Vacation Day 1 - Logan Utah

Our vacation started by driving from Federal way, Wa to Logan, Utah. The kids were great and we actually enjoyed the trip up until the last hour when Sariah was screaming and we got lost.
One good thing about having been in the military for so long is that the world becomes a much smaller place and you always know someone somewhere. We were very lucky to be able to stay in Logan, Utah with Chrissy and her children. The Roeckers were the only ones that were in Germany for longer than we were. They were there before we got there and left a few montsh after we did. I remember when chrissy was pregnant with Eliza and then Daniel. Since then she has had another boy, Rainey. In Germany Eliza and Isaac were great friends and it was nice to see them resume this friendship so easily. I am so very glad that we got to spend a little bit of time with their family. She even made us breakfast every morning we were there! Thanks Chrissy!!!! The next morning we drove to Salt Lake to do some tourist things and ended up spending the whole day at the church museum across the street from the Temple. We then tried to eat at the "Blue Iguana", but it was closed. Apparently "Pioneer day" is a state holiday in Utah, who would have thought? We went back to Logan and joined Chrissy and her family at a neighborhood BBQ complete with fireworks and all. The newest additions to our families. Sariah and Rainey. This pic is a good example of how small Sariah is or how big Rainey is. She is about four months older than he is.

Pioneer Day.

This time of year is when the Mormons celebrate Pioneer day. Our ward was supposed to have a camp out the night before that Matt was in charge of, but thankfully it rained for two days before so it was cancelled. I say thankfully only because I had to work both Fri, Sat, and Sun and we were leaving for the reunion on Mon. This is a day we set aside to thank and remember the mormon pioneers that crossed the country. We have been to many pioneer day celebrations however this year was defiently the best we have ever been to. They had so many things to do! We were there for about four hours and were kept busy the whole entire time with no dead time to sit around staring at eachother. Everyone had a great time. I was so glad we went.

Matt entered a pie eating contest. He did very well and came in third. Behind the two missionaries. Go figure!!

I love this picture. He is showing off his ribbon and lamenting about the apple pie that is sitting in his stomach.

The children also entered the contest and came in first and second. My picky eater can sure put down some pie. Who would have figured that he would outeat his sister?

Isaac learning to build a cabin frame.

The children participated in the three-legged race. Michael went with a friend from coop and Seri and Isaac went together. We were a little concerned about the height difference, but shouldn't have been. The two strategized together perfectly. Isaac wrapped his arms around Seri's upper leg and held on for dear life while Ser picked him up and flew down the race way. It was really great to watch and they came in first by a long shot.

One of the sisters had brought her spinning wheel and wool from sheep, lamb and alpaca. She showed the children how to spin it and they really enjoyed giving it a shot. One of these days Matt says he will buy me a spinnning herd and then I can spin my own yarn all I want, the idea is so idyllic.

One of the games they played was "stick pull". two people sit across from eachother with their feet sole-to-sole. they then grab on to a stick with both hands and try to pull the other person of their seat. Matt and Seri love this game and played as many times as there were people who would accept their challenge. I must add that they are both very good at it.

The watermelon seed spitting contest.

The traditional "shake the cream in a baby food jar with a marble until it turns to butter" activity.

Seri and Michael entered into a second pie eating contest and once again Michael came in first and Seri came in second, who would have thought?

Matt's Birthday

Matt's birthday was on the 11 of July and he decided to go into work late and then leave early and take the rest of the day off. Must be nice to have that kind of job. Anyhow, we were pleasently surprised to see him and then even more so when he said he wanted to go to the beach. So we headed off to Gene Coulone beach. We played at the park a bit and Sariah did the funniest thing. When we put her on the slide some people look at us like we are not observant and she is to little to be going down a slide by herself. Well this just proves them wrong. Matt put her down the slide and she held onto the sides.

When she was almost at the bottom, she stopped herself and turned around.

She then preceded to climb back up the slide.

and crawl off to find her brother. Such a smart girl!!!

Of course, no trip to the beach is complete without a sand castle.

Beginning to think that Sariah really enjoys eating sand :)

Our bathing beauty.