Family time

I have loved the past few weeks being busy with many fun family activities.  It's been awesome having Kylee and Brody here since the 17th, and having Jess and Brad around a lot.  We had a fun time at the Skeens having a party before Christmas.  We had an ugly lamp contest, played the newlywed game, and played around the world, 4 square, wall ball and dodge ball in the gym.

 I loved Christmas being on a Sunday this year.  I wish it was every year and that we could have an amazing 1 hour Sacrament meeting like we did this year.  It was great.  I actually liked just getting up and going to church at 9, then coming home, taking pictures, then opening presents and having a big breakfast at noon.  We spent the rest of the day going to the Weyerts, then hanging out at home playing the trivia game, hide the pickle, and several other fun games.  It was so wonderful to all be together for the whole day.

Kylee and Brody are here for another week, so stay tuned for another post of more fun activities!

Mexico!

 Our family had the wonderful experience of spending a week near Akumal, Mexico (70 miles south of Cancun) for a week over Thanksgiving break.   It was the best vacation ever, and we'll have memories of our time there to last a lifetime.  The first pictures I'm showing have to be one of my top three favorite things about the trip:  THE VIEW.  This is what we got to look at everyday.  I couldn't get enough of it.  This is what I call paradise.

Me, Mike, Jess, Brad, Jake and Cam journeyed together from SLC to Cancun, meeting Ky and Brody in Mexico as they'd come from Denver.  One of my other favorite parts of the trip was how we spent every evening.  We would start off with "topic presentations."  Before arriving in Mexico, everyone picked a topic that would teach us something, then they'd present it, and we'd discuss it for awhile after.  For example:  Mike taught us how we get water in Logan, Brody talked about space, and Brad talked about gratitude being a part of having a winning and successful attitude.  It was very informative and interesting, and fun to discuss topics we wouldn't normally. Then we'd either play cards or watch home movies.  Both activities were very amusing and fun.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at a park called Xel Ha.  We had a blast riding bikes, snorkeling, cliff jumping, going on zip-lines, rope swings, enjoying the beauty,  eating the delicious buffets which were included in our entry, AND swimming with dolphins!  It was a perfect day.

Friday we enjoyed a lovely, relaxing day at our beach house having fun going kayaking, laying out, swimming and snorkeling, playing a little volleyball, lazing in the hammocks, getting covered head-to-toe with sand (something only Jake would do. . .) climbing coconut trees (something only Brody would do. . .), and going out for dinner that night at a quaint Mexican restaurant called La Buena Vida. Does life get any better than this?  I submit that it does not!

 Saturday was spent at a park called Xplor.  It was amazing!  We went on these zip-lines that took
1 1/2 hours to get through all of them, and because it wasn't crowded at all, we were able to do them twice.  It was so much fun to go flying through the air.  We also rode the rhino jeeps twice, swam and rafted in the underground river (which was so cool and pretty) and enjoyed two more tasty buffets, again included with our admission.  We all loved this adventurous day. 

 Sunday we went to nearby Akumal to snorkel at Turtle Beach and swim with turtles!  It was so cool!  Jake and I saw one with three gold fish on it's back, and when it came up to the surface for a breath, we touched it!  It was probably three feet long.  It was awesome.  Also seen were swordfish, stingrays and various colorful and huge fish.  Jess and Brad made a cool sand castle.  The picture on the left is the back of our beach house, and on the bottom right is the front of the house.  I absolutely loved that the house was right on the beach.  It was literally 40 steps from the back door to the water.  SOOO cool!

 We all got cleaned up and spent a little time taking some family pictures right outside our beach house.  I'm so happy with the way they turned out.  Kylee had borrowed a friends tripod and remote, so we just clicked away!

 These are some of my favorites of the kids:

 We then headed over to the town of Tulum to check out the Mayan ruins.  It was so cool to walk around and see everything in such a beautiful setting.

 Monday we spent more time relaxing on the beach, then in the late afternoon went to our last park- Xcaret.  It was mostly a zoo and aquarium (nothing exciting like the other two parks) , but still cool to just walk around looking at all the exotic creatures in a beautiful setting.  We had our last delicious buffet (again, included with our admission) then headed home to enjoy our last night in Mexico.

More pictures of the boys having fun and keeping themselves entertained.
 My last favorite part about the trip was seeing my kids all enjoying being together and having fun with each other.  I loved that there were no distractions like we have at home: school, jobs, friends, electronics, etc. and that we just had each other to enjoy and make memories with.  I will end with the sight I can't get out of my head and wish that I could wake up to every day here like I did for 7 days in Mexico. 

Back to reality

 This was the view out my bedroom window yesterday. . .

 and this is the view out my front room window today. . .

Needless to say, I'm having a bit of vacation withdrawal. I'll do a long post all about our fabulous Mexico vacation soon!

Jake turns 18!

 We had fun celebrating Jake's 18th birthday last week.  So much fun that we had to spread it out over 2 days!  On his actual birthday he had a swim meet in Ogden, so had to get up at 5:30 a.m. for that.  He had a great meet and got some of his best times in some of his events.  Then it was back to Logan to attend the first round of playoffs for football.  That night he hung out with his friends.  This is what greeted him after the football game in the school parking lot.  (Someone is a talented poster maker.  Thanks Jess!)

 The next day we had the Wheelwrights, Skeens, Bundys and Petes (minus Cody who was hunting) over for sweet pork burritos/salad, then a fun new name game that the Bundys taught us.

 We then headed over to Lundstrom Park for some ultimate frisbee.  Jake's team came out on top- helped by plays like this. . .

 It was then out to the Skeens to go for a RZR ride.   It was such a nice day for the end of October.  We loved spending so much time outside.

 We then had some rousing gym games including 4 square, dodge ball and wall ball. 

 Home again to open presents and have cake with Grandma and Grandpa Weyerts.  Mike then made crepes and the Lester boys came over to eat with us and then the 4 boys watched Captain America.  Whew!  What a day.  Who couldn't be happy with that celebration?

I love Jake so much and am so happy he's in our family.  He blesses my life every day.

2 hikes and fall break

 Stacey came to visit a few weekends ago, and it was so much fun spending some time with her.  Jess and I joined her and Ann on a fun Saturday adventure.  We rode the RZR over to Liberty and went on an awesome hike, shopped at a cute boutique, ate dinner at 'eats' then drove home.  The weather was perfect, the scenery divine, and the company exceptional!  It was a fun day.

 

 One of my favorite hikes in Logan Canyon is Crimson Trail and I hadn't done it all summer, so I was happy when my friend Janae was able to do it with me last Wednesday.  We had a great time and enjoyed visiting and taking in the beauty of the canyon.

 For fall break, Mike and I took the boys on a little adventure to Ft. Collins to visit Ky and Brody.  We had a great time, and I'm so glad we were able to go. We got there Thursday night in time for a tasty dinner Ky had prepared.  We played cards after dinner and watched some home movies we'd brought.  Friday we all went on a fun bike ride (Brody only joined us as far as CSU then he had to go to class and study after) around the town.  Ft Collins is a very bike friendly city with bike lanes and paths everywhere.  It was great.  We shopped at a fun outdoor mall in nearby Loveland and had lunch at Culvers.  That night we grilled Salmon burgers and sat in the hot tub, then the adults played Rook while Cam and Jake played Xbox.

  Saturday we went to the Rec Center at CSU.  It was pretty awesome.  The boys played on the rock climbing walls while Ky and I walked around campus.  There were about a dozen teams playing ultimate frisbee dressed up in Halloween costumes.  It was pretty funny to see.  Everyone went swimming for awhile except for me and Mike.  We did some more shopping, then went to a matinee.


  That night we walked around old town Ft Colllins and checked out the zombie fest.  Ky and the boys tried their best zombie look, but it wasn't quite the same as the real zombies. . .  It was pretty entertaining. We ate dinner at a delicious pizza place, then got an ice-cream. More rook and myth busters when we got back to Ky and Brody's apartment. 

Sunday we went to church and got to hear Brody speak in Sacrament meeting (don't worry, he didn't wear the beanie. . . ).  He did an awesome job- he definitely is a talented speaker.  After eating a meal of Hawaiian Haystacks, we were on our way home. 

We were so glad we could visit Ky and Brody in their new home.  I'm so happy that they're so happy there.  Now we can see why!

Easily annoyed?

I'm wondering if I'm unusually annoyed by things, or if most people feel as I do.  For example:  I've noticed that many people have words or phrases they say over and over.  One friend I have says this same thing every time I see her. . . "you surviving?"  Another person I know says "and such" at the end of many sentences.  Someone else says "to that end" every five minutes.    I'm also not a fan of people repeating the same thing over and over in the same conversation.  Do they have short term memory loss, or are they just trying hard to make a point?  I also have a problem with repetitive noises and sounds.  A girl in my Zumba class slaps the floor with the palm of her hands after most songs.  Huh?  Pounding, tapping, leg swinging, chirping, knuckle cracking, burping, chomping, twitching- all these things about send me over the edge.  What bugs you?  Or are you more tolerant or unobservant than I am?

Bike ride, cookout, boys activities

 This past Saturday Jess and I drove Mike, Brad, Jake and Cam near the top of Logan Peak and then the boys had a great time riding their mountain bikes down to Blacksmith Fork Canyon where we picked them up. 

 Jake had fun horsing around while the others were busy getting the bikes ready to go.  Even if no one is watching or thinks he's funny, he still enjoys entertaining himself. . .

 On Sunday we made tasty tin foil dinners in the canyon- something we've been wanting to do all summer!  I can't believe this is our first time for the year.  That's disgraceful!  We had a great time playing cards, eating, and making s'mores.

 During homecoming week LHS has a tradition for senior boys who are interested learning a dance from the Hi Lo's and then performing it at half-time of the powder puff football game.  Jake and his friends had a fun time participating in that.  He wore the blue wig for the powder puff performance, then changed it up with the blond wig for the pep assembly a few days later.  The boys also wear their outfit all day to school before the pep assembly performance. . . (yes, he's also wearing make-up. . . )  He rode with the Brickettes in the homecoming parade, and painted the street on Sunday before Homecoming week started.  Homecoming activities are always the highlight for the year for the kids.

 Lindsey took some senior pictures of Jake a few weeks ago.  She'll be doing more as the year goes by, so stay tuned. . . (isn't he handsome and so photogenic?)

 Cam is having a great Sophomore year playing football. After the first two games of his broken arm still being a little tender, he now says it feels perfectly normal.

I love fall which brings football, cooler weather, changing leaves and the new television season!