Just us Girls

Summer went by way too fast this year. Tomorrow Jaycee goes back to school, (and on her birthday no less.) So we thought today should be a celebration day. Brit's birthday is in a few days too so we left Cody with grandma and went to play in Logan. Our first stop was the Olive Garden for lunch. It's not something we get to do very often but sometimes you just need a bowl of Chicken Alfredo and never ending bread sticks.
Next we hit the local cosmetology school where we all three got manicures and pedicures.
The color of fingernails on both girls? Bright Blue of course!

And to end our fun little outing we stopped and got ice cream cones.

I had a great time with my girls today. Thank you my little ladies for being so much fun to hang out with!!

Hot on the Heels of Betty (ya know, Crocker?)

I've never really loved to cook. I do know how to follow a recipe and water doesn't usually burn when I boil it, but it's not something I love to do. Lucky for me, Matthew isn't a big one on eating so things work out pretty fine for us. The problem is, we have three kids who seem to want food everyday, so over the last few years I've half-heartedly prepared a few meals a week and the rest we just wing it, so to speak. That doesn't make for a frugal grocery list and has started making me feel pretty guilty so I made a goal this year to get better prepared in the food department.
I figured that the first step was to make a menu and this worked for a while but writing out a menu each week ended up taking too long, so while I was visiting Dondee this summer I got out her cookbooks, a calendar, and went to work. I read through and wrote down something for dinner on everyday for the month of August including the recipe and side dishes for it. I also found several desserts that I thought Matthew might like.
I came home really excited to cook dinner for the first time in too long. My family is thrilled with the new leaf I've overturned and I'm finding that being prepared before hand is the key to successful family meals.
Some of our new favorite dinners include:

Baked Mac & Cheese
Farmer's Pork Chops
Raspberry Squares
Creamy Apple Cake
Reese's Chocolate Cookies
Nacho Pie
& Biscuits & Gravy (made from scratch)

I've found that my favorite things to make are slow cooker meals and desserts. My grocery trips are a lot easier and the whole thing has worked out really well for us. I think this will actually be a goal I'll be keeping. (Any additional ideas would be great if you have em.)

The Hanging of El Bandito

Funny, that we've lived in Bear Lake for 6 years now and have never been to Pickleville Playhouse. There have been lots of excuses for our absence at this particular tourist attraction, the main excuse being-well, tourists.

But we have heard so much about this years melodrama that Matt and I decided to brave the crowds and see the show. Candice ordered our tickets and was lucky enough to get us in on an extra showing. (The main show for the evening was sold out.)

We were not disappointed. Far from it. The show was awesome!! Candice and I laughed and laughed, Matt even laughed a bit. We had such a great time that we got tickets for next weekend and we're taking the kids with us.

Pugmire Family Reunion 2009

This weekend was our annual Pugmire Reunion at Beaver Mountain. Bret, Heidi, and their family came. As well as mom and dad, but the rest of my siblings were missing which was kinda sad, but other than that we had a very good time visiting and playing.
This year one of the activities was tie-dyed t-shirts made with spray paint. The kids had Matthew help them make their shirts and they got pretty creative.
We camped up by the yurt this year which put us about a quarter mile from the lodge. We took our bikes and Bret's scooter but I really enjoyed the walks back and forth-good exercise.

Another activity that we had was making hats out of paper bags. My cousin Corrine went to a lot of work getting ready for it and even though it was mainly for the kids, Heidi, KaDee and I made one too. I probably won't wear it out much but I did hang it in my craft room. :)

Every reunion is different and every year just makes more wonderful memories of being together with this great family I get to belong to.

Seven Peaks

On Tuesday we went to Seven Peaks. I went a lot as a kid but we haven't been in several years.

Of course we didn't stay long enough but I don't think I'd ever get enough water slides. The girls' favorite was the Lazy River and the Wave Pool. Cody had a great time with his cousins in the kiddie pool.

Even though I couldn't talk Jaycee, Britnee, or Cody to go on any slides this trip, we had a lot of fun swimming and playing. And we may just have to go back one more time before fall.

Down at the Boondocks

On Monday, August 10 the kids and I drove to Draper and met Bret and Heidi at Boondocks. They were in Utah on vacation and invited us for a few of their activities.

We got a three hour group pass and ran like maniacs all over that place playing on as many rides as we could ride in that time. Jaycee and I rode the go carts and Britnee and Cody got to practice on their very own little track. Life just couldn't get better for my little Cody who has wanted to drive one of those things since he could talk.

Jaycee and Britnee loved the bumper boats. It was a beautiful day so getting wet wasn't that big of deal.

Our favorite ride was inside. It was a simulator ride complete with 3-D glasses. We would sit on funny shaped plastic chairs in the dark and watch a movie screen. Then our chairs would move with the ride. They even had air blowing on us like we were really riding inside an old haunted mine.

The kids also got 20 coins each to play the arcade games there. When we were about done Brit brought me 1 gold coin and 1 silver coin that she wanted to bring home to put in her collection. That means that she saved 11 of her 20 coins. We explained to her that these coins weren't like the coins that she collected so she did trade the silver one in and play a few more games. Somehow though, we ended up bringing home 3 gold coins anyway. Oh well, there's always next time.

St. George on the Run

On August 1 my sister-in-law Michelle had a baby shower in St. George. My dad, mom, Kelly, Peyton, Brit, Jaycee and I drove down to be there for it.

While we were there mom got us tickets to go see Annie at the outdoor amphitheater, Tuacahn. It was a delightful little performance that we enjoyed very much.
We were able to visit with our good friends Taylor and Suzett while we were there. We spent Saturday afternoon swimming in "Uncle Hal's" pool and us girls even got crazy neon extensions in our hair.

We had a great time and were so glad to come home where it was a tolerable temperature.

Memory Monday-The Snake that almost ate us

In the summer's of 2003 and 2004 our family took river rafting trips down the Snake River between Jackson Hole and Alpine Junction. We would try and make 3 or 4 runs each day for 2 days.

The first year the kids didn't ride with us much but the second year we took turns watching the kids while everyone else rode the raft.

On this particular trip Kelly and I took our baby turn with Chris and Cody while the other 4 kids piled in the middle. I took this picture as everyone took off for the trip that none of us will ever forget.

The two best rapids are about halfway down the run-the Lunch Counter and the Big Kahuna. Kelly and I drove to an overlook point about 200 feet above the river to watch them go by.

Just as they hit the first set of rapids the raft seemed to disappear and before we knew what happened, Kelly and I were looking at the bottom of the raft.(I snapped this picture just as they flipped.) Everything happened very fast after that. Another raft had pulled off to the side and was there to help pull everyone out of the water. Bart rode the second set of rapids in his life jacket carrying 3 paddles and Heidi's shoe.

It was a indescribable feeling watching my two daughters, along with several other members of my family floating down the river and not be able to do anything but watch. Thankfully somehow everyone was able to dry off, take a big breath, and get back in to finish the run. It took quite a bit of talking to get the kids back in the raft. In the end, we lost Jaycee's glasses, KaDee's shoe, and our water bucket. All very replaceable things.

We haven't been back to float the river for a few years now. Maybe we will again someday, but even then, this run will always be my most memorable.