August

Wow, I usually go a couple weeks without blogging and then have to catch up, but I've missed about a month now. That's a task I would usually just avoid if it wasn't for this whole 'doing it for journaling purposes' thing.

Anyhow, we packed a lot of activity into last month. Without worrying about starting school, or what days we have open, we played up until the very last day of August. Here are just a few of the MANY activities we loved this month. Warning = long blog, viewing only pics is allowed.

Reservoir:

After taking the Scouts on a hike above the Spanish Fork Reservoir my kids begged me to go back and play there the next day. For most kids this was the second day of school. But for one last year we are lucky to have no tie downs or time tables. There was almost no one there besides your classic fishermen and a guy with a metal detector (I still don't truly understand a hobby like that - at least at a place like a reservoir). The kids loved playing in the sand, which was we found out was really mostly tiny rocks when we tried to build a sand castle. The water was pretty cold, but Whitney braved it pretty well. Travis, not so much, ankle deep, besides his run into the water and fall incident.Founder's Day:

We went up to Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen's for the weekend and attended founder's day. Lori and Fam came up to play as well. The kids had fun playing at the park, riding the train, winning prizes, and of course - the free treats - Popsicles and cotton candy. I ran into some friends from High School. It was fun to see what they were up to now. I'll consider that my high school reunion since I didn't go.

Demolition Derby - aka - "Cars Crashing."

Here are the kids on the tractors at the fair - on our way to the derby.

My kids have been talking about going to see the cars crashing since we went a year ago, and they still bring it up almost daily. It must have made a good impression to see cars purposely trying to demolish one another. Me and Aaron love this white trash event also. This year was really fun. Both kids were old enough to be low maintenance and I didn't get peed on by Travis like last year. I think we'll have to make this demolition derby a tradition. We live close enough to the fairgrounds that it was about 10 more minutes to walk there than it would if we would have to park. We had fun walking there, but I didn't anticipate how dark it would be on the way home. The kids' imaginations were getting the best of them - at one point an animal in the bushes by us along the river path moved the bush and Whitney jumped about two feet. We tried to keep it light hearted, but it was pretty funny.

Jeff & Selly Came to play:

Jeff and Selly came up for a week to play. My kids were in heaven! We started off their vacation well with a breakfast at Magelby's. On Tuesday we went to the $2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving point. There were plenty of people at the farm, and honestly, although my kids had fun seeing the animals, I could've done without, since they would see plenty when they went to Idaho. After we went to the Garden's - now that was cool. Not as many people, and $2 was a steal. It was amazing to see how pretty it was. My kids had fun rolling down the hills, running around with Brooklyn, playing with Jeff and Selly, and seeing the waterfalls. That Saturday we went swimming and then had a dinner here. It was fun to have everyone together. We miss Jeff and Passelly so much! Thanks for putting up with my dirty house - it's clean now :)

Idaho:

And finally, Idaho. The last week of August we headed up to Aaron's house to play. August in Idaho is my favorite time of year. It's not too hot, not too cold, and everything is so pretty. We packed a lot of adventure into a week. Me and Aaron and his Dad went through a session at the Rexburg temple. We had gone through the open house there, so it was fun to do a session now as well. Then we played and Justin and Harley's and headed off to Green Canyon to swim. Whitney braved the diving board all by herself too.

Travis was pretty anxious to go on Granpa's motorcycle.

Tractor riding:

Thursday we picked huckleberries, which I plan on making a killer huckleberry pie and jello salad with. Then we floated the river. I had a lot of fun doing this. The water wasn't too cold so we would get in occasionally and walk/swim along.

Friday we went to Jackson Hole and bike/rollerbladed. Heather and Troy flew in from Houston and played with us that afternoon. The kids were pretty excited to see baby Jackson. We played at String Lake that afternoon and canoed some. The kids had fun once again in the sand and water, and riding with Grandpa in the boat. Me and Aaron ventured all the way across the Lake.

Saturday we relaxed with all the family that was there at the house. My kids couldn't get enough four wheeling in. The mountains smelled amazing too. We always have a blast when we go to Grandma and Grandpa Hoope's, and this time was up there with the rest of them.

Aaron and Whitney getting some big air on the trampoline.

Tavis and Brooklyn on the humungo swings.

Novel Ending:

To finish off our month Lindsay and Jared came back to Provo for school. They came and played the last day of the month with us. My kids don't leave them alone because they are too fun to play with. We had a bbq and then went and watched Aaron's game. We're excited there back.