Bear World 2013

Allen and I decided that it has been a long while since we've been to Bear World. Everytime we drive past, Braden begs us to go and see the "Yogi Bears". So we caved. This particular weekend Bear World was charging half price plus they give you a community card, so each time we decide to go back this summer, it will always be half price. Score! So on a warm and sunny afternoon we decide to go.

 

The bears were all in their caves hiding the first time we drove through. Total bummer so we decided to go to the gift shop and go on the amusement rides. They are just little rides but Braden was especially excited.

 

 You can imagine how excited Tyler was to be in this picture with his head on the bears body!

 For as wild Braden can sometimes be, the one thing he would never do is ride the little Merry go rounds without a total meltdown. I didn't think he'd enjoy these rides, but he loved them. The faster they went and the crazier the ride got, the better!

 Even Kylie and McKenna were enjoying these ones!

After we rode all the rides and saw the little bear cubs, we decided to drive through the park again. This time, as luck would have it, we were a few cars back from the feeding truck. All the bears came out for that! Lots and lots of bears!

 I don't know if you can tell in this picture, but I decided buffalo are actually really big and very ugly animals.

One of the advantages of driving behind the feeding truck is the bears are much more active. We saw a lot of this. Especially with this bear. It kept standing on people's cars and even while they continued to drive, the bear would walk along with the car. It was kind of fun to watch since they weren't on our car. There was an employee there with his truck that would drive over and get all of the bears off of people's cars, but this one was definitely persistent!

After this time through the park, we really felt like we got our money's worth - and who knows...maybe we will see the Yogi Bears again this season!

McKenna and Kylie turn 9

It is so weird for me to think that these girls just turned 9! I remember when I was that age and I guess I just don't feel like these girls have been around already for 9 years! We kept the birthday on a small scale this year. A little family party to celebrate the big day! They got lots of gift cards and money. They are saving up so they can buy a Piano Guys t-shirt when we see them in concert in May. They got these fun little bags from Grandma and Grandpa with all sorts of gift items in them.

 

Scented bubbles from Braden

Airplanes and Kites from Tyler, and of course money from mom and dad.

As always, we did two cakes again this year. Try and make it a little unique and special for each of them. A basketball cake for McKenna.

A pretty bow and polka dot cake for Kylie

McKenna and Kylie are two beautiful and amazing girls. They can be so helpful, they are smart, love to play and read. Each with very different personalities but yet so much the same. We feel so blessed they are in our family!

Utah

In the early morning hours on April 13th (by early I mean at 5 a.m.), we got in our new car and traveled down to Spanish Fork Utah for Adam Blake's baptism, and Lindsey Blake's birthday. We thought we would have enough time to make  it down for sure - surprisingly there was a lot of traffic on the road that early on a Saturday morning. We made it at 9:35 a.m. and the baptism was supposed to start at 9:30 a.m. Luckily for us there were a few hold ups and we made it with about 10 minutes to spare! It's crazy to think that Adam is already old enough to be baptized - but we are so proud of him and the choices he is making.

 

After the baptism we went to my brother Scott's house and had a little continental breakfast. Since it was Lindsey's birthday they were trying to get ready for her party. We left McKenna and Kylie with them so they could attend the party and hike up Y mountain. We also left Tyler there so he could play video games with his cousins. Here are some pictures I got from my brother of the girls hiking to the Y. I remember doing this hike and it was tough - I'd probably die now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, while the older three were all off having fun, we took Braden back to my sister's house in Sandy. He loves playing with Morgyn and Samantha. We played drums, played with trucks, made lots of messes and laughed a whole lot! We also went shopping. Allen got some new pants at Mr. Macs, and a bunch of other different stores. I even ran into an old friend from growing up.

 

After Lindsey's party, my brother and family drove my children back up to my sister's house. We had a bbq and also cake to celebrate not only Lindsey's birthday, but McKenna and Kylie's as well - which was just three days away. They all love playing together and went in the backyard and played in the rain for a few hours.

It was one of those moments where I glanced at all of them as they were sitting around the table and eating where they looked like little adults. They are pretty close in age and when they were little I never imagined what it would be like when they were older. It was just a neat moment to see them all interacting so well.

It was a great trip and one we don't do nearly enough. We loved being there and spending time with family!