Fall Colors

We took advantage of the unusually warm weather this fall and took a trip up the canyon. We went on a short hike while we were there. We had the whole canyon to ourselves, except for a couple of people at the beginning of the trail. There were a lot of fall colors to see, but most of the leaves had already fallen to the ground. The kids had a lot of fun standing on the bridge and throwing leaves into the river. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Halloween 2008

We started the day with a Halloween costume parade at the kids school. Mom and Dad drove down to see them in their costumes. They were very excited to have them visit, and see them dress up. After the boys got out of school we drove to the mall and the kids did some trick-or-treating. When we finished our trek around the mall we drove home and went to the trunk-or-treat at the church. It started to rain just as the kids were finishing. We went home to enjoy pizza while the kids stuffed themselves with candy.

End of Warm Weather

We enjoyed the last few days of warm weather this year walking the gardens and taking silly pictures. We were surprised at all the colors that were still around this fall. Not only were the leaves turning yellows and reds, but there were lots of flowers still in bloom. It was a great day for an afternoon walk.

Fire Dept. Open House

Wednesday night was the Kaysville Fire Dept. open house. Scott gave the kids a personal tour of all the cool equipment and vehicles at the fire station. Carter's favorite thing to do was the smoke house. Tyler was excited about the entire experience as he bounced around the fire trucks and ambulances. Allison liked everything, but she was very shy that night. The kids had a fun time watching the helicopter take off, getting lots of shiny stickers, and sitting inside the fire trucks.

General Conference Weekend

Julaine got the idea from the Ensign or Friend that the kids would enjoy a "reverence tent" during conference weekend. She wanted to make it funner for the kids so that they might listen a millisecond longer than they normally would. They had treats and got to chill in their PJ's as they pretended and listened to general conference.

Laundry Room Leak

We woke up to find a water bubble forming behind the paint in our laundry room. It is the first time that this had happened since we have lived in this apartment. We called our maintenance crew who were easy going on the phone and panicked once they came and saw how bad it was. It turns out the hot water pipe for the laundry room in the apartment above us was causing the leak. The maintence ended up cutting holes and tearing off paint in our ceiling and wall to inspect and repair the pipe. It was the weekend adventure.

First Day of School

It was the first day of school for Tyler and Carter. Both would rather be at home goofing around. They were also excited to meet their new teachers and make new friends in class. Tyler already having a year under his belt wasn't too worried. Carter was both nervous and excited at the same time. They both did great and made it home excited at the end of the day.

Salt Lake in the Summer

One of the things that we did this summer that the kids enjoyed doing was visiting the Church history museum. The feature exhibit this year showed the rennovation of the Tabernackle. There was a childrens area where the kids got to dress up, play with hands on exhibits, and make drawings. Time flew by. What we thought would be a quick visit turned into a long fun one.

Fifth Water Springs

thanksgiving point

Thanksgiving Point

We went to the gardens at Thanksgiving Point today. I uploaded some pictures showing the kids cooling down during the hot weather Saturday.

Summer Camping

These are a few of the pictures from the overnight camping trip we took up Timpanogus Canyon. We stayed in our tent at the Timpanookie campsite. We did the average family camping outing by roasting hot dogs and making s'mores. It rained on us during the night but thankfully no one got wet. When we woke up it was a cold morning that quickly warmed up as the sun rose abovethe mountain. We sat around the fire and had a fun time as a family.

July 4th

We visited with both sets of grandparents on the 4th of July. Everyone ate a lot of BBQ, sat and talked, and enjoyed the fireworks. The kids got to see their Uncle Scott in the Kaysville City parade. He hooked them up with tons of candy when he came by on the fire truck. All the kids sitting around us were jealous. After the parade the kids got to play outside and swim. Everyone enjoyed the fireworks and warm summer night together.

Lagoon

On June 26th our family went to Lagoon. It was one of the big things that we planned that our family would do this summer. The kids had been talking about it for an entire year.

Everyone had a great time. Tyler was finally tall enough to ride the white roller coaster. He was very brave and rode it while screaming and hanging on to the lap bar. After the ride finished I asked him what he though and he thought it was both fun and scary. Carter talked about riding the lady bug drop long before we went because he did not ride it during our last visit. When we got to the park his courage quickly left him. After some talking to, we rode it together but he was still scared and did not want to ride it any time soon. Allison did very well with rides that stayed low to the ground and circled around. She disliked anything that flew, and she was very excited the entire day.

While we were there the kids were able to get their picture taken at pioneer village. The kids enjoyed riding the new Odysey and everyone had a great day. The only thing that everyone really disliked was the ice cold water at Lagoon-a-beach. We stayed from open to close. When we left everyone was very tired and ready to go home to their beds.

On Saturday, June 21 we went to a open house at my work. I work at IM Flash. I work in a clean room making flash memroy for things like ipods, cell phones, and cameras. The job I have there is high tech and usually difficult to explain to people. This made it easier for the family to see what I do first hand.

At the open house there were booths set up to explain each area of the site. Some of the activities at the booths included sorting candy and getting a bag to eat throught their visit, putting ingredients in a mixer and using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream, and using remote control cars to race against the automation computer. After a BBQ lunch there were a bunch of carnival games for the kids to play, junk food to eat, and a bounce house to help them burn off all of the sugar they had eaten.

Video about what I do: http://extmedia.micron.com/webmedia/imft/IMFTRecruitingFinal.wmv

Work web site:

http://www.imftech.com/

Cascade Springs

On June 19th we took the family van for a drive through American Fork Canyon. We drove on the Alpine Loop over the summit and to the other side of the mountain. The hike that we went on was in the mountains close to Midway, Utah. Our short hike was at Cascade Springs. It is a very short and quiet hike. The paths in the area are well paved jogging paths part of the time, and wooden boardwalks for the other part. The trails are very stroller friendly and there are plenty of trees to offer shade during most of the hike. There are two loops to the trail, an upper and lower ring that are connected. We chose to just go through the lower ring this time. The lower loop is about one mile long, which was the perfect distance for everyone.

The area is made of rock terraces that are made from the deposits of minerals caring in the spring water from this geologically active area. The spring water breaks down the limestone and bedrock found in the mountains around the area and deposits the minerals forming terraces and natural pools of water.

The water is very clear and the boardwalks allow visitors to walk directly over the pools and view the wildlife. Living in the pools are mostly brown trout and snails. There are birds, chipmunks, and other wildlife but the trout are the funnest to watch. We were able to hike just before sunset. As bugs would come near the water of the pools the trout would jump out of the water to enjoy their bug dinners. It was a fun hike for everyone and a good get away from everything.

Saturday Hike

Today we went on a fun hike near the entrance to the Alpine Loop. It was only 1.3 miles, but it was long enough for the kids to burn some energy off. The sun was out in the afternoon, and the wind was cool and felt good while we were walking. There was snow still under some of the pine trees that was beginning to melt in the warm weather. At the end of the hike we found a waterfall of cold water. While we were taking the picture near the waterfall a hummingbird flew near my face and startled me. The views were great and everyone had a good time except for Mackenzie. Julaine carried her in a baby carrier the whole way. She cried the last half of the hike, and finally cheered up when she was buckled back in her car seat in the van.