Raspberry Days 2008

So for those of you who may not be familiar with the Raspberry Days celebration, it is a little festival that takes place in the beautiful town of Garden City, UT. You would be amazed at the number of tourists you can pack into such a small town. There is a craft fair, parade, fireworks, dances, entertainment, fun at the lake, and of course the famous Raspberry Shakes!!!

THE DREADED DRIVE

So you may wonder if we are going to Raspberry Days what are our children doing in the trunk in the middle of the road on the reservation just outside of Flagstaff, AZ??

Yes, that is a semi trailer blocking both lanes of traffic. Two hours of fun on the pavement stuck in a big line of traffic with no alternate routes. Although the thought of turning around really sounded appealing after the first hour we are glad in hind sight that we waited it out.

BEAUTIFUL BEAR LAKE

With scenery like this awaiting you two hours doesn't seem that terrible. This is the view from the deck at my parents house. As my sister Kerrie would say "God Bless America!!!"

FUN AT THE FAIR Jacob trying to get the ball while being bounced in twelve different directions by the other children in the bouncy house. (don't mind the love birds in the background...gag me!)

Madison all harnessed up awaiting her turn on the trampoline extreme-o. Okay I don't really know what the actual name of the contraption is but they hook your harness to some rubber bands which are attached to poles in the air and a worker grabs you and bounces you way up in the air. You can do flips and such but Madi preferred the stiff as a board approach. I was pretty impressed that she gave is a whirl however.

So after Madison went, Patrick talked me into trying. They get you pretty dang high up. The harness is only slightly violating and I flashed my G's to everyone at the fair and I looked like a complete idiot... but other than that is was pretty fun.

Madison and Porter at the end of the big blow up slide.

FUN AT G-MA and G-PA's HOUSE.

All of the girls helping Grandma bake Halle's birthday cake.

Courtney my sister getting all of the kiddo's ready for a treasure hunt.

Madison and Halle asked Grandma to make them dresses on Sunday afternoon so they could play dress-up (just a note they ask Grandma because they know she is perfectly capable of whipping up a couple of dresses in no time at all. They have a very talented grandma.)

Bedtime stories with Grandpa.

Thanks mom and dad for letting all of us invade you house. I know we are all a little overwhelming all together and appreciate you hospitality and patience.

FUN IN THE SUN AT THE LAKEMadison and Halle. Two sun bathing beauties.

The kids had a blast playing with cousins, chasing the Seagulls, digging in the sand, splashing in the water, taking in the rays and making great memories.

Bet you can't guess.....

Yep, another camping trip!!! I am a little behind in my blogging so this is from a few weeks ago. We headed back up to the mountains to try and beat the heat. Right when we got there my husband lovingly wanted to take me on a quad ride just the two of us and asked if our fellow campers would watch the kids for a few minutes. I should have known something was up because it usually is when he acts a little to anxious to spend some "quality time" together.

This was some of the beautiful scenery we encountered while we were on our little getaway. Breathtaking isn't it? The trees, the wild flowers, the fog in the air, the smell of rain...

Oh right and don't let me forget the sound of screams and splashing as a wave of muddy water come crashing down on your head. I should have known he was up to something...history repeats itself. (And of course this picture was taken after numerous trips through this and many other "puddles")And here is the end result...you should have seen the rest of us. Thank heavens for travel trailers and showers.

This is Madison on the kids quad they just got. She spent many hours circling camp with her good buddy Brad. Notice there is not one of Porter...after his last spill on our previous camping trip the thought of driving is less than appealing.

Oh yes another highlight was the beautiful boat ride with wonderful scenery and fishing and don't let me forget the constant whining and complaining of our children as they beat into our heads how boring it was and that the fish were not biting and I want to go back to camp and where is Brad and yadda ta yadda ta yadda ta. That is until we gave up two hours into our four hour time slot and headed for shore... of course now hearing how much fun it was and how they didn't want to go back to shore they wanted to stay on the boat. Needless to say we went back to camp and Pat needed a nap. I did manage to get a few photos of our fantastic and last boat trip with the kids. (for a while anyway)

This is Jacob terrified, not moving, and obviously not enjoying himself (very unlike him) as we boarded the boat. Could it be the fact that we have drilled into his head how dangerous water is or the life jacket choking him? Either way it didn't take long for him to return to his dare devil little self again climbing around on the boat, holding onto the sides and jumping up and down, leaning over just to the brink of falling in so he could get his finger tips into the water. Ahhh sweet memories.

The scenery around the boat was actually very pretty minus the noise and chaos inside the boat. This was a pretty picture of a Bald Eagle high up in the trees. And had we made it to the end of our four hour time slot like George and Lanette we would have seen it swoop down and catch a fish from the water. Oh well, pretty none the less.

And as always there was plenty of games, fishing, food, chatting, and laughter.