FAMILY OUTING June 14, 2014

Our family recently took a day trip that was full of fun, adventure, a little fighting and good food…all the essentials of a family outing.  We headed up to The Canyons Resort in Park City with the intent of getting out of the valley heat and enjoy some cool mountain fun.  In spite of it being summer, the high temperature for the day ended up being about 67 degrees down in Farmington and about 10 to 15 degrees cooler up in Park City.  The kids thought I was crazy to make them throw a jacket in the car but we were all glad once we arrived at the resort’s parking lot because the wind was blowing and it was cold.  At the parking lot, there is a Cabriolet lift, or an open gondola type of ski lift, that takes you from the parking lot up to the main resort area.  Since the Cabriolet lift is open to the elements we suffered through what felt like freezing temperatures and wind to blow your socks off.  Luckily by the time the ride was over we only had pink cheeks and noses and didn’t lose any body parts.  Even though I kept reminding the kids that this was part of the adventure and we would warm up soon, spirits dropped a bit and the mood needed to change quickly. 

Next we hopped on the Red Pine Gondola, which is fully enclosed and we could sit down, and enjoyed the ride over tops of trees and what seemed like several death drops over ravines.  While I kept my head up ignoring our rising elevation, the kids enjoyed being high off the ground and being able to see for at least a mile. 

We arrived at the Red Pine Lodge which is at about 8,000 feet and surprisingly a little warmer than down at the resort.  Once we bumbled around a little we found the Nature Trail head and set off to the Lookout.  Miles’ elected himself the leader for the day so once his walking stick was found we enjoyed a leisurely hike to lookout point.  

Once there, Max’s bottomless pit of a stomach was ready for the next round and we dug into the lunch we made.  Have you ever packed a salad and not had a fork?  Well, Mikaela and I both made a salad and once all the food was handed out we realized I forgot the forks.  Since the nearest fork was a 20 minute hike away we decided our fingers were good enough.  (I doubt I will ever forget the forks again.)  

The view from the point is incredible, you can see for miles and the landscape never gets boring.  As we ate, we enjoyed the sounds of the forest and the peacefulness it brings.  Well, aside from Miles jumping off every rock he could climb.  Luckily Miles only scrapped his hand and thanks to Paul’s foresight we had first aid spray to clean him up.

Since we had more on the agenda, we hiked back to the gondola and zipped down to the car.  Little did we know our next adventure would be so complicated.  

When I was planning the day I knew I wanted to find a place that we could miniature golf.  Initially I was going to leisurely research options at home on the internet but I forgot.  So while sitting in the parking lot and with Blackberry in hand I typed in mini golf to my search engine and came up with several addresses…the closest being in Heber City.  We drove 25 minutes to the first address and what stood before us was an office building and not a golf ball in site.  So then we started calling phone numbers on the list and talked to two gas stations.  Obviously my search skilled failed so Paul mentioned he knew of a place in Lehi.  We drove another 45 minutes and finally found what we were looking for…miniature golf.

Once getting our clubs and balls, we headed off to start our 18 holes.  Since the kids had never been miniature golfing, we explained the basic concepts and began.  Miles was up first and got the ball in the hole in two strokes.  We were all surprised because it was a 3-par hole.  Next up was Mikaela who made it in 3 strokes; Max made it in 4 strokes; Paul ended up with 3 strokes and I struggled to get that freaking ball in the hole in 9 strokes.  The group behind us scowled at me and we quickly moved on to the next hole trying to get done with it before being assaulted with another group of scowls.  

At the next hole Paul got a hole in one and I got par so things were improving overall.  As we went along we tried to have fun and enjoy our time together but groups kept crowding us and two of them jumped ahead of us because they got tired of waiting.  I didn’t realize that an element of miniature golf was to get through the hole as fast as possible and frown and impatiently wait for the group ahead of you to get done.  In spite of feeling like everyone hated us, we ended up with everyone getting a hole in one at some point and having some fun.  After adding up the scores Paul came in first with a 50; I hit a 58; Max got 68; Mikaela ended up with 72; and Miles had a 77.  It is kind of funny that our scores mirror our birth order. 

After promising to do this again sometime at a less busy miniature golf place, we hopped back in the car and headed out to find pizza.  I wanted brick oven or some good old fashion pizza.  After risking another search with my phone, I found a five star rated pizza place up by the U of U.  Thirty minutes later we found The Pie Pizzeria.  As we walked in we thought it was a loud, funky little dive so we ordered and were seated at a table for four crammed next to an older couple and a family of eight.  I was kind of shocked at the number of people crammed in like sardines waiting for pizza.  After waiting about 45 minutes our pizzas were done and thankfully the older couple let us put a few things on their table so we could fit the two pizzas on our table.  After tasting the first bite we all realized why at 4:30pm the place was packed.  The pizza was the best I have ever had!

To round out our day of fun, we stopped by Baskin Robbins and got a cone.  It boggles my mind why the kids want super sweet, tongue coloring ice cream.  My usual is rocky road or something else chocolate, but the kids get stuff like bubble gum, spider man, rock ‘n pop, or cotton candy.  Is it a kid thing to want to look like you’ve eaten an ice cream cone long after consuming it? I don’t understand it. 

Finally back at home we figured we drove about three hours and 150 miles that day.  That was a fun outing and one we would all remember.  Since it was still relatively early, Mikaela was invited down to a friend’s house so Mikaela and I jumped back in the car and zipped down the hill toward her friend and once we hit Main Street my car, the car we had been driving all day long, DIED.  After calling Paul and trying for two hours to get it started we towed my car home.  I felt so lucky that the car didn’t die as we were out and about.  We could have been stuck in Park City, Lehi or Salt Lake.  Turns out my fuel pump had to be replaced but that didn’t get done until Monday.  Whew, we were lucky!     

   

SUMMER 2013

As I look back on the summer of 2013, the words that come to my mind are family, fun, fun, fun and ouch.  Our family crammed in 3 fun filled vacations over the summer that left us rejuvenated and ready for recovery. 

In June, we met up with my siblings and their families at a beach house in Pacific City, OR.  The house was huge and comfortably held us all.  My brother Ken and his wife Christine drove over from Van Couver, WA; Joanna and her kids Kailee, Jacob and Kiyanna came down from the Seattle area; Leslie and her husband Chris and their family Isabel, Gabe, Adeline, Beatrice, and Charlotte traveled from Twin Falls; and Richy flew up from San Francisco.  The only person missing was Mark who would have loved it! 

The five of us had not been all together since our Grandmother’s funeral in January 2010, and we all felt the need to reconnect with each other.  The beach house was situated about a block from the beach which was great because we ended up spending a lot of time at the beach.  We were able to also explore the tide pools and a handful of kids hiked over to some caves and up a huge sand dune.

One night we enjoyed roasting marshmallows and making Smores and another night we snuggled in to watch a movie and enjoy some carmel corn.  My sister Joanna kept the kids busy one rainy morning with decorating little cakes she had prepared ahead of time.  The kids had a great time and it kept them busy until the rain cleared up and we headed back out to the beach.  Even though the water was cold and the kids turned all colors from pink to purple, there were no complaints because all of us love the ocean.

Our time together ended too soon and we decided we cannot let another 3 ½ years go by before seeing each other again.  There just isn’t anything better than watching your kids run through the house playing with their cousins.  Even though it was loud at times, I loved every minute of it!

After we said goodbye to the ocean, our family headed down to my Dad’s farm in Alsea, OR.  On the way we stopped at one of my favorite places in the state…the Oregon Coast Aquarium located in Newport.  My favorite exhibits are the Seabird Aviary and the Jelly Fish.  There is something mesmerizing and relaxing watching a jelly fish move in their tank.

As always, my Dad had another fun treasure hunt for the kids so that they could explore all facets of his farm.  The great thing about the farm is that there is a lot to do and I never heard the words “I’m bored.”  There is a large pond not too far from the house that the kids can fish in and can hop in the canoe and paddle around.  My kids love to capture salamanders and anything else they can get their hands on. 

Part of the treasure hunt was going out to one of the barns and collecting owl pellets and picking out all the mice bones.  I was surprised that Mikaela didn’t find it gross and she had a blast dissecting the owl pellet.  My dad also had the kids get a sample of the pond water and look at it under a microscope.  That was a hit with all the kids.  It took several days for the kids to complete their treasure hunt, but once they did my Dad took them up to the general store and let them eat as much ice cream as they wanted.  They all came back full and sick of ice cream. 

In July, we went on our yearly vacation to Bear Lake, UT/ID.  There is so much to do there and each year we find ourselves exploring another part of the area.

Our family loves boating and we spent a couple of days zipping around the lake and trying to dump the kids into the water. 

This year, we were fortunate to rent a banana sled and that was a hit.  At one point everyone but me was on the sled as I drove the boat and took pictures.  It made me smile to see all four of their heads bobbing up and down as I created waves for them to bounce over.  The kids like it when I drive because my goal is to try and eject their bodies from the tube and get them to fly as high as possible.  Needless to say, I don’t drive very often because it takes up time driving back for the kids and getting them back in either the boat or the tube. 

For the first time since vacationing in Bear Lake, we went to the Pickleville Playhouse and watched a melodrama. Max gave me a hard time about going to watch singing and dancing, because he thought he was going to be bored and the evening would drag on. However, all the kids were entertained and said that they wanted to go back next year. Hooray!

Next year we hope to explore a couple small lakes we were told about by some locals and tick a few more “To Do’s” off our Bear Lake list. It seems like the more we find to do, the more time we need to spend at the lake. I think the first year we went up we only stayed two nights and now we are up to five and it isn’t enough time.

In August, I had to have surgery to remove a 5lb fibroid. As a result my uterus is now gone and I have a scar from above my belly button down to my pelvic bone. I was in the hospital 4 days and spent another 5 weeks at home recovering. Paul was wonderful! I am so grateful to have married such a good man. He didn’t pull a face each time he had to check my Frankenstein looking wound and he helped me not only physically but mental too. I think he is forgiven for being late to our wedding 21 years ago. Love you Paul!

My Mom also went above and beyond. She came out for two weeks and not only spoiled me but my kids too. Her time with us went too fast and we all missed her a lot when she had to go home. Thanks Mom, you were the help I didn’t think I needed but was grateful for receiving!

The one downer in the whole summer is that I was diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer after my surgery. Luckily, I am only a stage 1A so I should be just fine. I have to go through another surgery to remove more body parts, but our hope is that I won’t need any more treatment than that.

I feel so blessed to have the family I have. Life is getting more fun now that Max is 15 and talking about girls and driving; Mikaela is 11 going on 30 and chatters about crushes and things she wants to do with her life; and Miles is almost 7 and becoming a gentleman. My kids all gave me the most wonderful service while I was recovering even though there were times they didn’t want to. One incredible gift I was given during recovery was being able to have amazing talks with each of the kids privately. I love who they are and who they will become. Each of them makes me feel proud to be called their Mom. I love you Max! I love you Mikaela! I love you Miles! You make me so happy!!!

Halloween 2009

Halloween is always a fun time for our family. This year we headed out to Pack's Pumpkin Farm and grabbed a little hand cart and spent the next hour picking out five pumpkins. The pumpkin crop was not the best this year so the Pack family bought a ton of pumpkins and spreads them out over an acre of pumpkin vines. As usual the kids all find the pumpkin they must have...about three times. Trying to reason with a 2-year-old that the perfectly proportioned orange pumpkin in the cart really is better than the deformed yellow and green pumpkin he is trying to lift. Yep, super fun!

After we weigh in, pay and load the ultra expensive Halloween decorations into the car, we spend the next hour watching the kids run through the maize. This year it was drizzling but the kids didn't mind, just Mom and Dad did.

Thankfully this year Max was the only one that wanted to carve a pumpkin. In years past, I tend to cut myself so I am always glad when the kids don't want to carve. Both Max and Paul worked on this pumpkin and I think got some pretty good fangs.


Mikaela opted for the "Princess Pumpkin Head" accessories I bought from Target. The beauty of this kind of decorating is the lack of cleaning out the inside of the pumpkin. Plus it is fast. Make some holes, shove in your lips of choice.



Miles decided a Pirate was more his style.


So the day of Halloween is always a rush and by the time I took these pictures the sun started setting. All of their costumes relate perfectly to what they are all obsessed with this year. Max loves anything Army/military, Miki loves dressing up and looking pretty, and Miles loves "Toy Story."

Miles loved Halloween this year. He was fascinated that all he had to do was go door to door, knock and get candy. Easy!

It was almost like Christmas for Mikaela because she ended up getting a new dress up outfit. I think she has worn the dress about 20 times since Halloween.

Max made the marshmallow gun in Scouts a few days before Halloween so he was ready to be in character.

Miles wears his costume, almost daily. We started using it as pajamas just so we had the excuse to wash the costume.