Four Wheelin' in the Arizona Desert

Last weekend we took the kids to St. George with all the Ritchie's for one last summer trip before school started. The highlight of the trip (for the boys especially) was riding the little four wheelers and motorcycles Uncle Rob had brought down.

Tanner is our little dare devil and is always excited to try something new! We should have been a little more cautious knowing his driving record (2 winters ago he hopped on a snowmobile all by himself and took off...heading right for the rental office). Anyway, as soon as we got the riding equipment off the trailer, Tanner got himself right up on a four wheeler (helmet on luckily) and with a quick one minute lesson from Paul on how to make it go, he was off (before his Daddy could hop on with him). However, we hadn't taught him exactly how to use the brakes. Luckily, Uncle Rob's running paid off and he caught him just before Tanner hit into the back of our car.

Tanner got his pride hurt a little, but that was all. Within minutes, he was begging for a turn again. Needless to say, all his rides after this incident were done with an adult! I'm glad he has 12 more years until he gets his drivers licence! Tanner is even crazy on his "four wheeler" at home (thats what he calls his bike with training wheels).

Dinosaur Musuem

Wendy and I took our kids and went to the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Musuem on Thursday. We had fun going to the IMAX theater and watching a movie on BUGS! We had bugs dropping on top of us and butterflies flying all around us. The musuem was really neat. The kids got to do a lot of hands-on activities from playing in the mud and with their dinosaurs to dig in sand to find fossils.

Garrett rides a bike...almost!

Paul and I feel like we have conquered many milestones with our children. Getting them to take a bottle, taking away the bottle, sleeping through the night, potty training, going to nursery or school, etc. One of these milestones we have recently been working on is riding a bike "a two-wheeler" (as Garrett calls it). We want so badly for him to figure this out, he actually has little interest in this activity, but we keep telling him he will love riding his two wheeler once he's caught one. So we have promised him a big deck (not just a pack) of pokemon cards once this milestone has been accomplished. If any of you have been around Garrett for too long, you know he is very motivated by Pokemon, so we are now in business! Gaarrett is getting so close. But we need so help, does anyone have any pointers on how to help someone catch on to riding a bike?

The Family Dog - Bubba

For those of you that know the boys very well, you are likely saying one of two things, either 1) this is "one of them there trick pictures done in Photoshop", or 2) Child and Protective Services should get involved because Paul and Angela should be put away for drugging Garrett.

Most of you know, that there mere mention of a dog would quite literally send Garrett in to a paranoid frenzy, and when you would come within 100+ yards of one, you had better hope that your head is protected because Garrett would climb and perch right on top of your head while in that all too well known frenzied state.

So, given that well known fact, and given the fact that on Boy Scout's Honor I promise that I neither "fixed" the picture or "drugged" the boy, how is it possible that Garrett is not only in the same space, but is petting and playing, and smiling at the same time? It all started at Scout Camp - Garrett came to camp with me during July and, while there, was forced to spend one week around a well trained lab named Mack. By the end of the week, while he wasn't hugging Mack, he was, at the very least, no longer petrified - and could tolerate a dog's presence, albeit in fear.

Since that time he has become quite chummy with our neighbor, the McQuarrie's dog, Bubba. Now, you can regularly see Garrett playing in the back yard with Bubba, throwing tennis balls, and feeding him his left overs (don't tell the McQuarrie's).

Cousins Cousins Everywhere

We had so much fun last weekend with Kristen and Natalie and their kids! Yes, it was a little crazy with 8 kids under 8 staying at our house, but they actually entertained each other and had fun playing together. From Blake talking about trains non-stop, to Madison doing her "stink-bug crawl", to Tanner doing his super-de-duper tricks (ask if you want further exclamation) we were laughing non-stop!

The kids (and Moms) were lucky to get a little sleep in once in a while, inbetween our activities. We went swimming and had a picnic in Kamas, shopping at the outlets at night(while Paul stayed home and watched the kids), cheered on McKay at his baby contest, and stayed up late talking with Ryan who came to hang out with his sisters.

Fair Days Parade

Wasatch County Fair Days just wouldn't be Fair Days without sitting on Main Street during the parade and eating ... or, better said, melting a popsicle from Day's Market.

McKay (and Paul's) Day on the Stage

A friend of Angela's in the ward called her to ask if Angela would "enter" McKay in the County Fair Days Baby Contest (talent, daddy look alike, daddy diaper change, fastest crawl (or walk), etc.

I was just fine with Angela entering McKay in those contests, but little did I know that I would be expected to be an active participant in the affair (I was even required to put on my "matching" shirt).

You can assume, given the belt buckles behind my head, that participating in a pageant of any kind, especially in this crowd, is likely not perceived to be a terribly masculine event. But, as I looked around and saw that the Wave's photographer was not present, I realized that there was a decent liklihood that I would not be found on the front page page of the County newspaper in a beauty pageant with several thousand potential readers (instead I would be on the internet with several billion potential readers).

Thank heavens for the lifelong preparation of being forced to watch every Miss USA pageant for the past 30+ years (except of course the swimsuit competition which both my mother and, now wife, still refuse to allow me to watch.) Even without the "full" training, the limited Miss USA exposure was "sufficient for my needs", father and son proudly took stage, flaunted our wares, raced and came home better for it!