Farms and Mountains and Dinners and Fireworks

That sounds like enough to keep a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old busy for a week, don't ya think? We've been loving being home for most of the summer with daddy. Mommy broke down and worked for a few days this last week and while she worked, we played. On Tuesday daddy took us to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. We love it there. We saw some baby animals and some big animals. This one, although the sign says he was on a special diet, tried to eat Sam's shirt. I guess his diet was "Sam" or "shirt" or something like that. The sun was right in our eyes in the picture but daddy wanted this picture so we were trying. . .

Here we are in jail - hum, hopefully not a sign of things to come!

And feeding corn to the goats - a morning just can't get better than this!
Of course there were horse rides and more animals. We put some of the best pics in a collage for your viewing pleasure. Daddy also took us by the Dinosaur Museum after the farm for some time at the sand tables and the fossil digging area. After that he treated us to a yummy lunch at the cafe. A great day!Ever heard of "Where's Waldo"? Well try - "Where's Mason"? Hint: he's sleeping in his room. We had Grandpa and Grandma L. over for dinner on Wednesday night. Salmon and potatoes and fresh corn on the cob. Another perfect summer day! Then on Thursday mommy didn't have to work so we made our way up to Snowbird Ski Resort to spend the day. Our first activity was the tram up to the top of Hidden Peak at 11,000 feet. The valley = 100 degrees. The top of Hidden Peak = 59 degrees in the middle of the afternoon. You just can't beat that! We hiked around the top for awhile. It was so pretty and so cool. We found this big glacier to play on. Snow at the end of July. Amazing! Here's mommy and the boys on our hike. These sticks became "flags" for a snowbank. I bet you'll still be able to see them sticking up as the snow begins to fly again this winter.

Here's daddy and Sam enjoying the hike.

We packed a lunch and ate it on the top. We found this nice shady spot to eat and then it ended up being so cool we finally had to move to a sunny spot to warm up.

Here are some beautiful flower and landscape pictures daddy took on our hike.
Here's a great picture of Sam - he wanted to know if he had something stuck in his teeth? Funny guy!

We met the nicest Snowbird employee ever as we were getting ready to take the tram back down from the top. She let me and Sam drive the tram. How cool is that!Then she snapped this family picture just as the second tram was crossing our path.
After a much needed ice cream break, we did some fishing at Austin pond. Let's just say that Sam and I each caught more fish than we could count on one hand. It was a perfect fishing day!
This was the first fishing trip that Sam really got in to and he was loving it! He enjoyed the "reeling it in" part best of all and wanted to keep reeling even without a fish on the hook. You can definitely see his fish in this picture. He caught the biggest fish of the day too - a 3 pounder. There would be more pictures of our fish and of the two moose we saw at the playground if mommy hadn't forgotten to charge up the batteries on her camera before we left. We had a yummy dinner out on Saturday night for mommy and daddy's 17th anniversary (it was on Friday). Funny - they don't seem that old! Prime rib, potatoes, and for the kids - macaroni and cheese. Then we played outside until after dark. We did sidewalk chalk and bubbles. And then came the fireworks - ok - the sparklers and poppers. Super fun! We haven't been home on a Pioneer Day in forever so it was a good holiday.And here's a picture of mommy with her boys. Sam Alert: Howdy everybody. I just love summer - time outside hiking, fishing, playing, seeing animals . . . or whatever else we dream up. Time eating ice cream . . . Time at home with the family . . .And time just being me . . .

Two Weeks . . .

We haven't been home a lot the last few weeks and we've been enjoying every minute of those two weeks.

First we started out with dentist appointments. I'm an old pro at dentist appointments - teeth cleaning and polishing - no cavities. Good thing I don't mind the dentist because it looks like I'll be spending a lot of time in this chair as I get older. I seem to be missing two baby and permanent teeth. So I'll be having braces, retainers, and implants as I grow up. Good thing Dr. Dunn still needs a Porsche - we'll be paying for it!

This was Sam's first official visit. He was pretty brave but made sure that daddy was holding him the entire time. His teeth look great - lucky guy! Grandpa and Grandma G. came up for our Aunt's funeral. Aunt Jen Jen and Uncle Carl made it up too. It was fun to have some family around, even if for a sad occasion. Sam made a new friend. Here we are with some of our maternal cousins - after the funeral. Sam wasn't very happy about having his picture taken with a bunch of people he didn't know very well. The good thing about funerals on mommy's side of the family is that they most often involve a trip to Star Valley, WY. What a beautiful place that is! This is a picture of me and Sam releasing balloons - kisses to heaven. Of course, I was a little grumpy after we let the balloons go - I wanted to keep mine. Oh well - hopefully our kisses made it all the way up. Daddy and mommy had been planning a vacation to Star Valley next week anyway and so we were able to move everything up since we were going there for the burial and we were able to stay a few extra days. We enjoyed some nice relaxing time - having target practice with our marshmallow shooters at Aunt Mary Bell's tank.
And we got a chance to visit with Aunt Mary Isabell every day. She has been sick and it was good to visit with her.We made the drive up to Cottonwood Lake. It is so beautiful up there! Here's mommy and Aunt Jen Jen at the lake.The caption for this picture is . . . . I caught a fish this big. Hum . . . daddy! Put me down! Lucky Sam slept through this whole time at the lake. We played at the lake and just relaxed. I wanted to hop in the water but it was too cold. I played right at the edge and managed to get my hands plenty dirty/sandy. Wait for it . . . . .The best part about having dirty hands is that no one wants you to touch them - and you can make them run if you try. Cousin Josh could barely outrun a 4-year-old. We love him anyway.Daddy and Josh got in a round of golf. Here's a picture of daddy hitting the ball.And here I am in my little "nest" where I slept. Comfy!Another fun thing that we did while in Star Valley was hike to Intermittent Springs. It was an easy hike with great scenery. Here's a family picture next to Swift Creek.The three boys - hiking.There was a big avalanche at the top just beneath the spring. It didn't stop us - we went right up and over it. It sure was slick and steep!

Here we are on the hike back down. We threw rocks (I know - you couldn't have guessed that one), found fuzzy caterpillars, and pretty flowers. It was a great afternoon!
Grandma and Grandpa G. were able to spend a few more days with us back at home. Since we didn't get to do any fireworks (sparklers really) over the 4th, we broke them out the other night and entertained the family. Here we are with Grandma and Grandpa the night before the had to leave to go home. And in the spirit of trying to enjoy every minute of our summer, mommy took some time off work (not that she's been there all that much) this week and we all went up to the Ogden Dinosaur Park. It was our first visit - and I'd have to say it was pretty cool. They had a museum and an outdoor area. Here we are in front of the woolly rhino. We got to do a gem dig in the gem cave. We found some really cool rocks!
And any faithful reader knows how Sam feels about rocks - the kid is crazy about them. He was in heaven!

Then we strolled around the outdoor areas. Lots of cool dinos!

Some of the dinos seemed pretty real . . . at least to me. Sam isn't afraid of much. Maybe he'll be a dino dentist when he grows up.One last picture of the dinos. It was a great afternoon!
Sam had another test this week - a kidney ultrasound. The doctor said that his internal organs are "beautiful"! Nothing wrong there.

The weather has definitely turned warm and is planning to stay that way. That means one thing . . . . fun in the water. Sam Alert: Howdy y'all. Here are some pics of me for your enjoyment - external pictures only, no pictures of my beautiful internal structures. This is me on a hike up in Star Valley. See all those rocks under my feet? Suffice it to say those rocks are no longer on that path - I believe I got them all tossed in to the creek before mom and dad could get me away from that spot.