Fireman Camp

Gabe attended Fireman Camp this week and I think it just might have been the highlight of his summer! And I must admit, I was a little jealous and wished I could go too! It was an incredible 4 days filled with tons of fun and hands-on experiences. It was held at our newest fire station, which doubles as a training facility. The kids put that station to the test!

They climbed ladders, had drills, searched a smoke (artificial smoke) filled building for a baby (doll) using night vision/heat sensing equipment. Gabe loved searching for the baby, it was one of his favorite activities. I was a little concerned when I heard what they'd be doing, because it sounded like something that would freak him out...dark building filled with smoke, alarm ringing, firemen barking orders, and looking for things hiding in the dark. Boy, was I wrong! Now, if we could just get him to go down the hallway in our house with the lights off...

All of the campers (Gabe is in top row, last one on the right).

Fireman Gabe


They even mentioned Gabe in the local paper (he now thinks he's famous, since he's been in two newspapers in the past 30 days!).

Will was a little sad that he didn't get to take part in everything, but he's excited to go next year! There's no doubt about whether or not the boys will be participating next summer!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!!

The boys made cards for Mark and Grandpa. They've done this in the past, but this is the first time that they've put some thought into what the card says...before it had been all about the artwork. Here are the cards they made for Mark...

The front of Gabe's card.

The inside of Gabe's card, he wrote a poem for his dad...

Funny Jelly, you are the one!

Mr. President, you are the one!

Sorry, I did a silly joke.

You are in it - leszabeak.

I love you, you love me.

We are a happy family.

I love Father's Day.

Because it's all about Fathers.

If you holler, it will be a silly joke!

The front of Will's card.



The inside of Will's card.
The "LML" is his attempt to write his name.
He wrote:
"I wuv you daddy! I'm sorry I comed out of my room. And I wuv you too and I wuv my whole family. I have a good family."

(It sounds like his is more of an apology!)

I also asked the boys questions about Mark and Grandpa. Here are their answers...

All About Dad - by Will

How old is daddy? - "L"

What is his job? - "To go to work."

What is your favorite thing to do with daddy? - "Play football in the backyard."

What is his favorite color? - "Green"

What is his favorite food? - "Hamburgers and potatoes"

What is his favorite animal? - "A scary rhino and t-rex."

All About Dad - by Gabe

How old is daddy? - "14"

What is his job? - "To go to the hospital, and he doesn't have an office of boxes anymore."

What is his favorite food? - "Hamburger, french fries, diet coke."

What is his favorite color? - "Green"

What is your favorite thing to do with dad? - "Go on trips."

What is his favorite animal? - "Pig"

All About Grandpa - by Will

How old is grandpa? - "I don't know."

What is grandpa's job? - "To go to work."

What is your favorite thing to do with him? - "Ride horses."

What is his favorite food? - "French fries and hamburgers."

What is his favorite color? - "Orange"

What is his favorite animal? - "Rhino"

All About Grandpa - by Gabe

How old is grandpa? - "39 years"

What is grandpa's job? - "For the bank!!"

What is his your favorite thing to do with him? - "Go to his office, go in the backyard with him and he ties me up with his rope."

What is his favorite food? - "Breakfast"

What is his favorite color? - "Blue and green"

What is his favorite animal? - "Fish"

Ten Months Old

At ten months old, Sam has become a lightening quick crawler! This boy is fast! But, I guess he has to be to keep up with his brothers. He is such a fun baby, easy going, quick to laugh...just plain fun! And his brothers absolutely adore him! He is starting to try to stand on his own, and is successful for a couple of seconds - then down he goes!

Unlike Will, Sam is not concerned about being surrounded by pink (Thanks Shannon and Ellie for the use of your stroller and wand!)!

Rock'n'Rollers

Our last night in Utah Valley, we stayed with my friend Shannon again. The boys were SO excited to see their new friends again! They played at the park and when it started to rain (of, course!), they played at the house. At dinner they started talking about forming a band. They named themselves "The Rock 'N' Rollers". They were so excited to get things started that they skipped out early on dinner (and it was pizza!!).

They headed down stairs, the music started blaring, and occasionally Gabe would come upstairs and give us updates on when the concert would start. When Shannon and I were finally allowed to go to the concert (of course we had to purchase tickets!), the boys had chairs set up for us and the stage was set!

They danced, sang, jumped, and were plain crazy! It was hilarious!! The costumes were the best! There were ninja costumes, bike helmets, grim reapers, elbow and knee pads, wizard hats, swords, rakes, and whatever else they could find! The best was when they started rocking out to "Girls Just Want To Have Fun"!

Luckily for Shannon and I, there was an encore concert the next morning! The second show was just as entertaining as the first!

It wasn't long before the "Rock'N'Rollers" started talking about a reunion tour (seriously...and these boys were VERY serious). So look for the "Rock'N'Rollers" to visit a venue near you!

Will has girl issues. He really doesn't like anything to do with girls and he'll tell you so (though he does like "mom-girls"). Will and Shannon's daughter Ellie are close in age and she sat next to him at dinner while we were there. Before we started eating, Shannon could tell Will was upset - he was looking down and had his hands over his eyes. She asked him what was wrong. His response? "I've got a black eye." I laughed because I knew immediately that he was upset that he had to sit next to Ellie. I did appreciate that he tried not to hurt her feelings by blaming his mood on his "black eye"!

Heading South

On Sunday, we loaded up again and headed south to Salt Lake. My sister, Shay, had gotten back from Spain the night before - so, now it was time to hang out with her! We had a great dinner and then Shay and my mom went to a meeting (Shay was speaking about her trip to Nicaragua with some of her volleyball players). I think it would have been interesting to hear about her trip, but I didn't think the boys would do that great. So, the boys and I found a park and played (actually, Sam slept in the car). We had the park to ourselves and had a great time.

Gabe practiced his karate moves.

The boys rolled down hills.

Will was goofy.

Unfortunately, Shay's house was being remodled and wasn't quite suitable for kids. So, on Monday, the boys and I headed south again!

As we were leaving Salt Lake, it started raining again. We really had put up with quite a bit of rain on our trip. As we were getting on the freeway, I said, "Rain, rain go away!" Will added, "Yeah! We didn't come for rain! We came for FUN!!"

We wanted to stop at the cemetary in American Fork at my Grandma Pearl's grave, but it was raining...and the sprinklers were on! So, we drove through and decided that was good enough. We then drove to the Mount Timpanogo's Temple, where Mark and I were married. Initially, I was going to take the boys for a walk around the temple...but, it was raining.

The boys in front of the Mount Timpanogas Temple.

Next, we dropped in at the Parkes' house - for some reason, I never tell them I'm coming. Once upon a time, I worked for this family. I helped take care of their severely Autistic son. They became a very important part of my life and really helped shape who I am today. They are amazing! Not to mention all grown up! Mark and I moved to California not long after their oldest daughter, Natalya, turned eight...now, she's 18! Yikes! I'm getting old! Anyway, we had a great visit - I love dropping in on them!

After leaving their house, we decided to go surprise Natalya at work (after all, she works at an ice cream store!). The look on her face was priceless! She had no idea we were even in Utah. She made us some great ice cream...how often do you get to watch your ice cream be made with nitrogen??? The boys thought it was so cool!

Natalya blowing "smoke" on the boys, while she mixed our ice cream.

Sam made the rounds - looking for bites of ice cream.

Mmmm...good to the last drop!

Following our ice cream, I took the boys on a tour of Provo. We drove past the house my mom grew up in, through the BYU campus, the apartment complex where Mark and I lived when we met, etc. After I showed the boys where Mark and I met, Gabe and I had this conversation...

Gabe: "Did anyone else fall in love with you?"
Me: "I don't think so."
Gabe: "What? They didn't think you were cute?"
Me: "Well, maybe someone thought I was cute. But, I don't think anyone else fell in love with me."
Will: "Did daddy really fall over?!?"

After our tour of Provo, we met Nana and Aunt Shay for lunch then headed over to BYU to see where Aunt Shay works. The boys loved going to the fieldhouse...there was a basketball camp going on, so there was a lot of excitement. They ran on the track and played with the balls in Aunt Shay's office.

Sam decided to try to take a bite out of Aunt Shay's volleyball.

Sam is Aunt Shay's (and BYU Volleyball's) biggest fan!

BYU Fireman Gabe.

Wahoo! for Aunt Shay and BYU!!

We headed to Payson next to stay with Shannon again, but you'll have to read about that adventure in the "Rock'N'Rollers" post.

The boys were great on the whole trip. But, I think they were ready to go home...I certainly didn't hear any complaints when it was time to get back in the van and head back to California. We broke up our trip by stopping in St. George, Utah to spend the night with Great-Grandma Bea.

It was tough getting everybody to sit still...

it got even harder when we added Sam!

I kept my promise to Gabe, we stopped at the Bass ProShop in Las Vegas on the way home. It's an amazing place, so I certainly don't mind stopping!

Sam decided that the older boys were right...the HUGE aqarium really is quite amazing!

More Cache Valley Fun

After our fun filled day at Free Fish Day, we decided we should head back to Amy's and check in before going to visit my great aunt and uncle. The boys played for a little while before I loaded them up again to go to Uncle Dean and Aunt Marilyn's.

On the way there, I reminded Gabe that Uncle Dean is the Mayor of Hyrum. He asked what "Mayor" meant. I told him that it meant that Uncle Dean was an important person in his town. Gabe laughed and said, "How can he be the Mayor when he's so silly?" Uncle Dean is a jokster!

The boys were quick to dump their bags of prizes out on the floor and tell Uncle Dean and Aunt Marilyn all about their morning's adventure. Pretty soon, we realized that they still had too much energy to be cooped up inside - so we went to the backyard. They have a great backyard with a perfect climbing tree for young kids. Gabe and Will were loving it! Sam thought having free reign of the grass area was pretty fun!

Gabe made his way to the top of the tree several times.

Will loved to swing on the tree like a monkey.

Sam loved being free!

On the move!

Don't you just want to squeeze this little guy?

Aunt Marilyn and Will, enjoying a little treat.

They'd been playing for awhile, when Kiera and Ellie came around the side of the house (with mom and Amy following behind). That's when the older kids decided to try to build a tree house...though they had fun, they weren't successful!

After we'd had all the fun we could have at Uncle Dean and Aunt Marilyn's we went back to Amy's for dinner and smores...YUM! Jeff taught the kids how to cook the perfect hot dog and the perfect marshmallow over the fire. They loved it! (At 5 years old, Gabe ate his first hot dog...apparently, if it's cooked over an open flame he'll eat it!) The kids played until they could play no more! Then it was off to bed to get ready for another day!

Ready, set, JUMP!

Uncle Jeff showing the kids how to cook hot dogs over the fire.


Sam thinks the hot dogs look pretty good!


Smores...yummy!

Free Fish Days

On Saturday, there were several celebrations to choose from. Apparently, every town around Logan (including Logan) had something to celebrate...which, worked out well for us - free entertainment for the kids!!!

The original plan was to take the kids to Willow Park Zoo and then head to a park near Amy's house where there was a big party going on. Once we got the zoo our plans changed.

Willow Park Zoo is a teeny, tiny, but very beautiful little zoo. There is no official entrance fee, just a donation box at the entrance. There are monkeys, birds (lots of varieties of ducks and geese), a snake, turtles, eagles, deer, elk, bobcats, foxes, etc. I was surprised at how much was actually there. It was all in a park like setting that was beautiful. The kids had a great time running to see all the animals. And Will made friends with several ducks.

Will, Gabe, and Kiera watching the ducks and geese.

Will and one of his new duck friends.

I'm not so sure Sam and Ellie liked being chauffeured through the zoo.

Meeting the tortoises.

After the zoo, we could see there was something going on in another section of the park and decided to go check it out. Jackpot!! It was Free Fish Days! I had no idea what that meant, but it was free so we might as well give it a shot!

Will, Kiera, and Gabe getting instructions on what to do.

Even Sam got a handkerchief!

Each of the kids got a handkerchief that needed to be stamped at all of the different stations. The boys learned about the ecology of northern Utah, how to tie a "fly", and how to cast a fly rod. They also got to play with (live) bugs native to the waters of Utah, they fished, and painted a fish to stamp on their handkerchief. Talk about fun!!

Will learning to tie a "fly."

Kiera's turn!

And finally, Gabe's turn!

Will and Gabe learning to cast.

Ellie was kind enough to make sure Sam stayed hydrated!

Will got mad at me when I decided to pry him away from the bugs, he would have stayed there all day if I'd had let him. After the bugs, they went to look at a trout in a huge tank. While they were there, the newspaper photographer came by and took pictures of them. (I wasn't so sure they'd use the picture, but sure enough - they made the Logan paper the next day!) It was about this same time that Amy's girls decided that they'd had enough. So, my mom went with Amy and Ellie to help Amy out with a few things. Kiera last a little bit longer, but it wasn't long before she and Jeff left.

Gabe playing with bugs.

What is more fun than playing with water bugs?!?

Gabe and Kiera checking out some fish. This is about the time the photographer showed up.

So, the boys and I were on our own! We made our way to the fishing station, got our polls and bait, then looked for the "perfect" fishing spot. Okay, there really weren't any "perfect" spots...actually, all I could see was a lot of moss covering the pond. Oh well! I parked Sam and then spread Gabe and Will out as far as I could (I was pretty sure a 3 and 5 year old waving hooks around shouldn't be near each other!). I tried helping Gabe...yeah, that didn't go so well! I'm not very good at fishing and had no idea what I was doing! Luckily for Will, a Park Ranger came and helped him out. No body caught anything more than moss. In fact, I ended up pulling the bait off of Will's hook and tossing it in the pond.

Gabe patiently waiting for something to bite.

Will was sure he had caught a "big one!"

After attempting to fish, we continued to the rest of the stations. At the end of it all, the boys had a bag full of prizes, a t-shirt, balloon fish hats, and a lot of stories to tell their dad (and anyone else who would listen!)! At this point, I realized that we had spent several hours at the park and everyone must be starving! So, we continued our adventure at McDonald's. Sam slept through lunch, which was great for me - I was able to give all of my attention to the boys and their excitement.

The last station was fish painting...so fun!

That is Gabe and Will in the top picture in the Logan paper.

The boys thought they were famous because they made the paper...so cute!