Family Night by Provo River

It's Memorial Day, a national holiday, but I had to go to work. So Michelle and I wanted to do something with the boys when I got home. The fact that it was raining and hailing meant that our boys had been stuck in the house all day and we needed to get them out (the tomato plants appeared to have survived the hail). But when I got home I was tired and had a headache. Michelle felt similar and we had to pool our energetic resources to come up with a plan.


We decided to run over to Maceys grocery store for their soft-serve twist ice cream cones. After that we were going to visit the mall's playground for some fun. And with 5 minutes notice to the boys we were in the car and on our way.

The ice cream was great and we have plans to go back for more (later). As we left the store we drove down State Street in Orem looking for a sporting goods store that a friend of ours had told us about. The boys had so much pent up energy that they were nearly uncontrollable and certainly embarrassing in both stores! (We love our boys but sometimes...!)

As we walked out of the store and the store clerk "yells" at our kids so that they don't run and play in State Street we changed our minds about the mall and decide that an outdoor venue is needed for our children (thankfully it had stopped raining by then). So we headed for the mountains.

We stopped at the first park we came to and decided to let our boys throw rocks in the river, one of their all-time favorite activities. As we approached the river we noticed that it is much higher and fuller than normal. Because of the increased flow of water I didn't want my boys getting to close.

(Of course, we still let them climb on the bridge...go figure!)

After throwing lots of rocks and a few tree branches in the river we spent our last few minutes of our family night at the little playground. Our boys ran all over the place and were climbing on everything. The last of the pent up energy being released before we had to go home and go to bed.

As we were driving home we asked the boys what their favorite part of the activity was. "Throwing rocks", "Pooh Sticks", and "The slide" and sounded from the back of the suburban. Finally, "Everything!" summed up the family feelings as we headed home for the night.

At The Playground With The Bunkers

The warmer weather means that it's time to get together with our friends and it's time to investigate the various parks in our neighborhood. Today we went to visit the Bunkers. Since our families are so well matched it is always a blast, sometimes more than us parents can handle. The kids went wild and were all over the playground. They didn't stop until it was time to go home.





So the boys didn't have all the fun. I had to jump in too. But since I had the camera there is no photographic evidence of the ruckus and mayhem that ensued. Suffice it to say that we had fun running all over the playground. And I needed a rest by the time we were done.

Ice Cream at Maceys

We've past the deli counter who knows how many times and seen who knows how many people eating ice cream as they wander the isles of the store but we've never actually stopped to check it out. Well, today that changed. We decided to stop and check out the options. The little ice cream cones are only $0.49 each! So we got one for each of the 4 older boys. Quinten got to share with mommy.

These cones are so much bigger than McDonald's and they taste better too. This is something we'll have to do again.

Annual Dance Festival

This morning we went to support David and Donovan in their annual dance festival at Wasatch Elementary School. Donovan, in particular, has been so excited to participate in this event and has been counting down the days for the past month! We're so excited for him and he did a wonderful job, as did David, in this years dance festival.

Wrestling With Dad

Wrestling dad has become a family favorite. The boys believe that any time they have an attitudinal advantage they have some prime directive to jump on me. This is especially true around prayer time were I am often humbled by the occasion.

Amazingly, the boys are starting to learn teamwork. Once they figure that out I'm really in trouble. At least we're all having fun, right!?

Car Wash

My boys wanted to surprise me with a clean car when I got home from work. They did a great job! Thanks boys!!!

Ward Missionary Fair

Our ward had a missionary fair. There were about a half dozen activities that helped families to be aware of missionary work and preparing to be a missionary.

The best activity, meaning the one that the boys learned the most, was this clothing station. The boys learned how to hang up their clothes properly (in case they serve in an area without dryers).

We also learned how to properly iron a white shirt. I'll have to admit that I was learning a few things at this station. (Would have been helpful a few years ago when I was actually serving my mission. But better late than never!)

The boys also got missionary savings banks so that they can start saving for their missions. We went home and immediately started the boys on a missionary savings program. The boys are paying 10% for tithing and are now paying 10% to their missionary savings banks. If we start now we might be able to afford the cost of all our family missions!

(finally posted 6/18/11)

Pine Wood Derby

David is excited about being a new cub scout.  He's already getting his first taste of the annual pine wood derby races.  While he's excited about the races and being in cub scouts he's still trying to get the hang of it.  His first pine wood derby got about 20 minutes of expert time and he was done.  Check out how his first car compares to the competition...


To his credit, it was all done by him and not by daddy.  Well, actually the weights for the car were added by me but the design, shape and paint were all David.


Even though he didn't win the race he had a lot of fun racing his car over and over.  After the official race was over he, along with several other scouts, raced their cars just for fun.

Next year should be more exciting now that we know what to expect and have a few more ideas to work with.

(finally posted 9/9/11)

David Gets Baptized

I'm not gonna lie; I'm very excited that David made the decision to get baptized. Today was the big day and he did such a good job. David said he was nervous and scared but you couldn't tell. He acted so confident and happy that he was finally going to be baptized, a day he has been looking forward to for quite some time. We were blessed to have quite a few people in attendance including both sets of grandparents, some aunts, uncles and cousins, his primary teachers and the stake patriarch (to list a few).

The baptismal program was mostly family but David listened attentively to each speaker. After the baptism our 4 oldest boys did a musical number (The Fourth Article of Faith). He was then confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Spirit was very strong and there were a few choked testimonies and a few tears too. David even bore his testimony after the confirmation.

At the end of the service David went and thanked as many people for coming as he could, giving hugs to most of them. He was such a little man and it made my heart leap for joy. I am so proud of David for making this decision and taking such an important step in his life.

Fruit Salad

The boys were such big helpers tonight. Michelle wanted to make a fruit salad for dinner; and she felt that the boys were big enough to be helping around the house. So they were put to work. Michael and Aleky provided a steady stream of large fruit pieces while David and Donovan were in charge of cutting the fruit down to size. (Daddy helped get the large fruit pieces prepared, peeled, washed, etc.) Good job boys!