Florida Part #1

I had zero input into the decision of where to take our family vacation this year. Brandon told me months and months ago that he thought it would be fun to take the boys to Universal Studios in Florida. I think going there has been on his mind for a couple of years.

This year was the year to go. The week we left, we were frantically finishing up our school year so we didn't have to pack any of it along with us. On our last day, we met up with one of our new home school friends (whose last name is also Thomas - so cool), and played at the park for a few hours. It was glorious.

The next morning we were up bright and early. We had to leave our house by 7am, and we made it with a few seconds to spare. The boys were so excited that they were both awake before Brandon and I were. It was very nice to fly out on a Saturday because we didn't have any traffic problems. Normally at that time in the morning it would be a bit crowded driving up to SLC.

We always park our car at the Diamond Airport Parking Lot and then have them shuttle us over to the flight. The boys were so chatty with the driver. He was so nice, as they typically are. We did have to wait a bit for the flight to start boarding. So, we kept ourselves occupied by going up and down the escalators. Plus, doing a lot of waiting around. A typical travel day for sure (hurry up, wait, hurry up, wait).

Once we boarded we made the mistake of letting the boys sit next to each other with mommy on the end. It was 4 long hours. Thank goodness for electronics!

The landing was uneventful and we were so thankful to have finally arrived. Luke had done a #2 on the plane and he never told me about it. So....we got to spend a good amount of time in the family bathroom cleaning him up. Thank goodness I had thought to have him carry all his clothes for the trip in his carry on. I seriously wonder when we will get over having accidents. Ugh. This is a picture of him and the bathroom we used right behind him. Seriously, I was so thankful it was so close to our gate and that nobody else was using it.

We had a shuttle come and pick us up and take us right to the hotel. It was so nice that it took only 20 minutes to get to the hotel. After a 4 hour flight (plus dealing with the time change), we were ready to be done for the day. Then, we took the hotels walking path to the dining/shopping area of Universal and ate dinner at Burger King. This was a snapshot I took of us all together. I think it was the only one we got the entire trip.

We then went back to the hotel room and I finished unpacking (it's my first priority after unlocking the hotel room door). Then it was bath and bedtime. We were so excited for what tomorrow would hold for us all.

Pinewood Derby #1

This past week was Peter's first pinewood derby. This whole scout thing has been quite and adventure and Peter is loving every minute of it. His best friends mom is his leader which really helps. Peter took his car to Grandpa Thomas' where they cut it out and sanded it.

Then we took it home, and slowly worked on sanding it more, painting it, and adding weight. It was really nice because the kitchen scale we have is the one they always ask to borrow to weigh the cars. So, we were able to add the weight before the official weigh in. Super nice. 

Peter had an incredibly fun time. Brandon went with him while I stayed at home with Luke (who has been battling a cold). They were gone for an hour and a half. I guess the boys were all having such a great time that nobody wanted to come home. Peter was an achievement for the car that looked like it could do the most damage.

Fun Family Hike

This past Saturday I told Brandon we should get out of the house and do something outdoors. So, we took the boys up Mapleton canyon and went on a fun little hike. It was perfect for the boys - not to hard and not too easy. The day was absolutely beautiful and it was only chilly enough for a light jacket. The boys seem to open up and chit chat so much when we are out in nature. I love it!

There has been a lot of snow this past year and the spring runoff shows it. this stream is typically just a small trickle. 

Peter brought his camera along to take some shots for his photography class. I love this picture so much. He has loved learning about rocks the past month in school and he wanted to make sure he got a good shot of sedimentary rocks. Love it!

They have a few cute benches made out of logs and this one came at the perfect spot. Luke was trying to rub two sticks together so he could make fire. It was hilarious. Papa told us all about the correct way of starting a fire. We decided we need to try the string method really soon. Like I said, these boys really get chatty when they are away from the house out in nature.

We call this spot of rocks the craggy place. They of course are metamorphic rocks. Both of the boys wanted to pose for me. Seriously, they are hilarious.

We spent about an hour and a half just walking around. When we came home we found on that one of the two trails takes you up to Maple lakes. That would be an awesome hike. It's about 4 miles one way.....so we might have to wait a few years until we are all up to that.