Giddy Up

Addie was so lucky to go to her friend Oliver's grandparents' house and ride a horse last week after preschool.  She had no fear whatsoever and couldn't wait to go for a ride!  Izze had fun running around, she wanted nothing to do with such a big animal.  I wasn't quite as brave as Addie, so I opted for the photo shot with Izze crying and a quick walk around the lawn.  We had such a fun afternoon playing games, jumping on the trampoline, and climbing trees.  No wonder Addie cried when I told her it was time to go home and she keeps asking when we get to go back!

Fall Fun

I must admit that I am enjoying the fall weather!  It is so pleasant here with the cool mornings, warm days, cool nights - I'm so afraid of the day when it will end.  We have been keeping super busy these days with canyon outings, Addie starting preschool (which she loves), Izze walking and getting into everything, a trip to Discovery Gateway, mother/daughter luau at church, a princess party, and playing at the park!

California!!!

We just got back from our super fun trip to California!  We had such a fun time and wish we could still be there.  We stayed in Newport Beach and went to Disneyland one day, Addie continues to ask when we are going again :)  I have so many pictures that I find it will be easier to show what we did then tell it...
We went swimming in our hotel pool once, it was a bit chilly!

We walked around the hotel grounds, complete with a golf course, volleyball sandpit, ping pong tables, and shuffleboard.  We were never bored :)

We went to the beach several times, Izze didn't love the water, but loved the sand.  Addie loved the water and sand.  I loved watching the waves and Andrew loved jumping into the waves.

 We ate at Ruby's Diner on the pier at Newport Beach.  It was so fun to sit there and watch the ocean while waiting for our food. 

We also enjoyed walking along the pier and watching all the fishermen.  Did I mention Izze is walking now???  Yep, she started a few weeks ago and is getting better each day!

We also went to Disneyland for a day.  Addie loved it, Izze loved it, I loved it, and I think Andrew just tolerated it :)  I thought Addie would be all for the rides since she loves Lagoon, but she was more about seeing Sleeping "Cutie" (this is what she calls Sleeping Beauty) and all the other princesses.  We started the day with the traditional picture...

 I was surprised at how many rides Izze could go on, her favorite one was the merry-go-round, of course.

Addie loved the parade and was excited to be able to dance in it too!  We enjoyed it so much we watched it twice :)

I thought all of the princesses would be in the parade, they were not.  Addie was very distraught that she had not seen her princesses by late afternoon.  We went on a princess search and after a princess show and waiting in line for princess photos we were able to see all of the princesses, except Jasmine.  (Luckily Jasmine was in the Fantasmic show later that night.)

Izze was just content to be able to get her hands on some merchandise!

We had a lot of fun at Disneyland and I personally can't wait to go again!

This was Izze trying to wake up the whole hotel on our final morning.  She was talking so loud and wandering around aimlessly, it was hilarious.

Labor Day

We went camping over Labor Day weekend with some friends and had a grand time.  The weather was much more cooperative this time, cool in the mornings and warm days.  We kept ourselves busy throwing rocks in the nearby river, driving into town - if you can call it that -, driving some dirt trails to find a lake, eating lunch in some random cafe in Duchense, and reading books.  Andrew and I even managed to play a card game! 

Silver Lake

We drove up to Silver Lake with some friends to do a little hike and walk around the lake.  As we were approaching the turnoff, there was a huge moose in the road!  I told Addie to check it out and for the remainder of the hike she kept asking where the moose was, it was so crazy to see one so close.  Addie loved running around the lake and Izze enjoyed the ride in the backpack.  We stopped at one point to take some pictures.  Izze had to get out and be like the big kids checking out the ducks swimming in the lake. 

Smith and Morehouse

A few weekends ago we took out the Flying Dutchmen once again to Smith and Morehouse.  We had booked our campsite a few weeks prior, so how were we to know of the crazy thunderstorm/rainstorm we would experience.  I guess we should have thought twice since it was raining when we left and only got worse the closer we got to the campground.  Luckily Andrew's Mom joined us and came prepared with ponchos and umbrellas!  Once the trailer was all set up we transferred the girls and gear inside only to realize our tinfoil dinners would have to wait until the next day.  During the night it continued to rain and then came the lightening and thunder, oh my, I thought we were going to get struck for sure!  It was so loud and so close to us and then the rain poured down even harder.  Addie and Izze slept through the entire storm, surprisingly!  Saturday was much better, it was cool, but at least it was clear except for a small thunderstorm during breakfast.  The cooler weather foiled our plans to go on the lake in our raft, we opted to walk around it instead and throw rocks in the water.  We had a good time and enjoyed the cooler weather.  Just for the record our tent trailer does not leak, phew, that is one thing we were uncertain of before this trip.

Splash Park

It is the end of August, basically the end of summer as we know it up here, and we made it to a splash park for the first time this summer.  How sad.  If we were still in St. George, I think it would have been our 100th time, oh well.  Addie loved it, but kept complaining that she was cold - not quite the same without the southern heat.  Izze had the time of her life splashing in the water and spraying other unsuspecting kids with the water.  Addie and Izze were both glad to have their friends Oliver and Ruby there to run around and splash in the water with them.