On July 4th, I woke up at 9 am and Clayton and I headed to the grocery store. We came back to Steph's, where I decided to make "monkey bread" for breakfast. You make monkey bread by taking uncooked biscuits and fill them with a small cube of cream cheese, and a mixture of cinammon and sugar. After you seal them, you put them in a bundt pan and pour a butter-brown sugar mixture over them and bake them for 30 minutes. They are extremely healthy (not) but they taste good.
By the time everyone woke up at 11:30, the monkey bread was ready to serve. Steph decided to try some "Daily Bread" scrambled eggs and bacon. They were just fine, though the kids didn't like them.
We decided that we would head over to 1st dam up Logan Canyon and let the kids play for a while. We took some muffins to feed the ducks, but they didn't want any food. There was lots of bread crumbs floating in the water so they must have been over fed by everyone. We went over to the bridge to check the river. Jaden kept spraying everyone with his water gun and was asked repeatedly to stop. Finally, I chased him down, turned him upside down and gave him a nice cold dip into the river. He was happy with me to say the least!
Later that day, all the adults went into Cafe Sabor to eat dinner and celebrate the 4th of July by eating Mexican food. The food was great but it was so nice to visit with everyonce and just relax without our children. After dinner, we headed out to Jocelynn and Kyle's to let the kids play and to roast marshmellows over a fire.
It was gorgeous out in Paradise. The hillsides were bright green and sunset was perfect as it set over the Wellsville Mountains. I tried to capture some pictures but they don't do the "real thing" justice. The kids enjoyed swinging, jumping on the tramp, and eating sticky smores!
Later when it was dark, we headed over to the park and lit some of our own fireworks. The kids thought they were awesome, but some of them were loud and scared Landry and Landon. We went into Hyrum to see the firework show. Clayton would clap every time a firework went up in the air. He would also squeal. Cooper ran around with his cousins. It was such a fun weekend and it was packed with so many events. We were exhausted when we got home, but it was definately worth it. Clayton is still trying to recover. He has been taking long naps!
Well, the week before his bday, I started thinking about a TV. We love to relax most nights in front of the TV, so a TV would be a good investment. I switched my plans and ended up getting him 47" Vizio. The morning of his bday, Jordan (my friend across the street) and Jacqui helped me change my natural oak dressor into a black distressed oak dressor. It turned out looking so nice. We changed the living room around and reorganized all the furniture.
When Bryce came home from work, he went to his room to change for dinner and a movie (Captain America). When he came out, I asked him if he would go downstairs and turn off the TV. When he got down there, he was pleasantly surprised. He just kept telling me I was crazy. I think I really shocked him!
Clayton and Cooper had a great time looking at all the planes and different aircraft. Some of the helicopters and planes were so big that its crazy to think those things could get up in the air. The kids education center was closed, so that was a bummer.
After we finished looking at all the planes, we went outside and the boys enjoyed a nice, cold snowie. We have been living on them this summer. The boys think they are so good. Clayton would not let anyone help him eat his snowie. He had to do it all by himself!
Later that evening, mom and dad took Cooper on a date. First they went to Arby's for Cooper's favorite roast beef sandwich and then they headed to the Kaysville Theater to watch Mr. Poppers Penguins. Mom said Cooper loved the movie and that he also told them it was a special night for him to be able to spend time with them.
Clayton was so excited about the ride. Every time we would stop, he was trying to get us to go again. He also likes to turn the key ON for us when we are about to start it up. He could ride on that thing all day, if we would let him. In fact, he was very distraught when we loaded them on the trailer to head home.
The ride was beautiful. It is still so green up there and the flowers and trees are so pretty. The only thing that was difficult was the dirt flying up. We had to stay back from each other, so we didn't eat dirt the whole time.
There were a few scary moments. Cooper and I almost tipped. There were some really deep ruts and I was trying to straddle them with my machine, but obviously didn't do a good job, and two tires came off the ground. I was a little nervous, but Jared and Roger helped me get back on the trail safely.
We stopped a couple of times to let the kids run around for a few minutes. We were all covered in dirt. The kids had a fun time. We finally made it to the top of one of the trails and it overlooked Pine View Lake. It was gorgeous up there but the wind blew like crazy. 
We went on quite a few hikes with the kids. They found lots of walking sticks and they really enjoyed the hikes. I am not really a hiker, but it was alot cooler up the mountain and in the trees so I went along with the kids. 
Clayton and Landon spent lots of time playing in the dirt and gravel. I brought up some monster trucks for them and they had a blast getting dirty! Cooper, Reese and Jaxson made a little fort and had a good time playing in the trees. 
Cooper got really good at driving the 4-wheeler. WE went on many rides together and I would try to teach him about the importance of being safe on a four wheeler. He did a great job!
On Saturday, we pulled the trailer and the four-wheelers up to our spot and then got things set up and organized by 1. We ate lunch and then took a little ride down to the creek to let the kids play and cool down. Cooper, Reese, and Jaxson had a great time exploring down the creek bed. The rocks were slippery, but the water wasn't deep at all.
Landon and Clayton spent their time throwing rocks into the water. The water wasn't too cold and I even hung the kids up side down and dipped their heads in the water. It was a perfect spot to have a little shade and let the kids play in the water.
Later that night, Bekka and Ryan came up to eat dinner with us and hang out. The men went and gathered firewood and we started roasting hotdogs over the fire for the kids. Dinner was great. For some reason, it doesn't matter what you are eating, the food is always good when you are camping. The roasted hotdogs hit the spot and Bekka surprised us with some awesome 5 layer dip, a cheese ball, and cookies!
At 8 pm, Bryce set up his projector and screen to put a movie on for the kids. Then all the guys took off on the 4-wheelers and headed up to Inspiration Point. I wasn't thrilled that they decided to ride up there in the dark, but they made it back safely and they had a great time!
We spent most of Saturday on the 4-wheelers with the boys! Clayton wanted to be on it the entire day! He looked so cute in his little bike helmet. If Bryce or I took one of our hands off the handle bar, he would motion for us to put it back on!
While we were cleaning up from dinner, Reese and Cooper thought it would be funny to cover themselves completely in dirt. When they came around the corner, they started laughing and they looked like aboriginees! I had to take them up the spring (snow runoff and freezing) to wash them off before bed.
We were also able to spend a few days over in Wellsville with mom and grandma and grandpa. The kids had a great time on the farm. Clayton and Cooper helped grandpa bottle feed a little calf. Clayton enjoyed filling up the trash pail with water for the cows. Uncle Clair took Cooper on a 4-wheeler ride up to the ranch to make sure the cows were still there!
It has been nice to spend time with mom. We stayed two nights in the trailer with her right outside of grandma's house. The kids love her and she is so loving and kind to them. It was good to let them have that one on one time with her. We took the kids down to willow park one day to eat lunch, play on the slides, and visit the zoo. Cooper's favorite animals were the monkeys and Clayton liked the ducks and birds.
July 19th marked the 2 year mark that my Uncle Lynn passed away from a battle with cancer. That morning we took flowers up to his grave and then met all the ladies at Copper mill for a yummy lunch. Mom doesn't get many opportunities like that, so it was very special for all of us. I just really love my extended family and I am thankful that I have a good relationship with each of them!
Last weekend, Mom watched the boys so Bryce and I could go on a 4-wheeler ride. We headed up Logan Canyon and then turned off at Temple Fork. In the 1800's, the mormon pioneers would go up this canyon to get lumber and rock to use on the Logan Temple. It was such a beautiful canyon. 
I really enjoyed this ride because it was slow and there was climbing involved. We went up rocky hills, in and out of pine and aspen trees, out through the bright yellow flowers, and way up to what felt like the top of the world. The weather was perfect.
We stopped at Temple Peak to eat lunch and the view was gorgeous. With all the moisture we have had this year, the grass and plants are so green. There is still snow on the mountains and we ran into a little snow here and there. At one point, we were overlooking the south part of Bear Lake. It's amazing how much ground you can cover in a short amount of time on a wheeler.
We stopped quite a bit along the way to take pictures or look at the beautiful scenery. Bryce's dad worked for the forest service for many years so he knew the "in's" and "out's" of Logan Canyon. At one point we stopped a fresh spring where we cleaned all the dirt off our hands, arms, and faces. The water was so refreshing and cold!
This was probably one of my favorite rides. It took us 4 hours exactly to finish the ride. The last half hour was riding on a gravel road and I didn't really care for that, but all in all, it was a great ride! We went with Roger, Sheridan, Bruce and Hunter. Marilyn got sick and couldn't make it. It was fun company and everyone had a fun and safe ride!
Cooper and Clayton had a blast in the lazy river. Cooper could touch the bottom so he would just hop in and off he would go! It had a small current to it, which made it more exciting. Our table was located right in the middle of the lazy river, so we would take pictures of Cooper everytime he floated by...sometimes he was on a tube and other times he was snorkeling!
Clayton had fun in the Pirates Cove. He thought the pirate ship was pretty neat. He also loves going down the big slides. I would put him on my lap and then we would cruise down on a mat. I thought he would be scared because it was kind of fast, but as soon as we got out, he was ready to go again....such an adventurous little guy!
We had a dinner appointment with some friends at 6, so I was in a hurry to get showered and cleaned up. So I grabbed my stuff, headed into the shower, and started the water. I stayed in my swimsuit and had just poured some shampoo in my hand, when I glanced over to the mirror and noticed a young teenager BOY washing his hands...it was then that I realized I was in the Mens Bathroom! I grabbed my towel, covered my head and ran out of their as quickly as I could...its was then that I noticed the urinals on my left! Didn't see them when I walked in! Anyway, needless to say, I was embarrassed and hoped that no one saw me!
