Our summer vacation to Utah

As many of you already know, we spent a week in Utah in early July for a family vacation.  My sister's family also made in in from California.  We had a blast.  The kids love to hang out with all their cousins.  We did lots of fun stuff like . . . .

went to the Independence Day parade,

rode the rides at Lagoon (including Tate's first "big" rollercoaster),

zoomed down the mountain on the alpine slides in Park City,

played mini golf & Tate got his first hole-in-one,

raced on the go-karts

swam with the fishes,

pulled on a tube from the back of the boat,

and roasted marshmallows and slept in a tent!

It was 7 days packed with fun.  And mostly, it was nice to just be with everyone.  We miss you all!

Filling up buckets . . .

This post probably needs some background information.  Here it is:  the kids have a book called "Have you filled a bucket today?".  It is a very sweet book about doing and saying nice things to others.  When we do this, it fills up someone's "bucket" and you are a "bucket filler".  The "bucket" being this imaginary bucket we all carry around.  And of course, if you say mean things or do mean things to others, you are being a "bucket dipper".  You get the point. So, we inevitably talk alot about filling up buckets. . . .

So, I was taking Coy's photo wearing his brothers shoes (see previous post).  He was hamming it up, pulling his big cheesy smile and saying "ssheeez".  I laughed and said "Coy you are filling up my bucket."

From the next room, I hear "Mom, do I fill up your bucket?"
Me:  "You sure do, Tater. Especially when you are being a good listener" (you can never remind about that too much, right?).  "Now, let's go upstairs and get dressed". 

I turned around to put my camera down, Coy ran out of the room to find his brother.  I made a split second decision to bring my camera with me.  I headed for the stairs, rounded the corner, and stumbled into this:

Me:  "Whatcha doing, Tate?"

Tate:  "Fillin' up Coy's bucket."

Snow Day - Part 2!

In all we ended up getting 9+ inches of snow. According to the news, it was the highest single day of snowfall ever recorded. It was fun while it lasted, but it definitely made me thankful that I don't have to live in it for months on end. Here are some more photos and video as promised.

Snow Day!

It snowed today - actually it is still snowing.  So far we have about 6 inches.  The kids are having a blast with it. 
Stay tuned for our "tubing" photos and video.

A Very Merry Christmas!

This year for Christmas, we travelled out to Northern California to visit Katie, Chris and the boys - and also the entire extended family (who drove out from Utah).  It was definitely a true Griswald family Christmas!  11 kids, 10 adults, 2 dogs, and 1 single family home (ok, and 2 hotel rooms).  The only thing that was missing was an RV parked out front and a yard full of gaudy Christmas lights and decorations.  We ate too much, and combined with the quantity of gifts under the tree, it was gluttony at its finest. 

But, it was definitely worth it and we made memories that will last a lifetime . . . which is what Christmas and family gatherings are all about anyway, right? 

We mostly just "hung out", but on one day we ventured over to a place called "Skyzone", which is basically a warehouse covered in trampolines, with a separate dodgeball court.  It was a blast.  After some gruelling games of dodgeball, where Josh was able to get retribution for all the torture I had placed on him as a child, the kids and adults were exhausted. Did you know that jumping on a trampoline as an adult is hell on your back, knees, and well, everything?

One of the highlights of the trip was an adults only night out in San Francisco.  We were staying in a suburb of Sacramento, so San Francisco is just a short 2 hour drive away.  We set the kids up at the house with plenty of pizza and movies, got dressed up in grown-up clothes and hopped in the car. We were treated to this view of the city as we were arriving.

Then, we ate dinner at this FANTASTIC restaurant in Ghiradeli Square at Fisherman's Wharf. Afterwards, we had tickets to see "Wicked". It was a perfect evening.

As we were leaving dinner, my brother Josh made a comment as to how nice it was to be able to sit and talk and have an evening without the kids.  My mom responded with how nice it was for her to sit and talk and have an evening WITH ALL her kids.  Funny how life is . . . .

Is Christmas really only one week away?

Whew! The last few weeks have just flown by. . . . here are some quick updates on what we have had going on.

Grandma Tanya and Grandpa Val came out for a visit over Thanksgiving. We had lots of fun, though not many pictures to prove it -oops! We got to go see the ICE! exhibit, which featured scenes from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" carved out of ice. It is very cool, especially because this story is one that Tate LOVES. The photos are few and not great, but here's what I got (we took most of the photos with Grandma's camera and I forgot to download the photos before they left).

A week or so ago, we got bundled up and went to Christmas light parade.  It was mostly old classic cars spruced up with Christmas lights, but the kids had fun.  Plus, it was a small town parade, so they threw candy. 

We have been preparing for Christmas and the kids are getting really excited. Even Coy, who recognizes and calls out EVERY Santa we see with a "Tanta, Tanta".

Another Crazy Trip to Utah . . .

Another year and another Thanksgiving . . . it is times like these that I wish we all lived closer and could spend more time together. And, I hate that I didn't take enough photos to capture the memories: the cousins playing football in the backyard, the entire family gathered in the living room to eat turkey dinner, Coy being held by his great grandma for the first time. I have two cameras . . you would think I could make it happen. Maybe I will put in on the list of resolutions for next year. The big question is - should it come before or after "stop letting the topic of poop rule conversations with other parents"?

For what it is worth, here are the memories I did happen to capture. . . . I miss you all and can't wait until next time!

Uncle Chris & Coy

Grandpa Val & Coy

Kate

Tate & Zach

(or "Za-yack" as Tate pronounces it with his southern accent)

The boys getting a lesson before their beating, uh, I mean, fun family outing to the indoor surfing center

Tate and Ella coloring

(right before the fight broke out over the orange marker)

G-Ma and the boys!

G-Pa and the Boys