Fishing, fireworks, and what not

We went out fishing for the 4th. Rueben found this cool lake full of fishies. Sam took his Scooby Doo fishing pole and we used hotdog for bait. As soon as he casted he snagged a fish. So proud of him.
Our friends. They kept going after the bait once it was in the water.

Hey, how you doing?

Reeling like a pro.

Proudly showing off his first catch. He kept saying "let's take it home so I can eat it".

The bait. This hornet was going crazy stinging the hotdog over and over. Rueben finally cut it in half. Surprisingly, it survived and crawled away, hurled itself onto the lake where it met death in the form of a fish.

So it rained in the evening and we didn't feel like driving 15 miles to see fireworks. We bought some from Sam's and had our own little show in front of our house. It was very much to our surprise that Isabelle did not like the firecrackers at all. She didn't want to be part of the festivities. Apparently there is something she is afraid about.

"all done!" We took pity on her and took her inside.

"Is it dark enough?"


Isa on the couch watching TV while we watched the fireworks outside. She would not come out.

Yes, my boy is silly. Wearing his PJ's and his cowboy hat. Loving the firework show put on by daddy.

Utah fun

At Fat Cats riding the bumper cars.

I don't know who was having more fun.

Making it work.

The water fountains at the Union Station. Both like to pretend that they are trains. Sam will actually roll his arm around when he is walking. Come to think of it, he does it everytime he walks. It's his strut. Choo Choo!

My son is amazing.

Isa doesn't fall short behind her brother. Everything he does, she wants to do. The only thing that scares me is that she has absolutely no fear.

This is before getting all dirty and clothes coming off.

Missing 1/4 of the mix. Enjoying the scenery and playing musical chairs inside the FrontRunner.

Stay off the sidewalks! Crazy Utah driver behind the wheel.

I'm sure when he does this for real, gas will be $15 a gallon.

Row, Row, Row your boat....

Isa flying away.

Being part of the flight team.

Let's build something.

After getting over his fear of the pain, Sam wore this earring for half the day.

Our little outdoor girl. She takes after her father. As soon as she's outside, she wants her shoes off and she wants to roll in the dirt. She is more outdoorsy than Sam and definitely not afraid to get dirty. I've learned to just let it be and not fight it. Clothes can be washed. She was so excited for the stream.

Even though they fight like cats and dogs, they don't like being away from each other. Sam is an excellent older brother and is very protective of Isa.

Climbing trees is so much fun.

All the kids minus Grace and Gavin.

Juls getting his feet wet.

Awesome friends Tina and Jenn. To think that it was just us to begin with. We are well overpowered now, but I am sure we wouldn't want to have it any other way. All of our kids are great.

Feeding the ducks at Beus Pond. Having a good time.

Lucky to have grandparents

Our children are very fortunate to have such wonderful grandparents. They are fun, loving, giving, and just exeptional people. Sam's favorite thing about visiting Utah was spending time with all of his grandparents. And even though I didn't catch a picture of Nana and grandpa Steve, I know that Sam had a wonderful time at the movies. He kept talking about the games he played at the mall. We'll see you all in December.

Out fishing for trout at the fish farm. Sam caught his first fish there. Grandma also had a great time.
Like father, like son.
Sam was excited to take his fish home.

Adorable.

Grandma and her girl.

Both Sam and Isabelle had a wonderful time at grandpa Wayne's house. This is their first miniature horseback ride. They didn't go anywhere, but their smiles travelled far. Thank you grandpa Wayne. We are lucky to have you in our lives.

Our trip on the FrontRunner. It took us about an hour to get from Ogden to SLC. It was a lot of fun. Sam says his favorite was riding the Trax once we were in SLC.
"We are going fast"

Grandparents equals happy children. Sam is constantly reminding me that he wants to live in Ogden because he misses his grandparents.

The saddle that will be used on the horse next time we visit. Even though the kids think grandpa did an excellent job being the "horse".
Much lighter load.

Sam and the super soaker.