"L" is for Lilly Lake and other fun weekend activities

Rob's buddy from Cali came into town and they left for a couple of days, so rather than be here alone, my sister Patty and I decided to head up to the cabin and hang with the kids. It was a blast! Lots of that ugly laughter I talked about in an earlier post. Patty bought a raft to take out on the lake, and everyone loved it. I decided to do the letter "L" while we were there so we went to "Lilly Lake" and fished for several hours. Within 10 minutes of being there Kaytlin caught a fish and won the race to see who could hook the first fish. We stayed about 3 more hours caught and released a few fish and then headed back home to the cabin. On Saturday my Mom and Dad came up to make us those famous pancakes that I absolutely love ( I think the secret ing. is a little bacon grease), and then we headed to Park City to ride the Alpine slide. This activity was a real hit! I forgot how much fun it is to race down that mountain on a sled! I loved it, and so did my children! We spent the majority of the trip fishing lakes and rivers. All of my kids can successfully bait there own line, cast and reel in a fish all on their own! I always wondered if this would ever happen? But thankfully it did, and now I can take them fishing when ever they want. I also learned how to untangle and fix a fish line. Something else I wondered would ever happen. All they need to learn now is how to clean a fish, which I'm pretty sure Trenten knows but for some reason had forgotten over the winter?!?! All in all it was a great time.

The Cabin

This year instead of hanging around town and letting off our own fireworks in the neighborhood we decided to head out to the cabin with my parents and siblings. We played cards, went fishing, saw a moose, ate some s'mores, did the letter "D" and built a dam in the raging river, actually Rob did this with the kids so that they could play in the water and be more safe, we laughed tons and had a really great time. I love making memories like this because the older my kids are getting the faster time seems to pass, so I like to try and take every opportunity to make a memory together. Austin was the first to catch a fish, and once he did everyone else started to also. Infact he couldn't keep his hands off of it, he kept taking it out of the lake and checking it out as often as he could. We also stopped to see the Provo River Falls which were very pretty. Last but not least my Dad made us his famous pancakes two times in a row! They are so good that I could honestly eat them every day! Thanks dad!

"E" is for Ebleskivers

This was a lot of fun. I grew up eating ebleskivers that my Grandma would make for all of her grandkids. They were the best ebleskiva in the world! After making them and standing on my feet for 3 hours I have a new found respect for her and the time that she would spend making these for us.
This is a pic of my sister Patty, my cousin Natalie in her super hot goggle glasses( she didn't want anyone to know but she was afraid of the hot oil spitting in her eyes), me and my Aunt Tammi who was kind enough to come and teach us how to make these Diley (sp) treats! We actually had such a good time chatting, that we had to start the recipe over because we were so busy talking that we weren't sure what part of the recipe we were on! Duh....
Once they are cooked you sprinkle them with powder sugar and eat!. The kids loved these and they are sure to become a new tradition in my home.

I've been tagged!!

The rules are, each player must post 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

I owe a HUGE shout out to Natalie, my cousin for this most wonderful opportunity to share all of this unusually interesting information with anyone who wants to read it... I actually got tagged about 6 or so months ago and haven't had the time to get around to doing this. However since it makes me crazy to let something go undone i've decide to finally do it.

#1. I do not like the words "I'm bored", "this is boring", or "how much longer do I have to do this". I always tell my children that only boring people get bored and your not boring so I'm sure that you can find SOMETHING to do!

#2. I really love big words. Not really to use them because most of the time it just sounds dorky, but because when Kaytlin was little and even now she will be talking with me and she will throw in a word like rejoinder (an answer to a reply) and just keep talking like it's no big deal that she has just used a word that I'm trying to figure out the meaning to, and most of the time I used to know what the word meant and have just forgotten the meaning because of lack of use? However because of her love for reading she's caused me to gain a love of words. Weird I know but it's kind of a game we play that we both enjoy, and it also helps her vocabulary grow. Oh yeah and apparently mine too!

#3. I love a sense of humor, and it is also what I love about my husband and sisters. Their is really nothing better than laughing so hard that you have that ugly laughing face (Patty and Ally will know what I'm talking about). I also love being with people that are funny because no matter what the situation is you always end up having a good time. I also like the sound of laughter especially if it is coming from my kids.

#4. I love traveling. Someday I want to be able to travel all over the world, and learn about other cultures. I think it is so interesting to see how other people live. I also love to take part in other countries cultural activities, food etc.

#5. I am a people watcher. This may sound weird to some of you, but I love watching how other people act when they think that no one is noticing them. My favorite places to people watch are just about anywhere but especially the Las Vegas Airport if ya know what I mean. Sometimes Rob gets embarrassed by me because he thinks people know that I am starring at them but what do I care they don't know me. Occasionally he will participate but usually he gets embarrassed for the person and can't handle watching. It makes me giggle when people are talking to themselves and they don't even realize it. About the time that I start giggling I usually realize that I to am talking to myself.

#6. I wish that I could fly. I've often thought about what kind of bird I would be and it would have to be an Eagle because they just make flying look so pretty and easy. I know that they are not the prettiest bird but they are definitely the coolest!

So there it is. Now you know how weird I am. One other little tidbit, I like the smell of skunk! No, not the really potent part just the faint leftover smell!?!? There! I said it.... OH don't judge, some of you like the smell of gasoline, or markers, which I find totally grody! :()

I would like to invite anyone who hasn't already done this to do it if you want. No pressure.

"T" is for The Treehouse Museum

My cousin Natalie and I took the kids to Ogden's Treehouse museum a couple of weeks ago when it was so cold. The kids had a great time, and even Trent and his cousin Colby let go of their "cool" for a little bit and made the best of what could have been a very boring situation for them. Thank goodness they have cute personalities! Kaytlin and her cousin Jody loved dressing up in every outfit that they could get their hands on. Not only did they love dressing up but they wanted a picture of themselves in every outfit. Austin and is buddy Matt also had a great time dressing up in the hunting clothes and pretended to be hunters. Their is so much to do their and we had a great time.

"F" is for father's day ties and farm friends

I haven't had a lot of time to blog lately so I am a little behind. My good friend Jodi invited us over for a fun afternoon of decorating old ties for father's day gifts. It was a lot of fun and it came with a really great poem that was very funny and basically told the dad's that they "GOT" to wear the ties. All the dad's were really good sports and wore them with pride! Later that day we had the privilege of going up to Jodi's farm to see the baby cows and bottle feed them. The kids LOVED this activity and beg to go there almost everyday. Kaytlin wasn't so sure about the fact that the eggs she got were brown and not white. After explaining why that happens she seemed ok with it but declared she would definitely not be eating them, that was ok though because Austin had every intention of eating all 3 of them himself. Right when we got home he asked me to cook them so I quickly did. Just as soon as he was done eating them he went right up to Kaytlin and told her that they were delicious and that they didn't taste any different, it didn't matter though because Kate didn't want to hear it!
Trenten has a natural knack for caring for animals and has been blessed to be able to go back up with Jeff (farmer Jones) who is Jodi's husband and help him feed and care for the animals. He must love it too because he is willing to get up at 6:00 to be ready by 6:30 to leave. Every time he has come home he tells me all sorts of stories that farmer Jones has taught him about farm life : ). If you ever want to know how a cow becomes a steer and not a bull you can ask Trenten, he can tell you!

The ABC's of summer

I used to do the letters of the alphabet in the summer with my kids to get me motivated to do some fun activities with them, but we've had passes the last few years and have been busy with going swimming or to Lagoon or hiking so I haven't needed to do anything to get me motivated. This year however we didn't get passes anywhere and the weather has been to cold to go hiking so..... I decided to start this up again. We went to the Animal shelter for the letter "A" and played with the animals. I have to say that this was a lot of fun and very therapeutic! The kids loved it so much that when we left, they asked if we could do this every week! The Davis County Animal Shelter in Layton has a horse to so if you go, take some carrots and let the kids feed it!
For the letter "B" My sister and I taught the kids how to make banana bread. We also incorporated the letter "C" and taught them how to Cook Swedish pancakes and orange french toast. YUM!
Today I took the kids to the fabric store to pick out some material. I have been promising them that I would let them pick out their own fabric and teach them how to make pillow cases (something very easy since I'm just learning to sew myself) and they did a great job of sewing it all on their own with the exception of Austin. He did do all the sewing by himself it was the ironing that he was concerned about. I'm proud of them for wanting to learn something new and they did a great job! Kaytlin was very helpful with Austin's and I'm so thankful I have her...
Trenten even enjoyed this activity! He did it all on his own and when he was done, he said "it feels good to make something all on my own".
Of coarse Austin picked the skull fabric! I tried to get him to choose something with soccer balls on it but he was set on this one!?!? Between his dew rag and his fascination with skulls I feel like I'm raising a hillbilly? Oh well at least he's a cute one!