One of our summer traditions is a vacation to Provo, Utah. This year we spent 10 days enjoying Utah’s incredible summer weather. It is absolutely gorgeous there in the summertime. We were there the first few days with just our family and then my sister Mindie and her family came to stay with us the remaining days. We enjoy this trip together and the kids love to have their cousin with them.
Here is a little recap of some of the fun things we did.
This was a first for us. We have been waiting until our littler ones could do this hike on their own. It is a pretty steep trail up to the “Y”. But we did it. The weather was a little warm at first but just as we were starting to second-guess ourselves an enormous rain cloud moved our direction covering the direct sun. It was so much better after that. I was very proud of our little kids for sticking it out and not giving up. Jaden who is the most physically fit in our family jogged most of the way up leaving us in the dust. He waited on the “Y” for us timing how much quicker he had gotten there. Once we had all made it to the top we sat and looked out over the city, pointing out different landmarks that were familiar to us. And that enormous rain cloud broke and it rained and rained. It felt sooo good. I love the warm summer rain. We were all so hot and that rain felt so good. All in all it was a good day.
One of the highlights for us while we are in Provo is visiting the Trapnell Family. They always treat us so good and we love seeing them. On Sunday they invited us over for dinner, homemade ice cream and of course a game of Settlers. There kids have grown so much and we wish we could see them more often. They have got to be some of the cutest kids on the planet. We were thrilled to hear that baby number 3 was on the way. We feel very lucky to have such great friends.
Later in the week we were able to go to our traditional dinner at Carabba’s together with no kids. We also had to make yet another stop at the Creamery. We just have a fun time with them. I haven’t laughed as much as I did with them in a long time. They are so fun and nice. We just Love them.
Jason and I have very fond memories of the skating rink. We both loved roller-skating while we were growing up and have many great memories together of that time. We thought it would be fun to take the kids to a roller skating rink while we were on our trip. It has been years since either of us has skated and Jaden is our only child who has ever skated. It was a funny experience. Troy was a natural and the girls could hardly get past laughing to really learn. They fell everywhere. But at least they laughed it off instead of crying. The neat thing about the rink we went to was they have 2 giant bounce houses in the middle of the rink. So when the kids had skated all they wanted they jumped in the bounce houses while Jason, Jaden and I skated. We had a blast and decided we need to skate more often. I was certainly rusty but was getter better by the end. Jaden and I had several races and he beat me every time. I don’t think he believed me that I was a very good and fast skater back in my day. I wish I could have raced him then.
We took the scenic route up the canyon and over to Park City. I hadn’t been there since I was a teen and Jason had never been. It is a cute quaint town. We enjoyed walking around and peeking in the fun shops. Of course the highlight was the rides down the Alpine Slide. It was just like I remembered. We had an absolute ball. Everyone LOVED it. We arrived in the late afternoon so we didn’t have a lot of time. Next time we will go earlier so we can spend most of the day there. There is a lot to do.
On our drive to Park City we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls. We also added that to our list to spend more time at. Next year we would like to hike to the top of the falls.
A stay in Provo would not be complete without a game of bowling at the Wilkinson Center. We always enjoy the trips there. We are not the best bowlers but we do have a fun time.
Another staple for us are the trips to the Creamery. We enjoy walking to the Creamery on 9th for the most delicious ice cream. We loose track of how many times we stop. We do walk when we go, so that helps right??
This hike has been the longest hike we have done. It has a 1,065 foot gain in elevation from the start of the trail to the end. It is also 3.5 miles long. Once we were at the top we went on the cave tour. That was incredible. I would highly recommend going. The caves are very cool and give you a chance to cool off while seeing some incredible formations. Everyone did a great job climbing the mountain and slept very well that night.
While we were in the American Fork Canyon we stopped for a picnic dinner at one of the picnic areas. The weather was so nice and the river came right along the site. The kids enjoyed putting their feet in the cold water and trying to skip rocks. It was a nice chance for Jason and I to sit back and relax while watching them play.
We saw a lot of movies while in Provo. The whole family went to the theater to see Toy Story 3 in 3D and also Despicable ME. They were both great movies. It was the first time the kids had watched a movie in 3D. They thought it was pretty cool. Me and Jason were also able to have a kids free date night and went to see Date Night. Then all the boys both big and little went to go see Iron Man 2.
Our favorite way to end the night is with a trip to one of the many great Utah parks. Just about every night we drive or walk to a park and let everyone finish getting their energy out. There are parks everywhere. The kids love to play on the playgrounds, roll down the grassy hills, play frisbee, throw around the football, play track ball and just run around. Jason and Jaden were also able to get in a few games of tennis. The park is always a perfect way to end the night.
This day concluded our picture taking. We accidentally got our camera wet and it broke. I was so sad. We keep it in a waterproof case so that we can have it with us when we want to take a picture. Well somehow the case came open while we were going down a ride and it was totally submerged in water. We had a great day otherwise.
The Sarah and Tyler Barlow family met up with us for the water park day. They were staying the night in Provo while on their way to Idaho for a family reunion.
This year was different for us. We were at the park from opening to closing. It was the first year that all of our kids could hang that long. And it was the first year that we allowed Jaden to go off on his own. He and Mackenzie Barlow paired up and went on every single water slide. Even the very scary straight down ones. He enjoyed the extra freedom and had a great time with Kenzie.
Cloey enjoyed another year of dance with Mrs. Lori. What a wonderful teacher she is. We have been so lucky to have her as Cloey’s teacher. A few days before the Big Show, Mrs. Lori had a brain aneurysm and was unable to attend the recital that she had worked soo hard on. Luckily Lori was able to get quick medical attention and has recovered remarkably well. She was very much missed at the show but was insistent that the show go on. Cloey enjoyed being on the big stage. She is usually very shy in those types of settings but is getting more and more comfortable. She is definitely our beautiful ballerina.
This has been a while ago. In May Jaden received his Arrow of Light, which is the highest Cub Scout achievement. We are very proud of him and his diligence in completing this goal. Jaden has really enjoyed his Cub Scout years. We feel very blessed and are grateful for the remarkable leaders that Jaden has had.
This was a fun short hike our family enjoyed. The whole thing is paved and so we learned that it would be a fun place to bring bicycles. It goes by a swamp area and occasionally when the wind is blowing you get some of that smell which isn’t very nice. It was a good place to let the kids run and get some energy out.
One of the things I love and appreciate about both of my girls in their IMAGINATION. They come up with the silliest, funniest, craziest, cutest, creative and some times weird stuff. They both know how to have a good time and make ordinary things become incredible things.
Lately they have been into writing plays. Their latest production was “The Princess Frog”.
These pictures are also of them pretending to be Indians, chanting for the rain to come one cloudy afternoon. Boy were they loud!
