Funtopia

We used our Get Out passes to take the kids to Funtopia.  It's a rock climbing gym for kids.  The walls are all cute and colorful and have different challenges on them.  At the very end we found a hidden wall that was glowing with black lights.  We got to go for an hour.  I really like this place because they only allow a certain number of people in at a time (you have to reserve a spot in advance) so it's never too crowded.  So nice!

The wall that Sadie is climbing is really tricky because all of those gears spin as you are climbing.  Zac is climbing the fun buildings in the middle of the room.  That was Riley's favorite thing.

Owls and tetris.  The blacklight room was behind the tetris wall, so we didn't see it until the end.

Riley mostly stayed on these two things the entire time.  Either the fun wall or the buildings in the middle. 

Sadie made it to the tallest one. 

So did Zac.  I would love to come back to this place with Rob someday.  I think he would love it!

Splash Pad fun

 We went with some friends to a bakery in Lehi and got donuts and went to the splash pad.  I really liked the splash pad because it was big enough for the kids to have fun, but small enough for me to keep my eyes on them.  Also, there was a little playground close by with SHADE!!  It was amazing.  I want to go back, but it takes about 30 minutes to get there...maybe someday. 

Here are the kids with their donut selections.  Emery was mad about something, but managed to sit still for a picture.  Finley just licked the frosting off of hers and then stole Riley's that was left unattended and got some of her frosting too.  ha ha.

 This particular bakery is known for their square donuts.  So I got one of those for myself.  It was pretty tasty.

 Sadie and Zac enjoyed blocking the water and then letting it go.  

 Here is Finley chilling in the shade at the park.

 Emery, Riley, Faxon and Stella.  We love our friends!

 Then on the way home we stopped at Smith's because earlier that day I saw an advertisement saying the Wienermobile was going to be there.  We stopped by and the lady gave me some coupons and gave all the kids a wiener whistle.  

 Here are the kids enjoying another splash pad with our friends Lucy and Maggie.  

 We found the best day to go...there was like nobody there.

 Zac one day decided to be a good big brother and he bought all his sisters an icee at Target.  What a nice brother.

 And here are some random pictures from the time we got to watch Juniper while her parents went out on a birthday date for Crys.  

This cute snuggling didn't last long, but they are so cute!!!

Lagoon and Cowabunga Bay

 I got a good deal on something called the "Get Out Pass" last December or so, and we have been using it a ton.  The main reason we got it was because we could use it to go to Cowabunga Bay and Lagoon once this summer.  If we did that, it would definitely pay for itself.  So we put those two things on our calendar and went.  I didn't take very many pictures at Cowabunga bay because I was swimming and wet the whole time we were there.  It was so crowded.  We actually had to wait in lines to go on the slides this time.  So we went on 2 or 3 of the big slides and then the kids spent the rest of the time in the lazy river and the kiddie area.  Riley didn't want to go down any of the slides which surprised me because last time she kept going on slide after slide.  She would somehow work her way to the front of the line and they would just let her go over and over.  This time she didn't go on any slides.  But she had a blast anyway. 

 I took this picture right as we were leaving.  It really is a fun water park...There were just so many people there.  I also went on that far right red slide in the picture.  I went with Emery.  She went first and waited for me at the bottom.  The slide went so fast!  I was not prepared for how fast it went so at the bottom when it dropped me into the end of the slide, my tankini top flew up.  I could feel something was weird but it took me a minute to realize my entire stomach was showing (fortunately, just my stomach...not my chest...thank goodness!).  I quickly pulled my top down.  I don't know if anyone was looking my direction but if they were, they would have been blinded by my white stomach.  It has never seen the sunlight!  ha ha!  It was a very fun and exhausting day.

The next week, we took the kids to Lagoon.  I was a little bit worried thinking back to our Disneyland trip, but Lagoon was very doable.  The kids loved it.  Riley was a little daredevil and loved all the fast rides.  A favorite was a ladybug drop ride that just takes them up high and drops them down.  She literally ran from ride to ride in the little ride section the entire time we were there.  We had to tear her away to eat lunch.  ha ha.

Emery and Riley on the airplane ride.  Finley almost went on this ride, but she would have had to sit in the front seat all by herself which she didn't like.  We tried it a couple of times, but she would just cry when we got out there, so we would just exit the ride.  Then she would scream because she thought she actually DID want to ride it.  

Here is a blur of Sadie and Zac on the airplane ride too.

I think this was the very first ride they went on...See the pure (blurry) joy on Riley's face.  She was in heaven!

This is the ladybug drop ride that I was talking about before.  They probably rode that ride about 10 times that day.

This was Finley's favorite ride.  She liked it because she could sit right next to Rob.

There is a ride called Cannibal at Lagoon.  Sadie told me she wanted to ride it.  I was terrified but I told her I would ride it one time.  So I told her we better do it at the beginning so I didn't chicken out.  I also looked online the night before we left to make sure it was safe for me to ride on roller coasters after having brain surgery.  Google told me it was...darn.  I was kinda hoping that google would say I couldn't.  Ha ha.  So we went and stood in line for the big Cannibal.  Check out the ride here.  I just watched the video in the link and my heart is racing...ha ha.  Such a scary but fun ride.

I think I took this picture before we went on it.  The scariest thing for me was that there wasn't any shoulder harness.  Just across your legs.  It pretty much hugged your legs so you can't fall out, but still it scared me.  I held on so tight and my leg muscles were so tense that I was sore for a few days after.  But I survived.  When I asked the kids afterward how they liked it, they said it wasn't that scary.  What??!!  I was screaming the whole time.  How did they think it wasn't scary?  They told me they closed their eyes the whole time.  

After that ride I needed a break.  My hands were numb and tingly either from holding on so tight, or I don't know, so I sat the next ride out.  But Sadie and Zac were brave and when on this one.  

They did awesome on this ride.  It looked pretty scary to me.

We took a break for lunch and they spent a little time at the splash pad.

Rob and the kids went on this octopus ride.  They all got wet because it squirts out water.  It was nice though because it was pretty hot that day.

I got to ride on the fun truck ride with Finley.  Note: they didn't ever check our seatbelt to make sure it was done right and they didn't check to make sure the door was closed.  It wasn't.  So it flipped open on one of the turns.  Not a big deal because the ride isn't crazy, so I just held the door closed so it wouldn't whip opened.  But this incident comes up a little later...so keep on reading.

Emery's friend had told her about a ride called wicked that she just HAD to go on.  So when our time at the park was nearing an end, and I could feel my hands again, we left Rob and the two littles and went to find this Wicked ride.  Here is a link to see the ride.

We stood in line for about 20 minutes and right when we got to the front I could tell Emery was starting to freak out.  But she did get on the ride and we pushed her harness down (again...not shoulder harness!!) so she was stuck.  Ok...now back to the previous story where the worker forgot to check our seat belts on the kiddie ride...Zac was having trouble pulling his harness down.  I had already pulled mine down so I couldn't help because I couldn't reach him.  A girl had walked past and checked mine and Emery's harness and I saw the guy on the other side that was supposed to check Sadie and Zac's just walk right by after glancing their way.  I started to freak out because he just left.  I waved my arms and yelled "his isn't down yet!!!" thinking they were going to start the ride and Zac was going to fly out.  I was getting frantic but the guy looked at me and kinda nodded his head.  This didn't reassure me because he still was walking away without helping.  Sadie at this point is trying to pull the thing down and Zac is getting scared.  Apparently the guy was just going to get a single rider to ride in the empty seat in front of us and then he came back and helped.  Oh man...my heart was racing before we even started the ride.  I was so nervous because in the kiddie ride they had forgotten to check our seat belt and the door flew opened, but on this ride, Zac would surely fly out of the coaster if his thing wasn't down.  I'm sure that worker thought I was crazy, but at least Zac survived the ride.  ha ha.  Emery at this point was strapped in and she started crying because she didn't want to do it anymore. I told her it was too late and we are going to do this together.  Then a teenage boy from the row in front of us turned around and told her it would be ok.  She would be fine.  I thought it was so nice of that guy, whoever he was, to take the time to try to put Emery's mind at ease.  And we took off and went on the ride and had a great time.  I was holding (more like squeezing) Emery's arm the whole time to help her through the ride.  That was my last ride of the day.  We went and met up with Rob and headed home after one last stop at the splash pad.

Finley was so tired that she just sat there in the shade.  :)

It was a really fun day.  The kids all had a blast and I think Rob and I had a lot of fun too.  Just seeing my kids having so much fun brings joy to my heart.  

And here is a random video from when Finley and I were waiting for the others to go on a roller coaster.  

Pioneer Day - 24th of July

 The 24th of July is a holiday here in Utah. They have a big parade called the "Days of '47" parade.  We have never been to that parade, but we have always gone to see the floats.  They put them on display in a big building with air conditioning (!) and we get to go really close and they hand out candy.  This year, one of the floats had this big bar and they would time how long the kids could hang on it.  Sadie and Zac both took a turn and got new records for their age group! 

By the time we left their records were broken, but it was fun to have their name written on the board for a little while at least.  

 We always have to take a picture at the BYU float.

 We also stopped by the Real Salt Lake float.  

 Also, I showed up at our summer movie with the kids and my friend and I were wearing the same shirt!  I love that I made exactly 3 shirts like this and two of my best friends have the other two.  :)

 Snow cones are always a good idea on a hot day!  Finley was happy with her cup of ice.  Zac got lemon-lime and the rest of them got Tiger's blood.  

Our neighborhood always does a bike parade and breakfast to celebrate the 24th of July.  Here are some pictures.  There was a downpour right before we started the bike parade...we all huddled under a tent for a few minutes and then it passed.  And the weather was great.  Nice and cool.

 Riley and Levi.

 Emery and Stella.

 All the kids getting ready for the parade. 

 I got to pull Finley in the bike trailer.  She lasted almost the whole mile.  :)

 Rob helping Riley get some food.  

 Finley ate all my sausages and some whipped cream.  

 Sadie and her friends London and Brytin.

These girls are so fun!

Happy Pioneer day!

The farm and This is the Place

Here is a random picture of Finley covered in chalk.  

We went over to Gardner Village and went to the little farm they have there.  There were some animals there to pet and look at.  The kids really enjoyed it I think.  

 The alpaca liked the sparkly sequins on Emery's shirt.  

 This was the Emu they had there.  The sign said he was really friendly, and she really was.  ha ha.  

 Finley did NOT like getting close to the emu. 

 Sadie wanted a picture with the alpaca because she was wearing her llama earrings.  Zoom in and you can see.

 The farm was a fun place.  Pretty small but perfect for a little outing.  

We went to the free day at This is the Place park because our yearly pass expired.  Plus they had free ice cream.  ha ha.  There were so many people there, which was expected, but it was fun to get back there.  We actually ended up getting another yearly pass so we can go back again and again.  

 The kids all chose a push pop.  I remember loving those when I was a kid!

Then we went to the barber shop and he offered to give Zac a nice shave.  Zac declined, but then he pulled Sadie into his chair to give her a hair trim.  He was a pretty funny guy and there was a crowd of people all watching as he gave her a "hair cut".  

Pretty funny.  :)