Summer Vacation in Utah...Continued

We had to see the T-Rex before we left Thanksgiving Point.

After the Dinosaur Museum Rick took the boys to Cabela's. They saw all sorts of things from the fish tanks to all the animals on the rocks. It was so much fun to be able to see Kathy and her boys. We miss them so much and wish that we could have spent more time with them.

Next we headed up to Mendon to see the Gudmundson family. We spent a whole day shopping the first day. It was a lot of fun...for the girls anyways. But Rick was a very good sport. After a day of shopping, Rick needed something manly to do. So him and Jenni spent some time putting together a potato canon. It took them a while to do plus a trip into town to the hardware store but it was a success. We shot the potatoes straight up into the air and they went so high we had a hard time seeing where they were coming down.

The next day was Pioneer Day and Mendon Day. There was lots of things to do. In the morning there was a 5K that my dad and sisters did. Then there was a book sale, a parade, a cooking contest and loads of other things. Then that night after a game of human battleship there was a huge waterfight between the cousins. Needless to say, Rick's team won. Hands down, dispite what rumors you may hear from Shawn and Jason. After the waterfight there was a fireworks display. We were concerned about Madi and her ears because the fireworks were being shot off about two blocks away. But Madi loves them! She was in awe over them and didn't even flinch when they would go off.

While we were there Jenni had her birthday. Since we were going to be flying out on her actual birthday we decided to celebrate it a few days early. There was a little pie fight between Jenni, mom and dad. (No idea how that happened) And no, I didn't push Jenni's head in the pie when she wasn't looking...or maybe I did. But at least dad got the pie in the face because she thought it was him. Madi also enjoyed trying pie. I think it's a new favorite.

Monday we went up to Tony Grove for some fishing. If you look really close at the back ground you will see the thunderstorm moving in. Rick and I got caught out on the lake during that. It was a down pour and we almost got rained out. But after a while it eased up and Rick and Sarah had so much success fishing afterwards.

It's a good thing we stayed for more fishing after the storm.

The Gudmundson tradition: Kong cones at Macey's.

We took Madi to Willow Zoo while were in Logan. She loved all the animals!

But the birds were by far her favorite.

We had a lot of fun while we were in Utah. That was our first real vacation in over two years and it was wonderful to be able to finally do it. While we were out there Madi had lots of firsts. She had her first plane ride, she got her first two teeth, she started crawling on all fours, she pulled herself into a standing position, she started saying mama and dada and associated the words with me and Rick. We are happy to be home but sad we had to leave everyone. We look forward to the next time we can go out and visit. We miss you and love you all!

Summer Vacation in Utah

It was a blast! We did so much while we were out there and took so many pictures. I will probably have to do this in two posts so I can get it all on there. I will try and make it as short as I can but it is still going to be long. We flew into Salt Lake on the 18th. Madi was a jewel on the plane. He ears didn't bother her one bit and she either played or slept most of the time. It was a huge blessing for her and for us. One of the first things we did was spend a few days with Rick's sister Kathy and her family. Her boys wanted us to play baseball with them because there baseball season had just ended. And let me tell ya, those boys are hardcore. Tyler and Luke both struck their uncle Rick out. Good Job! Here is a picture of Rick being struck out. You can see the ball right behind him as he tried for a grand slam. Better luck next time Rick.

The boys had so much fun playing with their uncle Rick. I even ran a few races with them but with all the energy those kids have it was hard to keep up after a while.

Madi loved being with her cousins. Her favorite part was being outside watching them run around.

The next morning we went to Deer Creek. We didn't have tons of success but Rick was able to pull in a bass before we left.

After fishing we stopped into Macey's for their famous Kong cones. The kid's eyes were so big when they saw the size of their ice cream cone.

That night Rick and I had dinner with some of our friends. It was so good to see them after two years.

The next morning Kathy took us to the Payson Pool. It was Madi's first time at the pool so she was a little nervous at first, but it didn't take long before she didn't want to leave the water. She splashed every kid that went by and when she got splashed she would just start doing raspberries and then start laughing.

It was so much fun to go swimming. We were all worn out by the time we were done, but it was worth it. Madi fell asleep pretty fast after all the fun in the sun. She made it to the towels for a bottle and didn't even get very many sips in before she was out.

After the pool and a little nap, Rick wanted to take the boys to Redmond Lake for some pike fishing. We didn't catch any pike, but he did catch this pretty big cat fish. We weren't able to stay as long as we had hoped because there was a pretty crazy lightening storm.

The next morning the boys showed us their skills on their dirt bikes. I am scared of motorcycles and dirt bikes but these boys showed no fear. We didn't get a chance to see them ride on the track but they do all the crazy jumps and turns and stuff. They are very good with those bikes so it was a treat to be able to see them ride.

Then we headed up to Thanksgiving Point to the Dinosaur Museum. Uncle Rick bought the boys a fossil to carve out of the rock and here they are proudly displaying their newly carved fish fossil.

Ready for a Break

This next week Rick and I are headed out to Utah to visit family. It has been two years since we have been back there so we are definately looking forward to it. It will be the first time Madi has met any of her Aunts from the Gudmundson side. We are excited to show her off and I know there will be lots of competition for the position of the favorite aunt. But I am sure she will love them all. We are in desperate need of a break from life so this is a very welcomed opportunity. The only part we are concerned about it Madi on the airplane since it is a 4 and a half hour flight. And of course the past two weeks she has refused to sleep in our arms. She wants to be sprawled out on the floor with her blanket. I just hope everyone on the plane will be patient with her if she can't sleep during the flight. We are looking forward to our trip and we will have lots to post when we get back. Happy Summer Break!

Washington DC and Baltimore

My family flew in from Utah a few weeks ago and we were able to spend some time with them seeing the sights. Rick and I have lived here for almost a year now and we have never been to DC to see the monuments so I think it was good motivation for us to finally go when they came to visit. We spent 2 very long and hot days in DC but we were able to see pretty much everything. And then my parent's and Jodie went to see Mt Vernon while Rick and I took the other sisters to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. It was so much fun to be able to get that much in all in the same week. By the end of it I was so tired and needed a vacation from the vacation just to catch up on some sleep and to rest my sore muscles from all the walking. But it was a lot of fun!


Rick showing off my baby bump at the Washington Monument

Us in front of the White House. And the President was home at the time too. You can tell by the flag; if there is a flag up that means he is home. (At least that is what they said)

The traditional picture that I am sure everyone takes at the Smithsonian's Natural History Measeum

The bubble tubes at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I could not pry myself away from them. They were so much fun to take silly pictures by and when you are with your sisters...you get very creative.


One of the many fish tanks at the Baltimore Aquarium

Baseball and Rodeos

It has been a very eventful week. Rick and I got free tickets to the Salt Lake Bees Baseball game from my work. The game was on Tuesday night so we drove up to Salt Lake to go the the baseball game. IT was a lot of fun. They played the Oklahoma Redhawks. The Redhawks won 7-4 but that's who I was cheering for anyways since that is my home state.

Then on Wednesday night Rick and I went to the Spanish fork Rodeo together. Going to the Rodeo has been a yearly tradition since we started dating. This is the third year in a row that we have gone. We love going to the rodeo because it is as close to Oklahoma as you can get out here. They even had some riders in from Oklahoma doing cow roping and on the bucking broncos. It was fun to watch all the horses and riders preform and compete. This is one of our favorite things to do during the summer.

Campfire

Rick, me and my friends from work, Katie, Danica, Brittany, Collin, Sam (Katie's Boyfriend) and I all went up Provo Canyon for a campfire over the weekend a few weeks ago. Rick and I were in charge of the fire because I am the biggest pyro you will ever meet. So lets just say the fire was pretty big. It was so nice to just get away and spend time with our friends. We roasted hot dogs and marshmellow and then just sat around the fire while Collin played his guitar. It was so much fun. I am so glad that the cold weather is finally gone and we can go outside and have fires and play without having to worry about getting cold.

Fun at the Park

Rick and I went to visit a park that my parents used to take me to a lot when I was a kid. When I was little I thought that the park was so big, but when we went back to the park together, I wasn't sure if it was the right park because it seemed so much smaller then I remembered. We found these beehives while we were there. The object of this beehive was for both Rick and I to fit inside. And surprisingly enough we were able to do it. Rick and his friends all tried to balance on a beam that was hanging from chains. It wiggled all over the place so it was difficult to stay on...as you can probably tell from the look on Rick's face.