ATK Rocket Garden

After our trip out to Golden Spike we stopped by the ATK Rocket Garden. It is only a few minutes down the road, and since we had already drove way out there, why wouldn't we stop?
It was a bittersweet day for Greg since the space shuttle had it's last launch the day before. Greg has flown to Florida twice to see the shuttle launch and it has been cancelled both times. It was a life dream to see it and he wasn't able to make it work. I feel so badly, mostly because Greg doesn't ask for much and the one thing he really wanted didn't happen. He is a great sport about it and told me he just wants to see a high-powered rocket launch, so I'm determined to make that happen.
Greg loves this place. We walked around while he explained what everything was. We didn't need to read the plaques, we had Greg to answer all our questions.


The kids loved running around. Enoch found a huge tube (very technical, I know Greg is rolling his eyes as he reads this because he told me what this tube did and I can't remember) that was a great echo chamber. He ran around in circles yelling, "This is the funnest thing ever. I want one for my birthday!" Along with his cockpit for Christmas, Enoch will be an expensive kid! Haha.

Everyone climbed in Enoch's tube and tried to get it rolling.




It was a fun few minutes. We didn't stay long because the kids were hungry, tired and hot. We stopped at Wendy's in Brigham City for lunch. We were able to drive by the new temple and have a quick look. It is beautiful.
What a fun day. Day trips around our great state are so much fun!

Golden Spike National Site

In anticipation of our train trip to Colorado in the fall, we have been learning about trains. Enoch has done a report on trains, attended a Thanksgiving Point day camp about trains (Transportation Station) and Gavin will be earning his Railroading Merit Badge in a few weeks. As a family, along with Grandpa and Grandma Randall and Aunt Elaine and Uncle Max, we visited Golden Spike National Site. I have to say, it was quite fun.
We started the morning by watching the trains, the Jupiter and Engine No. 119, pull onto the tracks. They are magnificent engines, very colorful and loud! We walked around them, but no touching - they are very hot! The engineers were great and answered all of Enoch's questions.










As we were exploring the trains, a man asked Greg if he would like to volunteer to be in the re-enactment. Greg is always on board for things like that. He played the part of L.W. Coe. A few times a day during the summer, the rangers and volunteers at Golden Spike put on a production of the ceremony of the Golden Spike. It was fun (maybe a bit long) to see what happened. Greg did great with his part of presenting the hammer that drove in the four spikes that day.



We spent a little time in the Visitor Center looking for answers to Enoch's Jr. Ranger booklet. We finally found them all and Enoch earned his badge. They made an announcement to all the Visitor Center. Enoch was quite proud and a bit embarrassed.

We had a great time. Even though it's a bit out of your way, it is a very fun place to visit.

Cul-de-Sac of Fire!

Our Independence Day was very low-key this year. We spent the day at the cabin with Grandma and Grandpa Randall relaxing, four-wheeling, walking, watching TV and playing games. We had a great time.
We came home in time to eat dinner, clean up from the cabin and participate in Cul-de-Sac of Fire. This tradition may seem silly to some, but our little neighborhood loves it - we look forward to it all year. We line the street in our lawn chairs, pool together our fireworks and have a great time.
Before it was dark, we shot off a few parachute guys. The boys love these. Enoch was so excited to light them and the boys were running all over trying to catch them. Such simple joy for boys of all ages.


Since aerial fireworks are now allowed in Utah, our show this year was awesome.
Our kids favorite was the lap top firework that Greg bought. It was actually pretty cool and lasted quite awhile. They also had a great time with the sparklers.



Happy Fourth of July!

Fourth of July Dress

I love Independence Day! One of my favorite traditions is to make a red, white and blue dress for Kate. I love doing this for her, but is she always upset that it is not pink. However, when it is time to get dressed before church, she is excited that she has a new dress.
This year I took an old skirt of mine and re-purposed it into a dress. You know the skirts from the 90's with an elastic waist and buttons all down the front. Yep, it looked like that. I turned the skirt around and put the buttons in the back, cut it up, sewed it back together, added some red and white trim with a giant bow in the back and voila! a new dress for Kate. I really like how it turned out.


Isn't she gorgeous!?

Balloons and BBQ

We had an incredible day!
We started bright and early at 4:45 am. We got everyone up, dressed, in the car and drove to Provo to see the hot-air balloons. This is one of our all-time favorite Independence Day traditions. I know it's early, but for our family, it is so worth it.


It was a beautiful morning and all the balloons were able to get off and a few made it back for the games. It is so much fun to walk around while they are inflating the balloons. Kate doesn't like the fire and heat that the balloons need, but she is getting more and more use to it every year. Seeing the Bank of American Fork pig balloon makes it worth it for her.



The highlight of the morning was seeing the Darth Vadar balloon. Wow! The boys (of all ages) were excited. Enoch was really happy (especially for being 6:30 in the morning). There were some Storm Troopers (or Storm Poopers as Kate calls them) walking around. We saw one first thing and Greg and Gavin got a picture with him. Enoch refused saying, "I'm not part of the Dark Side!" Later on he changed his mind and luckily we spotted another Storm Trooper.





After the balloons launched, we sat on the blankets and ate breakfast while we watched the balloons float around. The girls had such a fun time together playing games, dancing and giggling. We watched a few of the balloons come back around and then we headed back to the cars.



We drove up to Michelle's and Dave's home for a BBQ lunch of chicken, steak and all the yummy sides. It was still a bit early for lunch, so the kids played in the water and had a great time. We had a slip-n-slide, a blow-up pool, water squitters and water balloons. The adults enjoyed visiting and I thought of how much I missed Jarom when we are all together and it is obvious that he is not here.




We came home, took naps, bought fireworks for Monday, went to Wal-Mart (along with everyone else it seemed) and watched the movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Sometimes the Fourth gets so busy with early mornings and late nights that is it good to have some down time.
I love this holiday. I love what it stands for. I love seeing all the flags. I love remembering how lucky I am. I love teaching my children about America. I love the traditions. I love the fun. I love America!

A FHE Fire

Even though the weather was very warm, we decided to put our fire pit to work and roast hot dogs for dinner. Gavin is quite the expert roaster, Greg too. The rest of us muddled along. Hot dogs taste so much better when roasted and charred. They are almost worth eating - almost.

After dinner we had FHE around the fire. It was so nice! Gavin gave a great lesson on the First Vision and the Martyrdom of Joseph Smith. He reminded us that today was the anniversary of Joseph Smith's death. How thankful we are for Joseph and everything he did.
After FHE we stoked up the fire with seven years worth of bank statements and check registers. Yes, we had quite a blaze. The boys loved it. It took a while for the fire to die down - enough time to bath everyone.

It's nights like this that I love about summer. Family, outdoors, good feelings.

I couldn't help but laugh!