We hope that you have enjoyed 2018-Part 1 and the amazing adventures we had throughout the first part of the year. (aka Summer of Dreams) Check out 2018 Part 2 for our trip to New York, the start of our homeschooling journey, and our first Thanksgiving at home.
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Saturday, July 28, 2018
2018 Peaden/Middleton Summer Trip
We look forward to the Middleton/Peaden trip every year, and this year was no exception. This year it was Mike and Ali's turn to find the place to stay and they found an awesome Cabin in the Uintas. It was near Oakley Utah and about 10 minutes away from the Smith and Morehouse reservoir.
Austin was happy to help me pack with his new grabber claw.
He was also very insistent that there was a "cuddle spot" in front of his car seat so he could lay down. He really wanted to ride in the van that way while we were driving, but we told him he'd just have to enjoy it before we left.
On the way up to the cabin we stopped at a little playground at Mountain Dell and let the kids play for a while.
The cabin was awesome. There was a nice kitchen and family room and two bedrooms downstairs. Upstairs was another bedroom and then a big play/tv room. The kids all wanted to sleep in the same room, so when it came down to it, they all ended up sleeping in the play room.
On of our favorite things about this trip is the great food. We did dinner one night and did Mexican Haystacks and then the Middletons did dinner the next night and did pork tacos. Both were so amazing. Before we were talking and both of us had decided to do Mexican meals and were asking if that was okay and we all decided emphatically, yes, Mexican food is the best. All the kids at it really well which is so nice.
The cabin had some fun play areas including a little playground, a hidden bench and a little swing under a tree. However, Shantel did make us go inspect the playground stuff before we let the kids on it, but even though it looked old it was great.
These trips have usually been so relaxed, and this year was no different. Day one we just checked in and let the kids explore the house and the playground.
In the morning on day 2, the kids really wanted to go for a walk. We were told there was a playground and a horse pasture from the owners of the airbnb and so we in search of it. The playground was not awesome and we went as close to the horses as we could, but they we still pretty far away. However, as we started to walk back, the horses actually came over and let us feed/pet them. The kids loved it.
We also brought the bug collectors (and ones for Henry and Andi) and the kids all caught grasshoppers for their collections. Don't worry- we released them before bed that night.
The other favorite thing was the wood pile on the deck. They had a huge pile of wood and Austin really wanted to play with it. He really wanted to build a fire and even put it together just like we did on our camping trip last week and it was so cute. Except, he legitimately wanted to light it on fire and was not so pleased when we wouldn't let him. The kids played for so long make wood piles and it was fun to see Austin initiate the whole thing.
That afternoon we went to Smith and Morehouse reservoir which was only about 10 minutes away to do some boating. Austin really did not want to go to the lake, but I took him on a special hike and he loved that. Meanwhile, Lydia and Shantel were loving the water and Caleb was eating all the snacks. Austin and I even picked flowers to take back to Shantel from our hike.
Mike and I decided that cleanup needed to be a little more efficient because it was a pretty long walk back to the cars and we had lots of stuff. It worked awesome! Especially since Shantel came and helped me carry the front over the treacherous rocks.
Day three was cleanup. So the kids played while we got all packed up. We also did a bike ride/scooter/skating adventure around the area. Then we decided to go to Cascade Springs and do a hike there. Unfortunately, Lenny got sick on the way there, so the Middletons headed home, but we still went. It was a little rainy, but super fun and a nice hike.
We had a fantastic trip. For me I have 3 favorite things about this trip:
1) Just watching the kids play together is so much fun and watching them explore and laugh.
2) It is so nice to slow things down and really not have any agenda
3) We really love hanging out with the Middletons. We have no pictures for this, but being able to put the kids down and then spend a few hours chatting with them and playing games is so nice. They are such uplifting people that they make you feel inspired, just by being around them. They share a very similar sense of humor, so there is always lots to laugh about. We could talk to them for hours about anything. In particular, we really picked their brains about homeschool and that was really helpful (more on that in a coming post).
4) Yeah- you really think I could keep it to 4, Also, the good food is so nice. (They made some awesome breakfast sandwiches and we did breakfast burritos).
5) I asked Shantel and she agreed with #2, she really like the slowness. To be relaxed and present with our kids. And also she talked about #3, staying up and chatting with Mike and Ali. Apparently, Shantel and I agree.
Can't wait for the trip next year, here a few final pictures of everyone.
Friday, July 20, 2018
Vacation 2018: The Zoo
Shantel and I really debated what to do for this day. We ended up narrowing it down to Lagoon or the Zoo. Lagoon was going to be more expensive (About $200, but really would have ended up being like $250), but also probably more fun. While the Zoo would be still really fun, but only about $80. Finally we decided that we were really feeling the Zoo more and that with our New York trip coming up, it was better not to spend a ton.
It turned out to be the perfect decision. We had buy an adult pass get a kids pass free. So we bought passes and then the cashier asked if we would like to add giraffe feeding, carousel or train rides. Normally this is where Shantel and I alway shake our head no because we can't afford to do a bunch of add ons. However, because we were spending so much less than we would have at Lagoon, we decided to go for it and do the Giraffe feeding, carousel and train ride. It was so great because the kids loved it. Every time they would ask can we do (insert activity), we could just say yes and the kids were so happy. Had we been at Lagoon, the kids would have loved it, but it would have been more stressful when they wanted to play games or do other things that we could not fit in the budget.
In addition to being able to do all the things, the pace at the Zoo was great. We could look at things as long as we wanted and we were able to do all the things we really wanted. Plus, it turned out to be cloudy basically all day without raining, which was so awesome.
First highlight was feeding the Giraffes. The time for this was basically right when we got there, so we got in line first and the kids thought it was so cool.
We saw so many other animals and shows during the day. We went to the seal show, elephant show and the bird show. We also got to watch the Polar Bears when they were being fed.
Seeing the red pandas was another highlight because Lydia and I just ready a month or so ago a whole page about red panda's in her National Geographic magazine that Grandma Knowles sends to her. She knew all about the red panda and that made it fun. In addition, she ended up picking a red panda to buy from the gift shop with the rest of her money she had saved. Shantel and I had to help her afford it, but we thought was worth it because we really like the red panda and did not like some of the other things she wanted to spend her money on. Austin ended up having a hard time at the gift shop and did not get anything. Instead on the way out he bought an ice cream cone and then used the rest of his money the next day at the store to buy a little grabber claw, which worked out perfect for him.
It was a wonderful day at the zoo and the kids loved it.
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