We had so many activities planned for Labor Day Weekend. It seems like when we go to Cache Valley, we always pack alot of things into a short amount of time. I am not complaining because it is always fun to get together and do fun things with the family.
On Friday night, Alpine had a pool party at Logan Aquatic Center. They served dinner at 6:30. Bryce helped grill hamburgers over a grill that literally seared the hair off his arms and I helped by stirring the beans. They served hot dogs, burgers, beans, salad, chips, potato salad, cookies, brownies, ice cream, and drinks. The food was great and it was fun to see a few old Alpine friends! After dinner, the boys and Bryce went swimming at the pool. A storm moved in that evening so it had been rainy and windy. I was cold out of the water, so I was not going to get in the water! Good thing Bryce was a good sport...he went down the water slide with Clayton once and then Clayton was done.
I knew that we were supposed to get storms on Saturday, so all week I was worried that we wouldn't be able to go on our four wheeling ride. On Saturday early morning, a storm passed through and dumped quite a bit of rain. When we got up, it was clear blue skies and the temperature was perfect. We headed out to Hardware Ranch. We unloaded our wheelers at 11 and took off on the trail.
This was definitely one of my most favorite rides. It was an easy ride and it had some of everything. We mostly climbed through Aspens and Pine Trees. It was beautiful as we went up the mountain. The trail would wind up and down through the trees. We also went by Bug Lake and then wrapped around some cliffs and caves. It was a 40 mile ride round trip.
It was almost a perfect ride because....A. The temperature was perfect. I wore a long sleeved t-shirt but I wasn't too cold or too hot. I love riding when its just a little cool outside. B. Because it rained that morning, there was almost no dust. In fact we rode on muddy trails on the way up and they were dry by the time we got back. C. I was with my family and we were having a great time together!
We noticed that it was starting to get really dark over in the valley, so we hurried back to the trucks, loaded the wheelers, and got into our trucks just as it started to down pour. What perfect timing! We headed back to the Douglas to get washed up and relax before we were on to the next adventure.
On Saturday night, we went to a trampoline park called the "Jump Zone". Everyone had a great time. I enjoyed watching Clayton and Cooper get a little more brave as they would jump into the pit. Cooper started doing front flips, which surprised me. He did a great job! The nieces were trying to be nice and tossed Clayton into a pit and his head over corrected and he bruised his sternum. He still had a good time!
We played dodge ball with Bryce, Britt, Steph, Jaden, Ty, Shay, and Kylee. It was a lot of fun until the crazy employee would try to help the losing team. He would blast the balls at us. Brittney and I got nailed in the face and Shaylee got hit in the chest. I wanted to attack that man! When we were getting ready to leave, Britt and Kylee Hellstern through Jocie in the pit and would let her out. They rubbed the foam bricks on her hair and kept jumping so she couldn't get out!
On Sunday, our family went to church with Bruce, Tara, and Hunter. After church, we relaxed and Clayton took a nap. We had lunch over at Steph and Paul's at 5 pm. Jacqui and Jared came up to spend the night their also. We played cards and watched a movie that night.
On Labor Day, I got up and ran about 3 miles over to Chris and Michelle's house. They live up Smithfield Canyon and they host a breakfast every Labor Day that is open to everyone. They serve eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy, pastries, and drinks. They always have hundreds of people show up and some of the Alpine employees help cook the breakfast. This was the second year that I ran to the breakfast. It makes me feel better about eating a big breakfast when I know that I actually ran to get there!
As soon as the breakfast was over, we took the kids home and got them changed into their swimsuits so we could go to the lake with the Merrills. The water levels are low right now, so we went boating up in Idaho to Oneida Reservoir. Cooper decided to stay with Jaxson and Reese came with us. The lake was perfect for the hour.
Clayton hung out with Brittney for most of the boat ride. At one point, he decided to get into the water with Bryce and I, but the water was chilly. He didn't stay in for very long. Bryce waked board for a while and he did a great job. He also surfed behind the boat. This is a hard skill to learn. You have to be in the right spot behind the boat and you have to make sure your weight is distributed just right on the board. It was so much fun. I tried it for a few minutes but it made my back thigh cramp up so bad. I was probably doing it wrong, but I was able to let go of the rope and stay behind the boat for about 15 seconds!
After we all finished the surfing and wakeboarding, they took some of the kids out on the tube. Clayton had a good time with Britt, Reese, and Addey. He was actually pretty adventerous this day. Last time we went boating, he wanted to get off the boat right away. He just sat with Britt most of the time and ate licorice, grapes, and pringles.
Up at Oneida Reservoir, there are some "hot pots" that flow into the lake and into some locally owned pools. The kids spent about 30 minutes in the warm pools. Clayton really enjoyed this because the water was so warm. I think it helped him settle down for a nap, because as soon as he got in the truck, he was asleep!
We had such a fun weekend with all of our family!
