New wiggle car...

My Mom gave the kids a wiggle car for Christmas over 5 years ago.  It was faded and beat down.  One of the wheels snapped off and a friend of mine said you can buy wheels over at the Lifetime store in SG.  So I took our crappy wiggle car over for some new wheels and the associate started taking it apart.  When he came out from the back, he informed Mark and me that it was all rusted together and couldn't be repaired.  Then he directed my 2-year old over to the brand new wiggle cars and told him to go ahead and pick out a new one!  I started to protest because our wiggle car is SOOOO old and had been used A LOT!  That thing had a million miles on it.  The associate assured me that it was a lifetime product and as such should last a lifetime.  So Mark picked out a red one and away we went with a brand new wiggle car!  It was super nice of them!

Look how happy he is.  

End of summer...

Oh lovely summer!  You have been wonderful!  It's nearing the end of our time together and I will miss you!

Summer...

Sun...

Sand...

It's fantastic and one of the reasons I love where we live!

Hurricane Test Mesa...

Ever since I was a little girl, I've had a fascination with the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility out by Virgin, UT.  What do they do up there??  I've always wanted to look around but it's privately owned and you can't get in unless you know someone.  Luckily, I know the man who knows everyone!!  *wink*  One of the guys on Search and Rescue (Chris Woodbury) works full-time up there and Merril arranged a tour for us!  I was ecstatic for days!!  I invited my Dad because I thought he would enjoy it too!  This is at the end of the mesa, looking down into Virgin.

This is the test track.

This is the end of the test track, obviously.  

There's a lot of petrified wood up there so the kids wanted their picture taken.

The bros.

The girls.

You can see these towers from below in Virgin and I always wondered what they were.  I guessed they were radio towers.  Actually, they're water towers.  They've mounted cameras on them to take high-speed-camera footage of the rocket sleds as they cruise down the test track.  

The mesa tests ejection seats and parachute deployment mainly.  I found the whole thing super interesting and was grateful for the opportunity to check an item off my bucket list!  This is a link about what the test site does.  http://finaldesigngroup.com/public/hmtf

Summer camping!!

Merril has a motorcycle friend visiting from Germany named Stephan.  Stephan has had some help issues and has been in and around Southern Utah for a least a month.  He was riding up by Escalante, Utah when he was washed downstream in a flash flood.  He was able to swim out and his bike was hauled out of the river by search and rescue.  Merril went out and hauled it home.  Whilst driving to Escalante, he saw some great places to ride and camp so we planned a summer camping trip.  We took the truck and Merril's BMW.  Since we don't all fit in the truck, Merril had to ride with one kid all the time.  On the way out it rained a TON!  

When we got to the campsite called Deer Creek, the rain had let up for a bit.  As soon as we got the tent and shade tent set up, it started to pour again.  We dried everything out in the truck and slept fine that night.

The next morning the kids played around the campsite.

It was still a little cold.

 Dirt is always fun for kids.

After breakfast we went on a hike that followed the creek by the campsite.

 Mikayla is on her way to pick something.

She was super excited to find "hot dogs" growing by the river!

We split up on the way back and we finished first.

When everyone got there, we took a group picture.  (My face looks funny because I was saying, "One, two, three!")

After hiking, we drove out to the Burr Trail.  Merril's way up there on the motorcycle with one of the kids.

We stopped her to get out and Mikayla had to go to the bathroom.

Then we went back to the campsite.

We had to dry out some clothes.  I thought it was funny that we had a clothesline in camp.  Maxine doesn't seem to think it's as funny as I did in the this picture.

 Merril took a nap and the kids and I went exploring up the creek and played in the mud!

Merril woke up later and came down to the river.

 There is something very sweet about little boys and driving cars in the dirt.

It was a great weekend!

Riding home.

Summer movie...

We decided to head over to the movies for The Secret Life of Pets.  If you go on Tuesdays, everyone is $5.00 and Mark was free.

I was thinking Mark would be good enough for a whole movie but that's not the case.  He's solid for about an hour.  Then he wants to run around and play in the aisles.  So we went outside and everyone else watched the end.

I tried to get everyone in but my arms aren't long enough.  For some reason, this is still my favorite photo of late.  Ha ha!

Cut my hair...

I got bored with my hair.  I was thinking of cutting it but to my chin.  In order to get enough for a hair donation, it would have to be 8-10 inches long.  If I cut it to my chin, I would only have 7 inches.  So I decided to be bold and grab a pair of scissors!  I divided my hair into little ponytails to make sure to measure enough for a donation and then started chopping away.

There's something really fun about cutting one's own hair.  I needed a little help with the back and Maxine did awesome with the clippers.

Merril likes this picture best.  He keeps it on his phone unlock screen.  It makes me feel like I'm spying on him constantly but he likes it there.

I think it's fun but it's the shortest I've ever had it!  People ask me if it's so fast and easy.  The.answer.is.no.  It takes longer than pulling it into a ponytail.  But it's fun and I was able to donate my hair so it's win/win.   

24th of July Parade...

The Primary is in charge of the 24th of July float in the Pioneer Parade.  Our trailer was used again and Libbi did a great job coming up with an idea for decorating it.

The gals I work with in Primary are amazing, with strong testimonies and they work hard.  From L to R: Me, Valerie B., Libbi M., Mandy F., and Tabitha R.

We roped Maxine and Valerie's daughter, Angelee, to walk with our sign, even though they aren't in Primary anymore.

Mikayla and her friend Brekka.

Libbi and my goofy face.

Julie!

Later that day, we went to the pool and Mikayla is getting really good at swimming so I had to take a picture!

Girls Weekend: The Price is Right...

If you can't tell, this is an elect group of ladies!  These are some of my favorite gals in the world: (LtoR) Sara Gilberg, Valerie Scott, Laurie Scholzen and me.  Last year for her 40th birthday, Valerie wanted to have a girls weekend in California to see The Price is Right.  Sara and I both had some small kids and so the trip got pushed.  Valerie is determined and this year made it happen.

We chatted nonstop in the car on the way down.  No radio, just constant talking.

Valerie grew up in California and wanted to visit the beach in Santa Monica.  First off.

We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory!  So yummy.  We checked into a hotel and chatted the evening away and tried to go to sleep.  The next morning was Price is Right time!  We had to be there at 8:30

Waiting in line...

The whole thing is quite the process of waiting, getting numbers, waiting, talking, getting interviewed by the producer and more waiting.

We had a blast!  It was constant fun and happiness, giggling and being girls.  We were sat in the 2nd row, dead center!!!  It was so much fun!  High energy screaming, being excited and cheering for whoever was on stage.  We didn't get on stage but we had the.best.time.ever.  The show airs September 28th and I'm seriously afraid of what dorks we (OK just me) will look like on TV.  Then we headed home.  Can't wait to do something like this again!