The Fabulous Weather

We have been doing quite a bit of biking in this beautiful weather. The kids rode up the Freeze Creek trail. It has a nice, easy climb and then a fun down hill.

I have mountain biked with some girlfriends a few times. We have done the Mid-Mountain trail in Park City, Dry Creek, and Solitude.

These old cars have been made into jumps at the end of the Bobsled Run off of the Dry Creek trail. Wish I could say that I got some sick air off of them, but.....I didn't. I prefer to keep both wheels on the ground.

Ian's Independance

Ian is in the stage where he wants to dress himself. And this shoe combination is what he came up with. The flip-flop is his but the running shoe is Dane's and is way too big. I wish I had gotten a picture of him wearing a rainbow-colored tie-dyed shirts, brown camo pants and monster truck rain boots. Classic!

There is never a dull moment with this child. So glad he's mine!

Lion King

We were able to take Dane and go with the McNally's to the last showing of the Lion King at Capitol Theatre downtown. The little kids and big kids LOVED it! Dustin and I have seen it before in New York and it was just as wonderful this time. The costumes are amazing, and the songs are so powerful. I downloaded the soundtrack when I got home and have listened to it quite a bit.

After the show we walked over to Benihana for dinner. The kids were in heaven watching the chef prepare our meal right in front of us.

Golf Anyone?

Grandpa Taylor, Ian, and Dane

Grandpa Bob and Dane

Ian found a good spot to ride.

Carol giving Ian, a budding golfer, some instruction.

Too bad he may never be invited back to play....

The weather has been so nice lately and we are trying to soak up as much warmth and sunshine as possible before winter comes. Golf is a perfect way to spend a warm Fall evening, right? We did have a great time with Grandpa Bob, Carol and Grandpa Taylor at Hidden Valley. Ian hit a few but enjoyed driving the cart with Grandpa Taylor. Dane had some good hits but enjoyed driving the cart all by himself. It really was a great evening despite 3 acts that may not get us invited back.

1. Dane threw his golf club about thirty feet in the air when swinging for the ball.

2. During a wonderful dinner on the patio Ian had to pee and I told him to just go behind a wall since the bathrooms were too far away. Turns out he pooped instead! Left a huge log on the grass by the parking lot.

3. Kids were bored waiting for the adults to eat so they poked sticks around in the gas fireplace. An employee told them one of the owner's of the Country Club was very nervous watching the boys play around the fire.

Maybe we will try a public course or putt-putt golf next time?

First Day of School

Dane is in First Grade this year. He is finally going to school all day! His teacher is April Nielson and she is really great. Dane LOVES her already.

To get to know the kids in the class better they each have a Life Box day the first month of school. They are to decorate a small box and put 5 things in that represent them. Dane chose a giraffe, a BMX trophy, a dirt bike, a Lego, and a picture of Grandma Sherrie.

Ian is at CCNS again this year in the 3's class with Mrs. Stephanie. Of course he LOVES it! All of his friends from last year are in the same class this year so it is great to see how much they have all grown. Abbey and Sam are at CCNS this year too! They are both in Terry's class and loving it too. It is fun for Abbey and Ian to see each other at school.

Last Day of Summer

On the last day of summer vacation Dane, and his buddies Patrick, Daniel and Julien, got to have a ski jumping lesson at the Olympic Winter Sports Park in Park City. Lucky kids, right?! I want to trade places with my kids some days, they are fortunate to be able to do some really cool things.

The boys had a 3 hour lesson that started with an introductory video. Then they put on their gear (helmets, wet suit, life jacket, ski's and boots) and practiced skiing down a carpet ramp. Then they practiced jumping into the water without ski's. The water was so very, very cold! And then finally it was time to put it all together and ski down the big ramp!

Dane and all the boys loved it and did so well! Dane loved doing 180's.

Tour of Utah

The Tour Of Utah is a really cool 5 day stage race in Utah. This year we were lucky to play a small part in the race. Our neighborhood hosted an amateur team and we had 2 of the racers stay at our house. Sean and Kennett stole Dane and Ian's hearts from day one. They stayed with us for 8 days and when they had to leave the kids were close to tears and wanted to boys to live with us forever! Sean and Kennett were so great with the kids and never acted annoyed (even if they were) with all their questions and silliness.

Because we had racers stay with us, (and the director of the race is our friend and neighbor Karen Weiss), we were able to snag VIP tickets to the events. We chose to go to the criterium race in Park City and the finish line the final day at Snowbird. Both days were fabulous. It is really amazing to see how hard these guys ride! They are definitely not joking around!

Above is Sean sitting on his bike in a red jersey. Below is Kennett the day he left.

It was a great experience and hope we can host again next year!