Justified

OK, so recently I've come to realize that my addiction to this blog has rendered me incapable of going anywhere or doing any sort of activity without obtaining photographic evidence of said activity. I was beginning to feel like I was going a teensy bit overboard in my compulsion to post-until today. There was a speaker in sacrament who talked about the importance of keeping a personal history-which is basically totally in support of a blogging habit! So I decided that this is my attempt to record some sort of journal for my family. That way, when the boys are older I will have proof of what a wonderful mother I was and what a magical childhood they had. Because, you know, I don't take pictures of the beatings:) Anyway, for those of you who view the Rumpus regularly, thank you for putting up with what is really probably just me showing off my family. I'm sure the obsession will loose its allure someday, but for now, stay tuned for more pictures:)

Disclaimer: No children have actually been beaten...

Another Saturday

We seem to be having some pretty successful Saturdays lately-I'm not sure why, but I won't question it:) So this Saturday we tried fishing. Dax keeps saying he's pretty sure that he is now old enough to not be afraid of a fish if he could just get the chance to go fishing. Tyler bought an inflatable kayak last summer that he is in love with and wanted to take it out. Sidebar: I must admit that when he bought the kayak I rolled my eyes and said something about that being sooo stupid. It wasn't nice. I admit it. Back to yesterday. There is a small reservoir right below our house, so we decided to try our luck. As we left, Dax, Hayes, and I all adamantly expressed that we did NOT want to ride Tyler's canoe thingy. Turns out the fish weren't really biting (Dax doesn't have much patience to leave the pole alone for 5 seconds) but the kayak was a big hit! Every one of us got on and loved it so much it was hard to take turns. Tyler even "trolled" Dax around with his pole.

You can see our neighborhood in the background.

Isn't this gorgeous? Sometimes I forget how fortunate we are to live where we do. I feel very blessed.

Just one more thing that you WILL have fun doing...

Boy, a picture really does say a thousand words. Notice how thrilled Dax, Hayes, and Tyler look in that first pic. Yep, it's our first year of T-ball. I say 'our' because I had the great idea that Tyler should coach and I should be his assistant-which is a little too much like my day job now that I think of it...:)Did you ever notice that the assistant does all the work and gets none of the credit? I'm joking-of course I take the credit! Actually, though coaching has been really fun. At least up to the third inning when its our turn to take the field. Then everyone gets a little tired and we all want to lay down, assistant included. The boys are having fun and getting better with each game. Dax can really hit the ball and is improving on his catching, Hayes has stopped picking up the ball and running to third everytime he hits it off the tee, and Asher hasn't bashed anyone directly on the head with the bat since the first practice. We're really coming along.

The Skate Park

Saturday morning we drove past the Payson skate park and when the boys actually expressed interest, dare I say excitement even, in doing something active without being forced (you WILL go outside and you MAY NOT come back in for ANYTHING until I say)we turned right around and went home for the scooters. They were almost as excited about the skate park as Tyler. He kept stealing Daxon's scooter, I think because he loves the sound of Dax whining. Right around the time that they started to loose interest a car full of teenagers pulled up with their skate boards. They were really pretty good and instead of big kids scaring the boys off, Dax and Hayes suddenly became braver, stronger, and had more stamina than just 30 seconds earlier. They were both convinced of how cool they were and have decided the skate park is the place to be.

Not Quite Skinny Dipping

Today after a family reunion in Stansbury Park we decided to check out the Saltair and the Great Salt Lake with the Bells and the Rupps. I have to say when we got there I was unimpressed. But Ren and Tyler had the kids down the beach walking out to the water as soon as we got out of the car and it turned out to be really beautiful out there. The water stayed shallow forever-it almost seemed like we could just keep walking across the whole lake. Wading turned into playing and splashing for the kids and before we knew it they were all soaked. LeAnn had a few of them take off their pants to stay warmer and keep the salt from rubbing on their legs too much and just like that every kid was swimming in their undies in the Great Salt Lake. Well, not just undies, shirts too. Hayes was really open to the idea of skinny dipping, but we told him we had to draw the line at swimming in his tighty whities. I'm going to have to save a few of those pics for future blackmail:)

PS-Tyler's Grandma Hayes (who grew up in Grantsville, not far from the Saltair)told some great, funny stories about going to dances there when she was young. I loved reading how they danced to live orchestras would hide in the bathroom from the Grantsville boys until the Tooele boys got there:) And Tyler swears he remembers going down a huge water slide there when he was little. The stories intrigued me, and because I'm a dork, I looked it up. The Saltair has a pretty interesting history. I would love to have seen it in its heyday. Anyway, if you're also a dork you can check it out here or here

Wading in the lake with the Saltair in the background.

While I just adore posting such a lovely picture of myself, this was the only one that shows the amazing view across the lake. The only camera we had with us was the one on Tyler's phone, so I'd say not bad:)