States, Stats, and This and That.

My heavens, we are back!! Finally! It was fun but man I'm so glad to be back to my house, my space, my things,my mess. Here is a recap of our vacation.

We left home early... ok, at a good time and headed out. After 2 hours we stopped for breakfast and about 6 hours later we made it to Nevada.

*For those that don't know, the state line for Nevada is crossing the Hoover Dam. For what ever reason it was REALLY busy that day. This picture was taken while I was still in the car because traffic was so slow, due to all the people.

*Don't EVER try to find a gas station on the strip. Pointless!

Then it's a short drive through Arizona.

I think we were only in the top corner of Arizona for about 30 miles... nothing exciting happen during this time.

After that we were in Utah.
*We spent 3 weeks in Utah with friends and family.

(Now at this point if you are wondering YES, I took all these pictures. Stopped on the road and took them. I have a great camera and was able to enlarge them with out it being to blurry.) (Now I also know my dad is shaking his head at this)

*The boys got to help wash Grandma and Grandpa's Harley's, boy that was a highlight for them!

*We spent the 4th of July with the Hunsakers, and James loved the fireworks.

*We enjoyed time with Steve's family for a reunion.

*More time with family, and friends. We got to enjoyed a trip to the temple.

Then one Thursday morning we got up and started our trek out to see Steve.

*Because we got up so early we stopped for breakfast. I packed some stuff for us to eat at a rest stop. Well the one that we stopped at had a little playground!! GENIUS! So the boys got to play for a bit. And we saw buffalo!

*Wyoming is a whole lot of nothing, and the roads are very straight, and the signs that tell you how far you have to go, they are no where to be seen!

*Don't speed in Laramie, Wyoming the tickets are VERY expensive. Yes I got a ticket. (my dad, again shaking his head)

That takes us to Nebraska.

*So because we were making good time (speeding again?) I decided that we'ld meet Steve in Omaha. So we drove all the way across Wyoming and Nebraska in one day.

*The Highway Patrol are around and alert here too. (I know dad!) I only got a warning this time for swerving. In my defence I swerved because Tommy shrieked. do you want to know about what? A bug? No. James did something? Nope. He dropped his raisins!!

*I got lost in Omaha. What a joy that was.

*The PayPal building is in Omaha. (just if you wanted to know)

So the next day we caravaned to Missouri, but before that we go through Iowa.

We were in Iowa for about an hour. Fortunately no tickets here.

Ok, so we made it to Missouri!

(boring sign)

After spending the night in Omaha with Steve, it was nice coming to a bigger hotel room.

*We had tons of fun with Steve, and the boys just couldn't get enough of him.

*We went to a children's museum, had Family Home Evening, and lots of other things.

*We decided that we didn't like the Kansas City Zoo.

*We found a way to have more privacy in a hotel room with 3 boys.

*And we went to see some of the Church history in the area. (if you didn't get a chance to see this post take a look)

*The freeways in Missouri are like someone though spaghetti at a map and said..."Hey that looks good, let's build the roads there" No logic what so ever.

Unfortunately we were only able to stay a week, so here we go again. Back in the car to set out again. Hop skip and a jump later, we were in Kansas.

*Kansas is a big state and it took us a long time to cross it.

*Just so everyone knows there is a little town in Kansas called Liberal and as you are driving down the main road through town (that is a whole mile and a half of it) the speed limit is 30mph. Want to know how I know this.... the officer told me! (My heavens! I had to get out and see if someone put a sign on my car that said "Look at me.... I'm probably speeding") The cruse control and I became best friends after this. Fortunately the officer just told me to slow down.

*Every city in Kansas claims they are the one in Wizard of Oz

Next stop...

*There is a road in Oklahoma called 'Bazaar Cattle Crossing' Did nobody think this through?

*We stopped for the night in Guymon Oklahoma which smelled like stinky shoes.

*I'm boycotting (and would like all of you to do the same) the Taco Bell in Guymon. The service was horrible, and I won't be going back.

*Even though the service was bad at Taco Bell, we met a guy who was on cross county motorcycle ride and let the boys sit on his bike. The boys told him all about grandma and grandpa's motorcycles.

We left bright and early and made it to Texas in no time.

*Not a whole lot went on here (fortunately). Just drove right on through.

On too..

*Got stuck in traffic.

*There is a city in New Mexico called (are you ready) Truth or Consequences. I'm serious. Wouldn't you love to live in that city?

So that would bring us too...

HOME!!!!

We made it in one piece. Over 3,000 miles of the road. The boys were great, and did a great job in the car.

Here are a few random stats about our trip.

One or both boys peed on the highway of 9 out of 11 states that we went through. (Aren't boys great!) Tommy loved swaying in the wind telling me that he was making mud.

I can do 61 butt flexes in a mile going 75 miles an hour.

It takes 78 miles to listen to "My Turn on Earth" all the way through.

Wendy's is definitely better than McDonald's.

Missouri was the only state that when they had a "Men at Work" sign, they were really working.

We listen to an Omaha radio station 120 miles away from Omaha.

Got pulled over 3 times, one ticket, two warnings, only one was written up.

We now get counting down the days before Steve has some leave to fly out to Arizona. He'll be shipped out not long after that. Then it's one year "boots in country"

So that was our trip in a nutshell... Hope you enjoyed.

Onward ever onward...

So on the Sunday that we were here in Missouri we found a church that started fairly early so we could go see some church history sites. We were at church by 9:30 and warmly welcomed by everyone. Getting to know these people for just a short time I found them to truly be so generous and kind. Going to church in an area where it's not prominent is a very humbling experience.

After church we went to see the different sites that were in the area. First there was the grave site of Oliver Cowdery. I have a lot of respect for this man along with Martin Harris, and David Whitmer. Oliver Cowdery was the "first person baptized", and "died firm in the faith."

Now at this point I need to tell you about a new friend that Steve picked up. She's a New Zealander and we like to call her tomtom. She was the navigator that day. After we saw the grave site we went out to Farr West to see the corner stones that were laid for the temple. Following our trusty navigator we soon found ourselves off the paved road, and on a dirt one! Oh, I'ld say for about 8 miles, we found the temple ground (and the paved road right in front of it.)

One of the many dirt roads that we traveled that day.

Here is a story about the this temple site in Farr West, a farmer owned this land for many years before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints bought it. And this farmer, every year broke his plow blades on the corner stones, and every year he made the comment that he needed to "pull up those rocks" but he never did. It was really neat standing there and seeing these huge rocks placed perfectly in the ground, and perfectly spaced. And knowing that they had to bring these stones a long way to get them to Farr West. (I didn't see any other rocks any where)

The boys and I at Farr West.

After Farr West we went on to Adam-Ondi-Ahman. We decided to follow the sign, but there was only one so we look toward our good friend tomtom and before we knew it we were back on the dirt roads. (what better way to see the back woods of Missouri?)

We made it to Adam-Ondi-Ahman and had a chance to just take it all in. It is really beautiful! And very amazing! HERE is a link to know more about Adam-Ondi-Ahmen. I took some pictures here that turned out really good! For me it's so humbling to stand in a place that Joesph Smith stood in, and to see what he saw. There is some fields that are being used but for the most part is untouched and amazing!

Tim in the trees

Tommy was just sitting and I asked him what he was doing. He said, "Oh, just looking at the lizard" I couldn't see one so I said oh ok... Well sure enough there was a lizard in the tree.

Look at this picture that I got of James and Steve.... PRICELESS!!

In the words of Tommy... "Families are Forever, huh mom?!"

We decided to call it a day after that, and went looking for the highway, but take a guess at what we found??? Yup, more dirt roads! Now my take on this is that our wonderful new friend got tired of having to "re-calculate" after decided to go another way, I think she was purposely taking us out of the way and onto the dirt roads. But now I can say that I really experienced (west) Missouri. Another funny thing... you always know when you get to a church site because everything is granite and black iron and all the signs are the same. I guess it's some comfort to know where you are when you see this familiar sight.

On Thursday I took the boys to see Liberty Jail. What another humbling place! Joseph Smith spent just about 5 months here in the winter time. An interesting thing about Liberty Jail is that after it was no longer a jail it was turned into an ice house! That's how cold it was in this basement jail! Joseph was imprisoned with 5 other men (one of which was Hyrum Smith) He received many revelations here and we have those in the Doctrine and Covenants. This is one of my favorite parts.

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes" (D&C 121:7-8)

What a sweet answer from the Lord to the prayer that Joseph gave. The boys weren't as enthusiastic as I was to see the Liberty Jail, but I really enjoyed it. The spirit was there and it made me think about my "trials." I think they are so hard, but they are nothing compared to what Joseph and his family endured. Even though these wonderful men are no longer living, my heart hurt for them and the pain and heartache they went through. These sacrifices were made so I could have the truth. What a precious gift they gave to me!! Original Key to the Liberty Jail.

This is mostly a replica of the original. So the only thing that is truly the original is the floor. But it feels real.

After seeing Steve seeing all the Church History was my favorite part. I can't even explain what I feel. More than anything just thankful. Thankful to the prophet and all that he endured so I can have the knowledge that I do. Thankful to the saints for not giving up. Thankful to my dad for being the "pioneer" in our family. Just Thankful!!

KC Zoo with 1,000,000% humidity!!!

On our last full day together we decided to go to the Kansas City Zoo. I love zoos, so does Steve and so do the boys, so we thought this would be a great thing and we would have tons of fun. Well..... the first hour and a half was fun, but after that it was MISERABLE!!! My heavens! I forgot that we are in Kansas City and the humidity was horrible! (Remember I'm from the dry heat... 100+ degrees? Bring it on!! Add even .5% humidity and you won't catch me even looking outside.) OK, so if it was just the humidity I could deal with it. But that wasn't all. The habitats were ok, but they only had two areas that were a half a mile apart from each other.

So we walked around the Australia area, saw some monkeys, tigers (in Australia?) red pandas, I was actually really excited about this. Camels, kangaroos, sheep, and birds (lots and lots of birds) We took a train ride and saw a construction area, grass lands and some wild scaffolding!

The red pandas. I think these animals are really cool.Feeding the sheep was a hit. (Maybe we should have gone to a farm!)
Waiting for the train to come, I'm not sure the reason for James' funny face.Look at that good looking man! How did I get so lucky?!

This bird is called the Lorkee, and it is really pretty! All the colors really fasinated Tim.

We should have stopped there because it just went down hill from there. We decided to take the half mile trek across the zoo to see what we thought would be some elephants and giraffes. Well apparently these animals are smart because they were no where to be found. So we called it quits and trekked back to the gate to get out. Encouraging James the whole way, just hoping to make it back before he melted.
We had fun because we were together but everyone was happy to leave. My take on the Kansas City Zoo..... I've been to better.

USP, Fort Leavenworth, and clever idea for more privacy

Ok, little known fact about me. I'm kinda obsessed with prisons. Never been to one, and I hope never to go. But I love learning about them, the history behind them and what kind of people go there. (I tried watching Prison Break but I thought it was kind of hokey) Anyway. I went to Fort Leavenworth and as we were leaving we drove by the State Penitentiary and so I flipped the car around so I could get a better look. The pictures aren't that great but it was really cool to see.

On Fort Leavenworth were some BEAUTIFUL homes. Now I know that these home are probably Officer housing, but hey, one can hope.

And you know when you get a hotel room and you and all the kids bunk up together.... well Steve and I have found a way to get a little more privacy..... we went to Walmart (because they are everywhere!!! Want to create a new city, build a Walmart) anyway, we went to the store and let the boys pick out some sheets. Then we tacked them on the wall to make a "fort" This way Tim sleeps for his naps because he can't see what is going on, and the boys are a little more separate from us (hey, we are only here for a week)

Who knew

Missouri had Church history sites but I never knew what else there was. (All the Church history stuff will be another post so you can look for that) And just so you all know.... most of this stuff is for my personal record. I love that you all read and post comments but that's why there so many pictures and so many posts.

So we got to Missouri on Friday and on Saturday we packed the kids up to go to a children's museum, after finding the wrong one and trying to remember the city we wanted to go (for the GPS) we found it. It was no where near The Children's Museum in Utah but it was fun.

The first room we went smelt like pee, so we'll just skip that one altogether. Then (once again) the boys wanted to spend time in a public restroom.... so I took Tim to the infant area.

I took the picture under him while he was smashing his face in the window.

In another area they had as there "Underwater Exploration" and all the stuff was built with Legos. It actually was pretty cool.

James and Tommy in their scuba gear, ready to go into the submarines

There was this other thing. I don't even know what it was called. But you put scarves or little balls in one end and it got sucked through the contraption and spit it out in another place. The boys (Steve included) had a great time with it!

Steve had a great time playing with the Legos, and building a plane.

All the boys playing with Legos, not exactly sure what is up with Tim
Steve with his plane.

And the finished product. It was quickly dismantled by the other little boys who was waiting for all the parts that were on Steve's plane.

There was lots of other rooms but the favorite, by far was the ball room. There had to be at least two hundred golf balls. Then there was lot of things to rolls the balls down.

Tim had the most fun just filling the buckets and dumping them out.

(Sunday we did church history and you'll get the great story later)

So Monday the I thought, hummmm we'll go to the park. So I plugged park into the GPS and up came a bunch. So I picked one and we drove to it.... It was a grass field!! That was the same as the next THREE that we went to!!! I could not believe it... Welcome to the Midwest.

Family Home Evening was filled with a lesson of "loving our brothers" (which Tommy has finally decided that Tim is ok, some of the time) and Steve making balloon things for us to play with.

Tuesday we went to a place called Paradise Park. It was actually pretty fun. There was a ball pit. Now I know what you are thinking - ewwww gross! But they actually clean all the balls every three days and there is a target that you can throw the balls into and it goes into a machine that cleans the balls and then spits them back into the ball pit.

I loved the ball pits growing up and when you're little you don't think how disgusting they are. I'm glad that they boys got a chance to play in one.

My little construction workers.

There was tons of things to climb on, and a little cooking class for the boys

Tim thinking he's big enough to really climb. What ever makes him happy I guess.
James and Tommy making Spaceship cookies. Tim had a great time just playing in the sink and making a mess with water.

There was an area for pretend play. Tim ate the pretend food, and Tommy robbed the bank, as James was trying to be the bank teller.

Wednesday we did something for me. (Ok really all I wanted was the free gift) We went to the Hallmark factory. It was not that great, and if it wasn't for the free gift it would have been a total bust.

We went to a huge Crayola Store and the boys had a great time there (even though it wasn't anything special)

There was a display in the mall (which was across the street from the Hallmark factory) that was called Moneyville. The boys where able to make money with there face on it (they both picked the 1,000,000 bills). Tommy kept robbing the bank. (I hope this is not a sign of things to come)

After getting lost on the way home we finally made it, and as a great treat Steve was already home to greet us. What a long day!! (and week so far - here's to tomorrow!)

What did we do?

So what did we do in Utah? Oh my.... tons! Besides the Grammer family reunion, we were running around everywhere. We really didn't have a whole lot of down time. There is a lot of pictures, but we had so much fun and I wanted to add it all. So here we go....

Hanging out with family.

Anyone who knows my family would know that that one statement can mean a whole lot! My family is full of crazies, drama, and chaos. And every time I go back and visit I remember why I love my family so much. And now to add our kids into the mix makes it so fun. All the kids get along really well with each other.

Tommy showing off his floaties as we are getting in the pool to swim with our cousins
The boys back at Eliza's house eatting lunch.

Not sure what Tim is doing or what he is looking for...James and Grandpa hanging out.
Tim and Rozalin playing in the fountain. Tim was suppose to be born after Rozi, but he came early, and now he is probably twice the size of Rozi. She is so little and petite. She's really cute.

Two of my sister (Carolyn and Sariah) and I took the kids to Wheeler Farm to feed the ducks and have a picnic. My mom came later and thrilled all the kids with buying ice cream, and helping them all smoosh a penny for a souvenir.Here is the picture of all the kids by the bunnies, taking pictures of kids is hard, especially with so many things going on, you always have kids looking somewhere else.

While we were swimming with the cousins I told James he could sit on the steps while I blew up his floaties, well I guess he couldn't wait, an dhe jumped in. Thankfully Eliza was there and jumped in to grab James. I see swim lessons in his future!!! Very soon in his future!

What did we see.

So James really wanted to see the Mesa Temple. Well, it's three hours away from home so when Steve and I go we drive up, do a session, and drive home. So I figured the Salt Lake Temple would be a great stop. We went to Liberty Park for a picnic, and boy was it crowded! I guess the drum circle really drew people to it. After that we went to the temple and walked around the grounds. Our first stop though of course was the bathrooms, because my boys love to pee in public restrooms. After that we saw the Christas, and the artwork that is there. I'm going to totally give myself a pat on the back for this one.... As we were walking and looking at the picture James reconized most of the pictures on the walls. Like 'Samuel, the boy Prophet', 'Arbraham and Issac', 'Moses', among others. (He does listen to me.....)

James being cool as we are at Liberty parkAt the Christas with the boys.

Until you are there I think you forget how big the Salt Lake Temple is! It realy is so beautiful!! I"m glad we went. I think sometimes you take it for granted that it is here, and forget to just look at it.

My mom making sure that Tim doesn't fall into the fountain. (Thanks mom)
The boys went with the primary with my parents ward to the Church History Museum. It was really great! There was a little tour with activities at each place. In this one they are "auditioning" for the Mormon Tabernacal Chior. It was really cute!
Tim just happy to be out of the stroller
"WHAT - E'ER - THOU' ART-ACT - WELL - THY- PART" Are you? Am I?

The Hunsakers and Taylors

Yeah, they get there own line. Seeing them is an event in itself. We went back up to roy because the Taylors (FINALLY) came back from Germany. They were over there for 3 months while Cayde did some training. Ok, you can all stop feeling sorry for them. Here is a funny thing and because Brianna has already posted it, I guess I can too. The Taylors have one year old twin boys, but I guess that doesn't matter when you have a hot night in Paris. So they came home almost 3 months pregante!!! (That's what you get for not taking me ;) ) The boys of course had a great time and so did the grown ups. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of the Taylors, or of our incrediable "Iron Chef - The Jen edition" This is where everyone brings five things to cook with. Anything they want, and Jen uses it to make stuff for every one else to eat. Totally a win-win situation. And Jen is really good at it! I can't even tell you some of the things that she made because I had no idea what some of the ingrediats were. But boy it was good!!!

And this picture not only sums up the weekend with the Hunsakers but our tim in Utah....

Fun - Food - Friends -Family!! (and messes)

What a Week!

Ok, so this is going to be broken up into parts so just bare with me....This is the
Grammer Family 3 Day Reunion.

Day 1 - Seven Peaks and Birthday party

So the first day we went to Seven Peaks. And after taking a wrong turn made it there in one piece. It's a pretty good water park and the boys had so much fun. Ok, well James did. He loved hanging out with his cousins and going down the little water slides. Tommy screamed as I forced him down one with him on my lap... with Tim. We got stuck half way down. Tommy eventually got use to the water and Tim was mad at me for not letting him play on his own. Call me mean, but I didn't have time to take out in this vacation to deal with the hospital because he wanted to swim on his own. I really liked the lazy river but the boys were board of it, and cried most of the way. Katie (in the picture) took James on a bunch of slides and kept an eye on him. It was nice to have a little break, so Thanks Katie! Random meeting though.... Any of you Logandale people out there... I ran into Jason Asay, and then the rest of his family. What a small world!

After Seven Peaks we went back to Larry and Valerie's house for a birthday party. At least that's what I thought. But when I got there the house was locked up. So I sat in the car and waited for someone else to get there. It was nice the boys got a nap, and I had a chace to change before everyone got there.... that's the beauty of sleeping children and tinted windows.... and NOT being 6'4". I guess being short has its advantages. Jessica (a niece) was turning 16! So we celebrated with her. The boys were in heaven wen Grandpa Johnson brought out the snowcone maker. And oh my... the soda, and hot dogs, and cake and ice cream.... Tommy was so cute when he saw one of the cousins wearing a superman shirt. He was playing with the chalk and then came over to me very and very quietly said "Mom... there's another Super Hero!" We left late but we had a good time.


Tim with his fohawk. How to get this look.... fall asleep in a car seat with wet hair in and Ta Da, a great do!

Tommy and James being silly with the weird rackets to a game that no one knew how to play.

(This is the "other" Super Hero that Tommy saw)(This was all said in a wisper to get the full effect)

Day 2 - Dinosaur Museum

So the next day the rest of the family hiked Timpanogas, and because I didn't want to lug all three boys up the mountain we went to the dinosaur museum with my sister Eliza. I'm sure James could have done the hike but with the pace that he walks at I'm sure we would still be trying to get up the mountain.

If you have never been to the museum at Thanksgiving Point, it's so worth it! The boys had a blast. They got to play on the computer with Eliza, dig for bones and play with all sorts of things. The funniest part was when the boys were playing in the water and sand section, where you learn about erosion, Tommy put his hands in, decided that he didn't like it and promptly wiped his hands off on the nearest object.... some lady's pants!!!!! My sister looked away not wanting to claim him and I just wasn't paying attention to what Tommy was doing. So to the lady with dirt and water on you pants.... I'm sorry!

This is my fabulous sister Eliza, she came with us to the Dinosaur Museum, and although Aunt Michelle is still the favorite aunt Eliza sure won points for this one and the ice cream that she bought when we were done here. (Michelle, you better watch out :) )

Day 3 - Picnic, Marshmallows Guns and Water Balloons

The last day we headed up to Orem for one last "Day-O-Fun". We went up Provo canyon and had a picnic. One of Steve's sisters, Kim, made marshmallows guns for everyone. They were lots of fun. After only inhaling two marshmallows I got the hang of it. James did pretty good and Tommy was just eating all the ammunition from the ground. (Good job Tommy for keeping our area clean) The boys looked cute in the matching shirts that we all wore. It was like a dress on Tim, but give him a day or two and I'm sure it will fit better. The shirts had a big smiley face and Benji's tag on it "Heliroo." It was a great way to remember him.

Ok, so this isn't the clearest picture but you can still see his eye lashes! They are so long and really dark!

Not long after lunch was eaten we got the water balloons out. We were going to play some games with some of them but they didn't last that long. There was a treasure hunt with lots of great candy to find. (I raided the boys' bags for there Laffy Taffy's) and then one of the kids found a snake. Boy was that a great find... (what ever...) I'm not a fan, but the boys thought it was great.So all in all it was a great time, honestly.... Better than I thought it was going to be. It was hard with out Steve being here, but it was fun to get to know his family a little bit better. The boys had a great time with there cousins, and getting to run amuck with them, and it was nice to see the family all happy and getting along. One thing that I will mention... is this family is full of funky toes!!! That's be a post for another time.

Memories....

Ok... I'm a totally copy cat... I've seen this on a couple of my friends blogs and I thought it would be fun to play... (I even copied this line from my friend Lucy)

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I have together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see what memories people have of you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

I would love to hear what you guys remember about me! Remember keep it clean. I have fully repented of all transgressions!

Red, White, Blue, & 5 Boys too!

So Happy 4th of July to you all!! I love this holiday. I love the parades, I love the snowcones, the flags, the fireworks and the way it makes me feel. I love, and am proud to be an American! (Hey, don't forget to see the pictures that (finally) uploaded of the boys washing the Harley's)

So for this leg of our trip we went up to Roy to see the Hunsakers. We were going to go up to Idaho, but last minute plans changed. Fine with me, that's just less driving. So instead I took the boys... (5 of them, 3 of mine, 2 of theirs) to the Hooper Parade. Jen and Adam went for a bike ride because they are training for the Spudman Triathlon.

Now 5 boys... "Wow" you say, but really these boys are actually EASIER when they are all together! There is James (born Dec. 2003), Davy (Dec. 2004) Tommy (March 2005) Tim (Sept. 2006) and Jon (Jan. 2007). So really they are one right after the other. This time around I think Jon was totally loven' it. Tim was put in his room for bed, and I think both boys enjoyed waking up with some one who understood there language. They would sit for an hour in the morning just talking to each other. It was fun to hear them babble back and forth.

Ok, so on to the parade...

Here is James, Davy, and Tommy.

This was the only one of all 5 of them that were looking at the camera... Ok so kinda being in the direction of the camera. In a nut shell, the best phrase that describes them is..."Brothers from another mother" The crazy thing is that really we don't stop here... Ideally we would have all the "brother" together... adding in the Kemper's 2 1/2 and the Taylor twins, but alas that will have to be another time.

The parade came and went and the boys totally made out with the loot that they threw out. We made sure to sit close to the beginning of the parade to get the best stuff and not the left overs. James was excited that he saw the Montana state flag. Why was it here in Utah? That's anybody's guess, but hey, it was in Hooper, so pretty much anything goes. This next picture is a shout out to Davy.....

What would a red-neck parade be with out the "General" in all it's glory?!

So after the parade we went to the little park to see what was going on. They had little games and booths set up so I thought it would be fun. But first things first... we had to get there and then all the boys needed some thing to drink. I know I looked ridicules as I'm pushing Tim in the stroller, I have Jon on my shoulders, and the other three boys are walking behind me. Finally we make it to the park and we get out much needed water (which by the way was a reasonable 50 cents a bottle instead of the 1.50 most places like to charge!)

Do you see all that red hair on Jon? Jen says it came from grandmas on both sides... you just keep telling your self that.... :)

Davy and James did the bouncy slide, which they loved. I'm sure they would have played in there forever if I let them. But alas... I had tired boys on my hand and had to get them home to nap... remember, we still have fire works to do...

So this time walking back to the car, I had Jon and Tim in the stroller (see picture) and the three boys tagged along behind. Being encouraged every step of the way to make it back to the car before they all collapse.
Tim didn't make it.

So after this adventure I want to share a couple things that I learned... Do NOT dress you kids in red, white and blue when every other person is wearing those colors. It's much easier to find a lost Tim... I mean child... when he is wearing bright yellow. And second. Thowing otter pops at people at the parade may seem like a good idea, but it isn't. When they hit the street and come skidding toward you they get holes in it, and holes in an otter pop when a toddler is holding it is just a mess!!!!

We got back to the Hunsakers house, had lunch and then everyone napped.... except James.
So after we were all well rested, and ready to go, we headed over to the Clearfield Park. We had a great time. This time I had back up with Jen and Adam there. So Adam too all the boys to play on the bounce houses that they had set up, while Jen and I did our "girl thing" as Adam would like to call it. Then every one came back to eat while we waited (and waited, and waited....) for it to get dark. The boys played with snaps, an ever popular thing. And tried not to get lost in the mix of people coming into the park.

Here's just some fun pictures of that night...

So I was really happy at how these next pictures turned out. I got some really good ones of the fireworks. Now as you look at these, take a moment to think about what these fireworks represent. Not all the pretty colors, and sparkle that we see now... The first "fireworks" were cannons going off and guns being shot. People were dieing. They were fighting for our freedom and to echo what Francis Scott Key wrote, as he look out over the harbor, hoping with all he had that our flag would still be flying.

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand, Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation; Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us as a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause. it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust" And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Happiness is Harleys

So after two days in the car we finally made it up to Utah. The rod trip was good, and because of the GPS, I didn't get lost in Phoenix!! (This really is a big thing for me) The GPS that I have... actually I'm borrowing, has are really crazy voice, and the lady tells me to turn left or right or what ever. I feel like when is going to yell at me ("You fool you didn't turn left like I told you too!!!) if I don't turn. And I think they really need to add a compliments feature to it. For people like me who get lost going to the store, I would really like someone to say, "Good job!!! You turned left!!!"

The trip was long but broken up several times by Tommy needing to pee. So as we are pulling on the side of the road, because of course he has to go when we are no where near an exit, he has learned the full joy of being a boy. Yes, Tommy has learned that it's fun to pee while swaying back and forth and watching the pee "water" all the dirt. Oh, the joys of boys!!!

The first day after we got there all the cousins where over. It was so much fun. There is 10 of them ranging in ages from 7 all the way down to 10 months. They all played in the pond, being careful not to get into it, but all being soaked to the skin a couple times that day. In and out all day long they had a great time.

It was fun spending time will all my family too. All my sisters came (minus Lauralynn, the newest addition), so it was fun to talk and laugh and just hang out.

The next day my brother Hyrum and his wife Christa invited the boys and I over to there house for breakfast. So we are getting ready, we are in the car and about 10 minutes from the house, and Tommy throws up. I guess all the change in elevation, and OJ on an empty stomach, makes him throw up, because he was fine after that. I looked ridicules though as I am trying to get to the exit and pull off the road. I jump out of the car and try to catch some of it in a bag. Try as I may, most of it went on him, thank goodness for washers!!!

Because of Tommy's incident, we didn't go out that night with my sister as planned. Tommy has a knack of infecting my sisters kids with anything and everything! But staying home gave the boys a chance to help Grandma and Grandpa wash the Harley's. Boy they where so excited for this.

This by far was my favorite picture. Tommy wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get one of him.