Arches National Park

On the way home from Blanding we decided to make a stop at Arches in Moab.  Andy was excited to take the boys on some of the hikes that he used to do when he was a kid.  Unfortunately for us we got out of the car to sweltering 110 degree heat and decided there was no way we could take the boys on hikes in that type of heat.  Plus we had Homer with us and did not know that dogs were not allowed on the trails!  We decided that since we were there we would take a quick tour of Arches by car!

We did get out of the car for a few photo ops!

Andy, Paxton, Tegan, and Homer (in the basket of the stroller) at Balanced Rock.

 Andy and Paxton at Double Arch

 Andy and Tegan at Double Arch

 Delicate Arch...we didn't make it up there because the hike was too long!

 Our Family...sweating it out at Arches National Park!!  Don't we all look totally thrilled!

Meyer Family Reunion

After much debating and a little convincing from my family we decided to make the annual trek down to the Meyer Family Reunion in Blanding, Utah.  This reunion is with my mom's side of the family which consists of 9 children, 46 grandchildren, and about 25 and counting great grandchildren.  This year about 70 people made it down to Blanding to enjoy a weekend of fun!

I was nervous about how the boys would handle the long drive down (about 4 hours) but they were champs! 

 Paxton entertained himself with some stickers from his kids meal.  He told me "I a cool boy!"

 

 We got there on Friday night and checked into the hotel before we went to dinner at the park.  After dinner we let the kids play while the adult sat around and talked for hours! 

On Saturday we went back to my Grandparents house for breakfast, games, and fun!

 My family gets a little bit competitive when we play games!  Here I am in the ostrich feather race...unfortunately we lost.

 Andy got to be one of 4 to have his head covered in shaving cream while people threw Cheetos at him...

 We did pretty good at this game and Andy enjoyed every minute of it!

 Paxton and Tegan with Grandma (my mom!)

That night, after dinner, we played a trivia game about my Grandma and Grandpa's childhoods and early married year...what a great way to find out more about them!  After that we watched a fun movie my cousin put together with pictures from my grandparents childhoods and previous family reunions!It was such a fun weekend hanging out with my mom's family...I always love catching up with everyone and spending hours talking about everything under the sun!! 

Dinosar Museum

During our free time at the Meyer Family Reunion, we decided to take the boys to the dinosaur museum in Blanding!  Paxton loved all of the dinosaurs and it was nice to be in a semi air conditioned building for awhile since it was close to 100 degrees outside!

Hole in the Rock

We decided last minute to go to the Meyer Family Reunion (my mom's side of the family) this year!  The reunion was being held in Blanding, Utah and we knew the boys would not do well being cooped up in the car for that long (about 4 hours) so we decided to make a pit stop at the Hole in the Rock just outside of Moab.  Hole in the Rock is just that a big hole in a rock but they have built a little tourist attraction around it including a house built into the rock, a museum, a general store and a petting zoo!

 The kids were excited to see Mater!  Paxton with his cousins Misi, Ami, and Ofeina!

 We also went to the petting zoo and got a bucket of food that we could feed to the different animals!  Tegan was not at all afraid to get his hands in there and feed and pet the different animals!  I was surprised at how many animals they has for a small roadside petting zoo!  In addition to the typical sheep, goats, and donkeys they had a zebra, mini horses, alpacas, kangaroos and a camel. 

 The camel was no typical camel...he was a kissing camel!  If you put a carrot in your mouth and held it up to the fence the camel would get it out of your mouth and give you a little kiss. 

Andy lined right up to "kiss" the camel!

 Paxton wasn't too impressed with the animals and just wanted to be held the whole time!  I don't think he liked being out in the 103 degree weather...I wasn't a fan of that either!

Splash Pad

Spanish Fork has an awesome park with a splash pad.  Last summer we would go weekly with my friends from school...this summer has been a bit busier for all of us but we finally found some time to get together and let the kids play!  I was so excited because last year Paxton loved the splash pad and would beg to go everyday!  This summer it was a different story...

 Tegan was the first one to take the plunge!

 Paxton played on the grass and really didn't want anything to do with the water!

 Tegan and his little buddy Colt playing in the water!

 Luckily Paxton wasn't the only one who preferred the grass...he and his friend Teague spent most of their time racing around the splash pad and eating snacks on the grass!

 One of Paxton's new favorite phrases is "I so hungry" and he insisted that Burger King chicken and fries were the only thing he would eat for lunch that day!  We got home with our lunch and both boys were so exhausted they ate about 2 bites and were falling asleep in their chairs!

Tegan gets Tubes

After 5 ear infections in 6 months we decided it was time for Tegan to get tubes put in his ears!  We had to report to Timpanogos Hospital at 6:30 in the morning for the surgery!  Tegan was a pretty happy boy while we were waiting for the doctor to come in.  He looked so cute in his tiger hospital gown and his yellow hospital socks!

 Thank goodness they had the Disney channel there because Tegan got bored quickly and there were way too many things in there for him to play with!

 Finally after about an hour of waiting they came in and got Tegan...11 minutes later the surgery was done and the tubes were in!  Tegan had a hard time coming out of the anesthesia and was crying hysterically and couldn't open his eyes or control his head for about 10 minutes but we were pretty anxious to get out of there so we got him dressed and headed on our way!

 Luckily the minute his head hit the car seat he fell asleep and woke up 3 hours later a much happier boy!

Hogle Zoo

One of the traditions that we have started for our little family is making a trip to the zoo every summer!  We were especially excited to go this year because the boys were older and plus they just opened a new polar bear exhibit!  We got there right when it opened at 9:00 and it was perfect...there were not very many people there and the animals were all super active and eating their breakfast!

The first stop...the eagle's nest!

 We went straight to the new polar bear exhibit hoping to get a glance of the bear before it got too crowded...and boy did we get there at a good time!  As the lady next to me said "This polar bear definitely knows how to be a zoo animal!"  He would take a lap around his little pool and then swim under the water and come up right at the glass where we were watching...he did this about 15 times each time touching the glass right where we were standing!  It was so cool!  Paxton was a little nervous but Tegan loved it!  Here is a great shot of Tegan and the bear!

 Paxton preferred to watch from a little farther back!

 Next we went to go see Andy's favorite animal...the tigers!  They were also pretty active this time!  This big guy would come right up to the fence where we were standing and give us a little growl as we passed.  We also got to see the other 2 tigers swimming in their little pool and they were growling at each other and almost got into a cat fight...taking swipes at each other!  Again...super cool!

 Posing by the lions!  We heard that they are working on a new exhibit that will open in 2014 that will bring lions and other big cats back to the zoo!  We are excited about that!

 As we were walking to go see more animals, the tiger followed us to this little bridge.  He and Andy had a little stare down and the tiger was growling at him.  I was starting to get a little bit nervous especially considering there was only a net separating our family from this huge tiger!

 Paxton was so excited to see his giraffe!  They were eating and started to walk over towards us but didn't want to get too close!

 After that we met up with Andy's family for the elephant show!  Paxton was so excited to see his cousins!  Here are some of them waiting to see Zuri the baby elephant!

 Tegan was pretty excited!

 We got to ride the carousel...which is one of my favorite parts of the zoo!  Paxton rode the hippo and Tegan rode the donkey!

 Paxton was not to excited to ride this time...so I had to stand right next to him practically forcing him to stay on the ride!

 You can't go to the zoo without getting this classic shot!

Paxton is as big as a juvenile monkey...

 Tegan is as big as an infant monkey!

 Finally after 4 hours exploring the zoo (a record for us!) Tegan was exhausted and fell asleep!

 Paxton got to make a trip to the gift shop and picked out this stuffed polar bear...which has been by his side since he grabbed it off the shelf!  It is his new friend...yesterday he taught the polar bear to play catch!  He is so funny!