Sledding

We finally took Finn sledding. We have a perfect little, but fast, hill less than a block from our house. We went 2 days in a row actually because we had so much fun.

So fast, you can barely see him....




Trying to get a good shot of Finn, smiling and with eyes open is nearly impossible.

Cheese for my Lover

I missed the cheesy post about my husband and our anniversary because we were busy camping. A perfect way to celebrate!

We have been married for 6 years. We've been friends for 10 years and it's been the best 10 years of my life. (Sorry high school)

Ben is my best friend. He is the best dad and husband and helps me more than I could ever imagine.

He even lets me sleep in on the weekends.

And lets be honest, that is all that really matters.

I love you Ben.

4th of July

Over the 4th of July weekend, we took Jake and met up with Ben's friend Junior (Jeff) in Escalante, UT at the Slot Canyon Inn. Luckily Adam and Kristen are already there so we had a great little group.

We rented the Isaac Riddle Cabin for two nights and it may have been the best weekend ever.

Friday night we went to Boulder, Ut, to the annual 4th of July Talent Show. There was some talent, and some un-talent. We saw singers, dancers, jugglers and more. We sat on the grass and enjoyed the people watching for a few hours.
Kristen cuddling with Finn.
Jake cuddling with Finn.
Beautiful clouds.
Saturday was full of hiking. A few small hikes around the property.
Then someone had the great idea of hiking to Upper Calf Creek Falls. It's a beautiful and amazing hike, but lets just say a struggled a bit on the way out. If I could do this hike once a week, I'd be in amazing shape.
Finn is a great rock climber. Even in a swim diaper.Roscoe was our trail dog. Much better hiker than me.The group. Ben, Finn, Diania, Adam, Kristen, Jake, Junior.
Here we are again, but really tiny.We only had a few sad little fireworks and sparklers that didn't work. So we threw them all into the fire and they were much better that way. Then there was this firework. We had no idea it was going to be this big and it was so loud. We all went running and diving from it, while Jake was stuck right next to it. If you look closely you can see him the background. I don't think I've laughed that hard in years.

Oscar Eat It?

We have three baby birds in our big tree. We have been watching them since we they were eggs. Just last week they were naked birds with closed eyes.

Last night Ben went outside to water the plants and heard Mama (the mama bird) going crazy and screaming. Ben went along the side of the house and saw a cat trying to get one of the babies.

We chased the cat off, and returned the baby to his nest.

Here is a picture of the baby we saved.
Here is one of the other little chubby birds, safe.
Then this morning, Ben is outside with Oscar, and I hear madness coming from outside. It sounds like a million birds freaking out. Apparently, it was only three adult birds and Oscar had gotten one of the babies in his mouth and all three adults were screaming at him and diving at him.

Luckily Oscar chickened out and dropped the baby bird, who jumped off to safety.

Finn and I were standing on the porch while all this was going on. When we walked inside, Finn asked "Oscar eat it?", then kept repeating "Oscar bite". He is so observant.

Hopefully the babies all learn to fly today or at least learn to not jump out of their nest. Keeping those babies safe, is like a full time job.

Happy Father's Day

We went to the park with the family for Father's Day. It turned into a game of musical chairs because of the rain, and by the end of the afternoon we had been in three different locations. It still ended up being a beautiful day and good times.
We also had birthday cake for Finn. He was a little confused, but he blew the candles out all by himself!
The best part of the afternoon for Finn, was playing with Julianne's pink stroller.



Thanks Ben for being the best dad. And to my dad for being the equally as best dad. Love you!

Family Fun Part 2

On Thursday we headed to Fruitland to stay at Camelot Resort with all the Dickersons (minus Dan and Laura) and Wings.

The property was amazing. The house, not the greatest. I think we were all expected a little better house, but for the price, it was fine. You pay for the property.

The reunion was full of swinging.

eating

climbing (or being a tiger as Finn calls it)

biking
enjoying the beauty of Utah
And of course enjoying being together as a family.

Highlights and Lowlights (and things to remember):

• Jake using the rope swing to propel himself into a freezing river and then screaming like a little girl
  
• Finn falling into the smaller river and climbing out by himself, soaking wet, and then wanting to get back in
• My bike pedal falling off, mid ride
• Mouse on Marc's face
• Kickball (with only a few minor injuries)
• Food - hamburgers, hotdogs and ribs
• Cohen waking up dry (and Jake!)
• Some people not getting hot water, but I did, that is all that matters
• Finn learning to love trees, must be in his blood
• Forcing everyone to finish a game of Trivial Pursuit
• Mountain Dew, Airborne and Emergen-C
• Other lawn games, including frisbee golf & horseshoe
• Finn thinking pinecones are poop
• Me not taking enough pictures
  

I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, so family, please comment.
We are glad it's over, but glad it happened. It was a great few days getting to know everyone!

Mother's Day and Spencer's Wedding

Last weekend was busy. Cousin Spencer was getting married so that meant lots of family time. Which is good, I like family time and love most, just kidding, all of my family.

We had cousin Adam sleeping over and bonding with Finn and lots of parties.

Saturday morning we got together for a Mother's Day breakfast with aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, dads and of course MOMS.



Love this action shot of April throwing the Frisbee. Stole from my cousin's blog. Actually I stole a lot of these pictures. Thank you Precia and Amy!
Saturday night was Spencer's wedding reception at Noah's. Beautiful and so fun playing with everyone.
Both the bride and groom are science geeks. Here is a shot of the groom's cake.The kids were hilarious dancing on the ledge. Until they turned off the music and kicked everyone off. Best moment of night was Cousin Jeff's son Dylan dancing to YMCA.