun!