Bradley's first day of 1st grade

Thursday was Bradley's first day of 1st grade. He has been so excited to go back to school and especially to eat lunch at school.

Bradley is my morning child. He has had an alarm for a few years now and hates it when we won't set it for him. First thing Thursday morning he comes running upstairs (after his alarm went off), yelling "Guess what? I get to go to school TODAY! I am in 1st grade!"

He was so excited he want to pack a lunch first thing, there was no fighting to get him going, but there usually never is for him, just for his sister.



Olivia and Richard took Bradley to school. He is FINALLY old enough to play on the playground before school. In kindergarten he had to go straight to his class when he got to school, I guess to him a whole year of kindergarten is really long and unfair to not get to play before school. Then the bell rang and it was time to line up and start the day.






I was so worried and stressed for him, but of course he did great. When school was out he was beaming. He loved his first day, he really likes his teacher (and I actually do too), he was so excited to have 3 recesses (really only 2, but he counts playing before school as one too), lunch was great, and he loves to learn.

He will be a star student. I am just a little sad he is growing up!

~Amanda

The Spruces

This weekend we went camping at the Spruces. Richard and the kids went Thursday, which meant I had a whole night of peace and quiet at home. Thanks Richard!

Heather and I came up Friday afternoon, then Jeff and Ivy came up later. We had a lot of fun hanging out by the fire and playing games. Ivy even broke out her camp songs. I got to be my klutzy self and twisted my ankles while falling into a bush (not too bad of an injury though).

Saturday we went on a hike. We didn't make it all the way to the waterfall (because of the before mentioned injuries). But we got some welcomed exercise and wonderful pictures.

Late Saturday afternoon my mom came up and we had dinner, played more games and sat around the campfire. We even used our dutch oven that we got for a wedding present and have never used until now.

The whole trip was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed being with my family and being in nature. I just wished I could have showered. I felt very dirty and I know my kids were, they were practically rolling in the dirt. I guess Richard wins, I am a camper as long as I have a trailer!

The post below this one is a slide show of some of our camping pictures from this trip. Hopefully you don't think it too long. I have a hard time deciding which to post. At least I didn't put all 126 on!
~Amanda

Haroldsen Family BBQ

Yesterday we hosted the Haroldsen Family BBQ. We started the afternoon off with a treasure hunt for the kids. Kim is very creative and made clues for the kids to follow to get to the treasure (M&M's).


Clue #1 on the treasure hunt.

Next we walked to our neighborhood park and played some games. We had a limbo contest for the kids and adults, a 3-legged race for the kids and adults, and a balloon toss. There were also a lot of other side activities going on while one or more of the planned actives were happening.





The limbo contest was really more for fun. The kids had a blast and so did the adults.

The kid 3-legged Race. There was several versions of this race. The first race included all of the grand kids who are very steady on their feet. So no Ryan and Robert. The kids were teamed up based on height. Alex and Nathan, Bradley and Savannah, Olivia and Jennifer and Emily and Emmalee. Emmalee wasn't too thrilled with the idea of being tied up, but with the help of their parents they finished the Race. Olivia and Jennifer had good team work. They came in third. Bradley and Savannah were second and the twins came in first. Do you think they had an advantage, being basically attached at the hip since the womb???

The next race Savannah and Bradley came in first, and the last race they switched things up and Savannah and Alex and Bradley and Nathan were teamed up. Bradley and Nathan won by a nose. It was a very close and intense race.

Couples 3-legged Race. Mindy was on the "injured list" and Chris was still at work so Debbie and Craig mad up a mixed couple team. Cindy and Derek won, but Kim and Todd gets the best sports award. They fell flat on their face and still finished the race and gave us all a good laugh.

Richard decided to show off his high jumping skills, and the other boys followed. They all tried to top each other, but NONE of them could go any higher than the fourth rung.

After all the adults were close to exhaustion and the kids had a little energy out, we all came back to our house for hamburgers and hot dogs along with all sort of yummy sides.

The kids jumped on the trampoline and played with Piper. It was a nice day. The best part of the whole day. I didn't have to plan any of it. Kim and Richard took charge and got everything taken care of. Thanks Kim and Richard for planning this and being so organized!

Lagoon Day

My work did a summer party at Lagoon this past week, and it also happened to be on my birthday. The kids had a blast, Bradley was just tall enough to ride on all the rides, and he rode the Wicked, Cliffhanger, and the Wild Mouse, but the Samurai was too much for him. Olivia was fearless and wanted to ride all the big rides, but she was too short. She rode all the rides that she was tall enough for, and her favorite ride was the Ladybug Drop. Both of the kids loved the bumper cars, and rode them at least 10 times. Bradley played one of the "carnival" games and won 2 toys by popping balloons with the darts. There was a water fountain that the kids played in to cool off.












Posted by Richard

Our Hikes

The past week, we have gone on two nature hikes.


The first hike, Amanda, the kids and I went to Silver Lake. It is located at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon and is a short one mile hike on a nice groomed trail around a small mountain lake. We started with a picnic, and there were some very aggressive squirrels and chipmunks that kept trying to sneak up and get some of our food. The hike was nice and easy, and a welcome change of pace from the hustle and bustle of the city.







The second hike was with Ivy, Jeff, the kids and myself. We went up Spanish Fork Canyon to check out some campsites, and hiked up to The Hot Pots. It was a two and a half mile hike up a fairly rough trail that ended in a waterfall, and natural hot springs. We could tell when we were getting close, it started to smell like rotten eggs. There were signs posted warning of "Nude Swimmers" in the hot springs. Luckily we didn't see any. Everyone enjoyed getting their feet wet in the warm water. Olivia really enjoyed the hike, as she spent most of the time on my shoulders.









Posted by Richard