state fair Sept 2014

Another year another State fair.  I know its silly but this is something I actually look forward to every year.  I don't know if it reminds me of my dad, I just have fond memories, or I like to people watch.  What ever the case my kids are starting to enjoy this time as well although I think they like the rides the best.  This year my brother decided to enter some of his work.  I am proud to say that everything he entered he won.  He really does do amazing work, mostly in Blacksmithing lately.  My boys were instantly drawn to one of his swords.  There was just something about it, I knew it was his work before I even looked at the artist. Personally I loved this horn sculpture, but I guess that's the horn player in me.

The animals were cute as ever and we all really want some chickens of our own now, and maybe even a goat.  I think Brennen is with me on the goat idea. Time and time again he reminds me of a little "Lucky", which I am secretly grateful for.

When we came across this sheep we all started laughing at the ridiculous  coat.  I know its to keep them nice and clean for showing but this one just screamed 1980's aerobics and that made us all hysterical.  There was no rain this time so but it did get a little chilly when the sun went down. the kids all had a great time and I am happy that the animals were their favorite.  They were even patient with me as I toured all the fine arts.  

Geek of the Week Sept 2014

Just a couple of Geeks being geeky.  Peter put this helmet on his head during dinner trying to be cool and came across as, well . ..geeky.  Still I love these guys.  Boys are crazy but they are always entertaining

1st day of school 2014

The first day of school is always a toss up on whether my kids will let me take them or not.  This year they were a little better than last.  I explained to them ahead of time that its my right as a mom to  take them to school on their first day.  First we went shopping for all their school supplies.  I just like to get the necessities. I felt like this was a good time to teach them about finances.  When they went to select their folders I showed them the prices of the different options and taught them the difference they would be saving if they bought the generic one.  After a quick math lesson they were finally catching on and decided that if they spent less money on the fancy school supplies they could use the extra for something they really wanted or needed.

 My boys really wanted a new backpack but I felt like their backpacks were still in good condition so I refused.  They came up with a plan to sell lemonade to earn money to buy their own backpacks.  I am so glad they went about it this way instead of trying to nag me or whine or pressure me into just buying new backpacks.

We did find this cool backpack/vest for Peter who is totally into vests right now.  Seriously he never leaves the house without a vest regardless of the tempereature outside.  He decided not to get it.  I was astonished.  This guy who LOVES vests didn't want a vest backpack?  His reasoning behind his decision, he would have to take it off at school and it was too small.  I am glad that in somethings he can think logically, there may be hope for him yet.  

I had the kids set out their clothes for their first day of school the night before.  Brennen was so literal in laying out his clothes I just had to chuckle to myself.  Silly Brenny.

I was a little nervous about Peter's first day.  Not for him but for me.  Was I okay with this?  My baby going off to school?  I am not going to lie it was a little hard but he was so confident I just had to be happy for him.  FYI I love the way the school welcomes their kindergartners on their first day.  Peter already thinks quite highly of himself but after this, he was SURE he is a rockstar.  Way to inflate is ego Sego Lily.  

Food Truck Roundup Sept 2014

I have secretly been dying to go to this food truck round up.  After unsuccessfully trying to drop a subtle hint I finally just made the date.  I invited my mom and sister who oddly enough has never been to a food truck before.  How does one even live without that experience, especially now days  where food trucks have evolved more into gourmet meals on wheels  and less roach coach.  Sadly for her she was sick with the tail end of a stomach bug but she was determined to check this off her bucket list.

The food was delicious.  I ordered a fancy burger called the Schwinn.  It had arugula, balsamic tomato's, Gruyere cheese and a delicious sauce.  It was super yummy.  We also tried out the infamous "Art City donuts".  The did not disappoint.

My favorite thing about the food truck round up was actually the diversity.  Diversity of food, people, and culture.  Living in Utah I find it often quite. . . "Vanilla", and when I say vanilla I mean boring.  Everyone seems the same, they all look the same, no one ever tries anything new, or has creative ideas of things to do,  When we ask neighbors what fun things they have done, or any great restaurants they can recommend, no one can come up with anything, no one has done anything, their weekends are all the same, it can be really bland.  That being said if you find the right places you can get some diversity.  That's how I felt about the food truck round up.  It made me feel like I was back in California.  The people were quirky, the food was good and the music was surprisingly good.  It was just a little high school band with great musicians but I think they needed to get a new lead singer, she was less than awesome.  

This is an activity I will definitely  be visiting again.  

Lagoon with Cousins Sept 2014

Scott was able to get a deal to Lagoon with his dental association so we jumped at the opportunity.  We invited his sister and her family because they were going to be up here anyway. I haven't been to Lagoon in 14 years so this was a blast from the past.  It was fun seeing things that I remembered doing when I was younger.  Seeing games that  my dad would play brought back fond memories that I hoped to passed down to my children.

   We picked a school day to go.  My kids were so funny, they were mad at me for taking them out of school to go to Lagoon.  Who does that?  Once they were there they were happy about it but I got grumbles the whole way up there.  Bunch of weirdo's.  The day we decided to go could not have been better.  The crowd was almost zilch so we never waited in line longer than 5 minutes.  The weather was sunny but not hot so we didn't get heat stroke.  Basically we got to do every ride we wanted and were done by 3pm.  Its amazing how much you can get done when you don't have to wait in line.  We packed a lunch to help minimize the cost and that was a huge help.  Not to mention perfect timing because  Brennen split his pants and needed a change.  Luckily we brought our swimsuits just in case we wanted to go to the water park.  So he spent the rest of the day in his suit.  

It was nice taking it easy.  Usually we all get overloaded at a place like this, but the lack of crowds and the pleasant day eased all the tension.  The teenagers took off together to ride some big rides and just be "cool" teenagers, while the grown ups relaxed in the kiddie land.  Brennen was hilarious, he kept sneaking on this little bug ride similar to the Dumbo ride at Disneyland.  He must have ridden that thing 20 times.  I don't know what he found so great about it but he was having a great time.

We did lose William and Jarom for awhile.  They had a cell phone with them but apparently they didn't pay attention to it.  We called and texted about a dozen times trying to meet up with them.  Thankfully the park is not that big and we came across them right when we were ready to leave.  We actually left the park around 5 and my first thought was "are we leaving too early?", but the more I thought about it the more I realized we got an entire days worth of Lagoon fun done in just a couple of hours because we never had to wait in line.  I love it when we are lucky like that in picking the perfect time.  

this kid finds joy in so many things

one of my favorite rides

the end of a good day.