I saw this on http://beinglds.blogspot.com/2011/09/forget-not-president-uchtdorf.html and thought it was a great reminder of the wonderful talk that President Uchtdorf gave at the women's conference on Saturday.

This is our 2nd year going to Murray Park for the 4th of July activities. This is what the river looked like this year. It was insane to see the amount of water in the river. At some spots it was to the top of the sandbags but luckily it stayed mostly contained.

There were lots of activities for the kids to do including a miniature golf course. Luckily we were able to do everything once before it started pouring. Instead of cutting our fun short we headed over to McDonald's for ice cream and the kids got to play for a little while.

After that we headed over Grandma and Grandpa Lundgrens for a night full of water activities, bounce house, yummy food, smores, and fireworks! It was a great way to celebrate our country's independence!

Another Milestone!

Gavin finally lost his first tooth! He came into my room after church crying. When I asked him what was wrong, he said his tooth fell out. It probably wasn't the best thing to do but I couldn't help laughing. Every time his friends lose a tooth he always asks when he's going to lose a tooth so I know that he knew they are supposed to come out. He said he tried to pry a lego apart with his teeth and that it just came out! Silly kid--he had never even mentioned that his tooth was loose so I had no idea. He was very excited to leave it for the tooth fairy that night and even more excited the next morning when he saw the 4 quarters and found out he still got to keep his tooth.

Bear Lake Vacation

Day 1
Believe it or not--these pictures are from our SUMMER vacation to Bear Lake! This is how much snow was still up in the mountains at Minnetonka Cave.

The cave was really neat. We were lucky to be in a group all by ourselves with the tour guide. The groups before and after us were huge! I was really worried about feeling claustrophobic in the cave but I was just fine. The only part I didn't like was when they turned off the lights. It was so dark I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. There were over 400 stairs in this cave and Addison insisted on walking every single one of them. She did great. Both kids loved it and wanted to go back everyday.

We tried to go fishing at Bear Lake after the caves but it was really windy and cold. Addison fished for a few minutes with her little fishing pole but then she was done.

Carl and Gavin chose a more rocky spot to fish. Gavin loves fishing with his dad any chance they get.

While Carl and Gavin fished, Addison and I played princesses in the back of the Expedition which made her much happier. I decided that playing princesses with her is not very easy. If I didn't do what she wanted me to do she would look at me like I was crazy and then tell me what I was supposed to be doing.

Day 2

We tried to go to Tony Grove Lake but about 7 miles up the road we couldn't go any farther because the road was covered in snow (a sign at the turn off saying it was closed might have been nice). We had to drive almost all the way down the mountain towards Logan before we found any hikes that were open. The water levels were amazing!

We went on a hike to the Wind Tunnels which turned out not to be the best hike with small children. It was 1.8 miles each way and it basically went straight up the mountain in zigzags. The path was barely big enough for one person and there was usually a good drop off on one side of the path. Carl had to carry Addison most of the way. When we got to the tunnel, it only added to my stress as a mother. It was a cliff that sloped down and it was pretty slippery. Carl slipped and nearly fell. I made my kids stay close to me while we hurried and took pictures and then we started on our way back down the mountain.

This is a picture of the Wind Tunnel that Carl took as we were going back down. Do you see why I was stressing?

Day 3

We woke up to pouring rain so we took our time getting ready and then headed down to Logan. The weather had cleared up a bit so we went miniature golfing at a cute little course in Providence. Gavin and Addison had a great time and we had the place to ourselves.

There was a nice looking park behind the golf course so we went there to eat lunch and play for a little bit.

Afterwards we tried out a trout farm in Smithfield. There were so many fish that as soon as you threw your line into the water a fish would bite it. Gavin and Carl caught two each. Gavin was excited that his first one was bigger than his dad's but then Carl caught a really big one. Gavin had to help him with the net. Addison started freaking out everytime they lifted a fish out of the water on their hook. Apparently she really doesn't like fishing. Luckily the fish were easy to catch because when we were done the rain decided to come back.

Day 4

Our last day turned out to be the warmest day which was perfect for playing at the beach. Gavin and Addison went right to work digging in the sand. They had fun finding sea shells, making castles, and running around in the water. It was actually pretty warm where it was shallow. It was very peaceful and relaxing. There were not too many people at the beach and there were no boats on the water because of the chilly temperatures, but it was still warm enough for us to have fun!

We also spent a lot of time at the pool during our vacation. Luckily it was indoor and supposedly heated, but the water was a little chilly for my taste. Addison was a little fish--she loved swimming and splashing around. Gavin swam a little bit but his favorite was sitting in the hot tub where it was warm.

Despite the weather we had a great vacation and it was so nice to get away together as a family. I can't wait to do it again!

It's for your party Mom!

I made the mistake of leaving some rolls of crepe paper upstairs on the floor while I was downstairs preparing for preschool. When I came up this is what I found. Addison innocently said "It's for your party Mom! I decorated!"

Happy 6th Birthday Gavin!

Gavin turned 6 on Thursday. We gave him his scooter before he went to school. He was very excited. He rode it around the house and then had to go outside to try it out.

At school they made Gavin a big poster of his favorite things and all of the kids signed it. After school "truck" Grandpa surprised Gavin by picking him up and taking him to lunch and then that night Gavin chose to go to Winger's for dinner. Saturday night all of my family came over to celebrate. Gavin could hardly wait to open his presents. He got so many things to play with that he was busy the rest of the night.

Addison was very funny. She would hand Gavin a present and then stand to the side while he opened it. She enjoyed playing with his presents as well. I have a feeling that she is going to enjoy his birthday presents a lot more than Gavin will enjoy Addison's birthday presents.

I made Gavin a dragon birthday cake and I must say that it turned out really well. I am so glad that Gavin had a good birthday. He is growing up so fast. I still can't believe I have a 6 year old.

4th of July weekend

We had a very busy 4th of July weekend. On Saturday we went with my mom to Murray Park for their festivities. It was really fun. They had a lot of booths with games for the kids, as well as a bounce house and slide. They had a ride that twirled around in circles. Addison insisted on going on it but soon realized she didn't like it. She started yelling "done, done". Luckily the worker was nice and let her off early. Gavin, on the other hand, loved it. Addison also got to have her hair done in an up do and she got a princess crown. It was very cute. I couldn't believe how good she was for them because she definitely does not sit still when I do her hair.

Monday morning Gavin started swimming lessons with his cousin Robbie. I was so glad that he enjoyed them. He was excited to tell his dad that he blew bubbles!

After swimming we went to the Museum of Natural History. The kids had fun running from one thing to the next (literally).

Monday night we had a barbecue at Grandma & Grandpa Lundgrens. We ate lots of yummy food, played with water balloons, and then of course, fireworks. Carl spent all evening preparing something to remotely start the fireworks but it only ended up working once. (I think his obsession is getting worse:). Gavin is just like his daddy and loves fireworks. All summer long I get to hear, "Is it firework day? When is it firework day?" Since the 4th was on a Sunday we got to see fireworks all weekend long so hopefully between that and the 24th they will get their fill of fireworks. Needless to say, it was a very fun weekend.