Same place, Different day.... NEVER gets old

If you are sick of our skiing picture, sorry.  Well not really.... For real we haven't skied this much as long as we can remember.  Words and blog posts don't appropriately describe Last Chance Lakes.  But, at least we can try.  It's about a 45 minute drive straight down Lehi main until you almost arrive at Vernon.  Last Chance Lakes is manmade with a natural spring that constantly feeds it water each day.  There are a small handful of owners who each have a lot. Each owner has a boathouse.  You have a nice patio area with a large storage closet and roof to hang out on and sunbathe.  The boats are secure in their respective boathouses so you show up and just lower the boat into the water off it's hydraulic lift that keeps it out of water while away.  So you are literally skiing in minutes.  Then when done you lift it back up, wash it, get in the car and head back home. The Lake has two slalom courses so two skiers can be on the lake at once.  The shore is engineered so the waves go up but don't come back into the water.  The lake is a U shape so you don't get wakes from other boats.  So you only hit bumps at the turn when you go over your own wake.  One of the lakes has two islands you drive around on each end and when you hit the course again you are back on glass.  :)  And did I mention the water is pretty much crystal clear with Sand on the beaches.  Oh yeah...last night, we were the only ones there.  :) :)

Farrah skiied her last run at 9:15 pm.  Stadium lighting is only about a month away up there which will allow you to ski all night if you wish.  

Evan couldn't get enough.  He was the first to ski and immediately asked to go again when he finished.  So, after a few adults, Evan was off skiing once again.  Before that he had to get a boathouse jump in.  The picture doesn't show how high up it is.  The roof is probably 12-15 feet high and he loves to jump off all by himself.  At the end of the second video you can see the neighbor's boathouse and see the height. 

P.S. I think we have only posted video like one other time so if it doesn't work, just enjoy the photos.

Still skiing way after sunset.  Unreal!!!!

 Farrah is a REALLY good skier.  Like, way good.  She can get all 6 green buoys.  That is very good considering that Shawn can only get 2 of the 6 orange ones.  He'll get them all soon enough.  Farrah is a treat to watch ski.

 FARRAH!!!

 More FARRAH!!!

 Here is Shawn on his last ride around 9pm.  Water like this makes a hissing sound as you ski.  Zero chop, just pure glass.

 Oh...and Maya.  Trying to help Shawn get his butt back into shape before season comes around.

 A tongue that will lick you right out of your shoes.  :)

Gramma's Pool!

Smiling sisters.
One with big ol' goofy teeth.
Other with wee little ones just startin' out:)

Wesly.
Why?!
I love you!

Jo Jo loves the pool.
Wears her right out.

Bless her.
Only child I have that will sit in a chair
and fall asleep on her lifejacket.
Amazing.

Good little buddies.
Two sweet sweet boys.

Raegan and one of her best little friends.
They have been attached at the hip all summer.
She is an amazing friend and a very sweet girl.
Comes from a family with 5 boys...so this gal aint got no drama:)
And her whole family is incredible.
Ive already asked her mom for all her secrets!

Two 3 year olds doing their best to hang.
But once 4pm hits, this is usually the case.
And if its not this...its a major fit.
I prefer this:)

Wesly.
WHY?!
I love you so much.
Two teefers and a buggery nose.
They go hand in hand...right?!
More to come:)

And this shot here.
Some may wonder what the big deal is.
But it truly makes my heart skip a beat.
I cannot express the obsession I have with those precious little shoulders.
This is my view when I look down at my feet and I never want to forget it.
Its too sweet.

Kids turn.

Evan!
Your a stud!
Seriously highlight of the trip.
He took off from land, whipped around the corner, then attempted turning on his own.
Born to ski:)

Mayci...solo on the tube.
Hilarious.
She aint afraid.

Yes, this is a screen shot from Shawns phone sent to my email and now posted on the blog.
HAD to document brother and sister bouncing around on the tube.
Its nostalgic to watch my kids do some of my all time faves.
Next on my bucket list...
EXTREME TUBING!
May have to wait for some good choppy water up at Bear Lake.
Makes for a good tubing adventure!

Last Chance Lake again!

Its B.E.A.U.tiful there!
A skiers dream...no matter how amateur.

Ummm...really?!  A big screen movie to top a day of skiing.
Wonderful.
Magical.
Kid Heaven.

This here is camp.
Rough.

And this here...
Beach.
With turf.
Brilliant.

And this is what we do here.
Well...
This is what SHAWN does here.

 

Pretty sweet camera action...thank you very much.

Did I mention my camera skills!?
And did I mention Shawns skills?!
We were both so giddy.
It was pretty pathetic:)

Go mom!
Lay it out!
Pretty sure this was the shot taken seconds before I turfed it hard.
Then I was done:)

Its so fun to hear my kids cheer me on...
and hopefully they can always remember that mom CAN do something:)

Even though my knees ache like no other after one round of skiing,
its worth it.
Ive decided since my condition can't get much worse, Im gonna do what I love and quit missing out!
I started a soccer league with some friends in my neighborhood and had my first 2 games and it was SO MUCH FUN.
I missed it.
A LOT.
And once again, although Im sore, its worth it.
To hear my kids yell for me and cheer me on.
Its worth it.

I really do want my kids to have memories of both me and Shawn doing the things we love.
I think its important for many reasons,
but mostly so they know that we aren't just a mom or just a dad,
but a human that has passions and dreams ALONG with being a mom and a dad.

And maybe it will keep them dreaming.
And help them find their own passions.
And live them out into old age :)

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*no worries, kids did partake in some skiing and tubing of their own. pics coming soon*

2013 Beach Time:

Because we won't make it to Cali this year...
we have been making the most of what we UTAHNS can call a beach.
This is a fun little fishing/swimming pond that has pulled through for us this year.
Kids LOVE it!
Even Wesly is able to partake of some sand fun:)

Whipped out some beach toys.
Entertainment for hours.

And this little place we call...A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!
Its the beach mixed with the boat.
What more can you ask for?!

Mayci's pose.
This girl is ALL girl.

And this purdy little lady is awesome.
She was the host and owner of our paradise for the day.
She is an awesome person, and a good friend.  Its so incredible to find those friends that you just click with.
It happened, and Im blessed:)
She is unbelievable at skiing, and she just ran the Boston Marathon this year.
So glad she was safe. 

Bathing beauty...yet again in her element.
To find something that this gal enjoys for longer then 30 minutes is a miracle.
Pretty sure nature and anything outdoors brings peace and happiness to her soul.

We always cherish the time spent with this guy.
Season is approaching, so its time to fit it all in!
Ah!
*pretty handsome dude if i say so myself..,age looks good on this guy...truly*

My girls.

Im so blessed to have these 3 gals.

And these 3 gals are so blessed to have each other.

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As we have all heard while raising young kids...

"Enjoy it!  It goes SO fast!"

Truly, I believe those words, and I believe every single person that reminds me to cherish this time.   I know it flies by.  Its tough work.  Its a physical grind everyday.  It can be mental torchure depending on the child at the time :) but I am learning to soak up moments.

Like the picture above.

The words, "cherish this time" came flooding into my little brain as I snapped this shot.

And thank goodness for moments like these.

Sweet. Smart. And has a conscience.

My boy.

Today,  as I have been bustling about, I have been listening to you.
You have been commando over the iPad.
You have mentioned several times NOT to touch it.

Then I heard you threaten Mayci.
You TOLD her NOT to play with the iPad!
You were downloading something.

Thats when I pulled you in...and asked what you were up to.

"Nothing."  Was your reply.

I warned you that if there was a something on the iPad that wasn't supposed to be on there, i.e. games,
dad would NOT be happy.

You said you weren't.

I believed you.

You went on your merry way...over to your friends...

and then you came right back.

You said: "Mom?"
I said: "Yes?"

I turned to find you, and saw tears welling up in your sweet, tender, blue eyes.

I grabbed you and asked what was wrong.
You courageously told me you had lied.
Through your quivering lips you said you had figured out dads password:/
And did buy a few games.
Only batman.  It was ninety-nine cents.
And another one, that was only cents.  Not dollars.
And as I watched your little mouth quiver,
I grabbed you.
And I held you.
And hugged you.
And your sweet little spirit let loose.
And all that pent up fear poured from your eyes.
And I held you a little tighter.
And told you over and over and over how proud I was of you.
How brave I thought you were.
And HOW MUCH I loved you!

 I can't take much credit for that moment, Evan.
You have blessed my life with your tender heart.
And your sweet sweet soul.

Im so proud of you.

You just made my whole day.

___________________________________________________________

And now I gotta change the password.

And keep a real close eye on my little genius.

Hackin into the iPad...what the crap!?!

USA vs CUBA

Never been a huge fan of watching soccer, especially mens (the flopping gets pretty old)!
But, because the USA team was in town,
I thought...
WHY NOT!

Red.
White.
And Blue.
Oh Baby!

It was fun.
Game was interesting when Cuba scored first.
But once the US got a few...
Cuba gave up.
And it got boring.
But whatever it is...
if you in good company...
*Scott. Ryan. Jen. Jeff. Rach. B. and my one and only*
its always a goooood time.

Thanks, Scott, for hookin a sista up!

Bear Lake BARF!

We left Thursday.  Chilled Thursday night.  Had a sleepless night trying to figure out A/C and getting Wesly used to her new bed for the next few nights:)

Shawn and B took the kids to Pickleville Playhouse on Friday afternoon and loved it.  Bezus said it was better than a really good movie.  Its hard to convince people that this play rocks!!!  But once you experience it, its a definite regular if you're in Bear Lake during Pickleville season.

After the play, we headed to the pool.  We were enjoying the beautiful weather, but had to send Rae back to the cabin with a tummy ache.

And thats where it all began...

Raegan went down.

Then I went down.

Then Rachel.

Then Lennon.

Intense Flu.  I think the "July Flu" is worse than the expected winter flu.

Anyway.

Saturday was an exhausting day after being up all night puking my brains out, 

but still managed to get some miniature golf in and a little beach time with the kids.

I actually had to lie down in the shade of a tree, and as I lay there I wondered when it was that I last lay down in the grass under a tree on a beautiful, slightly breezy day...with the branches bustling through the breeze and the water hitting the shore in the distance...

It was glorious, despite feeling fatigued;)

And because our vacation was interrupted with the flu bug...

the following pictures is what Sunday consisted of.

And yes, I buckled Mayci in a lifejacket for fear we would be cursed.  It was actually a tough one to explain when the kids clarified that it was Sunday.  We don't swim on Sunday.

We explained to them that we were just taking a really long, fun, bath...

in the lake:)

Cursed.

For Sure.

Oh My Goodness,
Look what we have here...

A fish.
Belly up.
Didn't quite make it from the lake to the bucket.
Darn.

This picture here captures a few goods things:
1) Proof that little old Mayci really was strapped in a big ol life jacket.  I was literally afraid.
2) Evan representing the holiday weekend in his red, white, and blue.
3) The beautiful landscape
4) Evan pointing to his tooth gone missing like 4 years now.  Hence the nickname 'tooth'.
1+2+3+4 = awesome picture.

This girl.
Take away her screechy whine,
and she is perfect.
I love her.  And a huge part of me feels so bad for her.  I know she has struggled in trying to adjust to this ripe new age of 3 all while adjusting to a new baby sister...that seems to take mom away from her A LOT.
Its tough to get angry with this one...when I know in my heart that 90% of what she does "naughty" is to get my attention.
But my attention she has here, as I play peek-a-boo with her...
while holding Wesly of course.
She will take what she can get.
I love you for that my Mayci girl.

Meant-to-be-surfer-girl.
She takes on the big, bad paddle board with ease.

Oh...you want me to paddle in.
No prob.
She's awesome.
I love watching her find happiness in just about anything that makes her happy.
Been my goal in life since the day she was born.
And adventure seems to make this girl smile.
Couldn't be more thrilled.

Evans turn.

Rae was just supposed to push them off.
Dad didn't know she hopped on.
Pretty funny to watch him struggle to balance.

This here is when he realized Rae was on board.
Dads the bomb.
It was so nice to have him there with us.
I have to say...he is an amazing dad.
And a pretty good friend too:)
I like his company.  A LOT.

This is the camp.
Got the tunes rollin after we 'set-up'...
and it was quite the bath.
Best bath Ive ever had:)