California Cousins

Every day I have plans to update the blog, but I just haven't been in a blogging mood. I'm still not, but I have nothing better to do so here goes. I am going to post all of August. How fun.

We hardly ever get to see Max, Abby, Charlie & Leanne. The kids were totally surprised when they showed up. We went crazy with activities. First up, was $2 Tuesday at Thanksgiving Point. It was really busy but still fun. We waited in a long line to get into the Dinosaur Museum. It's the perfect place for boys to visit.

Charlie refused to walk, but at least she's light and she says the funniest things.
We've never been to the gardens. I had no idea this water feature existed or I would have been better prepared. It was hot enough that the kids dried of quickly.


The beauty of the gardens was not lost on these two.

They all loved the mazes,

waterfalls,
and hanging out with Nana.

We were so worn out we didn't even attempt the farm. Later that night Matt & Leanne took the kids to the canyon for a cook out. Check out Noah's hair. This is precisely the reason he CANNOT have longish hair (unless he's going to create an 80's tribute band).
The next day we hiked to the Timp caves. I love this hike, it's so pretty. But it's also stressful with the little kids because they don't seem to worry about falling off steep cliffs. Abby and Zack led the whole way up.

This is a cave, just not THE cave.

This was the big news on the hike-a rattlesnake eating a chipmunk. Gross, yet strangely fascinating.

Water break.

At the top, I promise. The nice man who took our picture neglected to include the sign that says it. You'll have to take my word for it.

Inside the cave:

The long walk back. For some reason, going down seems to be more stressful and tiring than going up. On the last day we went downtown to walk on the moon,

to walk on Mars,

and to get soaked.

I just like this picture of Max and Ben. Even though we went a bunch of places, the best part of their visit was watching them have so much fun hanging out together.

Survivor: AF Canyon

I was part responsible for this year's youth conference experience. We reserved a camp site and followed through on the youth's request for a Survivor themed event. I was nervous that we wouldn't be able to pull it off, but it went together really well. We have the most amazing youth in our ward which made the experience even more fun. That and Matt was able to come up with me. We shipped the boys off to Idaho (thanks Mom & Dad).
First, we took them to Rock canyon for some real rock climbing. For the record, many girls made it to the top but none of the boys did. Some girls went more than once. This was the first (of many) times I realized that I am getting old. Where did all the energy go? I got about half way up and knew that it would do me in for the rest of the day if I went any higher.
Our campsite was amazing and perfect. We had a lots of room to run around and a little creek that ran through it. This was an added entertainment bonus. The water was really cold, but it felt good on my sore feet. By the second day some of the girls actually rinsed their hair in it. Oh to be young again... I am way too old for such folly. Plus, someone has to help cook dinner.

Probably the craziest thing we did was the bungee swing. A guy in our bishopric made this bungee that attaches to the tops of two trees and then you just hook someone in, let go and watch them fly. You can also attach someone underneath-which is how I opted to go. It was scary but fun and I lost my gum in the trees. It took every guy we had to pull it down. They were all very sore the next day.
The girls were yelling for the Superman pose. The only super I was feeling was super scared.
Sticking with the survivor theme, we had teams, flags and tribal councils. Our team name, 242 point four, is our ages added up including the McBride's little baby. The skull symbolizes that we all are old and have one foot in the grave.
The other teams were way more creative with their flags.
We did some survivor-ish things like blind folded tent building, catapults, water balloon targets & all sorts of things with ropes. It was all very fun, mostly because the kids were all willing to do anything.
This was probably Matt's least favorite challenge. His title of "tent Nazi" is well deserved and it pained him to see them poking at our tent with semi-sharp poles. Fortunately the tent survived, especially since that's where we were sleeping for two nights.
We also went canoeing. Our original plan was to have a build a canoe out of cardboard challenge, but we didn't. We just used real canoes and had a relay where they had to go to the other side, one player climbed out ran up some stairs, did a jumping jack and then they came back. Only one team tipped over. That team lost. But no one cried.
Our plan for the third day was to hike Timp caves then go float the Provo river on tubes. We couldn't get a reservation for the caves and so we just did the river. What a blessing that was. I don't think I could have made it up the cave I was so wasted. I expected the river trip to be a calm, relaxing experience. I've done a little white water rafting in my day and I knew that the Provo river is pretty mellow. Not so much. We had some girls who were terrified and it was a challenge to keep your tube from crashing into trees and boulders and the water was really cold and was pretty fast moving. I had a blast though especially since everyone made it out safely.
As much fun as it was, and it was SO much fun, I was ready for it to be over. I haven't had that many cuts and bruises in a long time.

Thank you Craig's List

Obviously I did not make this purchase. Matt isn't home all day so I don't think he knows what he has done to me. Oh well, the kids love it and I am sure it will be a hit with all the neighbor friends.

Camping--kind of

Every year we go to Idaho for a McGarry family camp out. Normally we camp on some of my dad's property or go to Tear Drop Lake. This year's plans were complicated by Ben's broken arm and a family reunion. We did some quasi-camping in my parent's backyard which was just as fun and a lot less dirty. We cooked and ate all our meals outdoors.

Even when it was raining.
We've been taking a picture of the grand kids on a camper step since 2003.
This year's version.
We try to avoid tvs and such when we are camping, but this time we watched a movie outside.
We set up a tent for some of the kids to sleep in. Ashtyn was the only one who made it the whole night. I enjoyed sleeping in a bed and having a working toilet & shower available.

4-wheeler rides are a favorite. This year Noah learned to drive his own. I was cool with it until Ben fell off the back. At least Noah is cautious and wasn't going very fast. After he quit crying, Ben described the experience as "awesome."
Cat tails or corn dogs?
We don't take the horses camping. But since they were conveniently located, Michelle & Jeremy saddled some up. Zack always likes to ride, this is the first time he rode by himself. Grandpa gave him a quick driving lesson and he did really well. Indy is a good horse for kids.
Ben surprised me by wanting to ride and for riding so long. He rode Jazz all by himself.
I have bad luck on horses so I never ride. Jazz seemed to be a safe bet so I got on when Ben was finished and competed in a friendly barrel racing competition. I won't be signing up for any rodeos, but I did do the barrel pattern correctly. It's harder than you think. Michelle put up the fastest time. Scott was the most interesting/frightening to watch, as his run was part barrel racing part saddle bronc riding. I am glad I didn't get on Ratchett, he was being naughty and I would have been thrown off. Congratulations to Scott for staying on.
Ashtyn couldn't get Dixie to obey so Dad had her follow him around the barrels. Back in the day Dixie was a barrel horse so all Ashtyn had to do was hang on.
Little kids like to be roped.
We also did some bow & arrow shooting.
I wonder what kind of plan Zack and Haylee are making.
After a McGarry family reunion we went boating.
We took all the kids over to a dock with a perfect swimming spot.
It was nice and hot until a sudden wind storm hit. It blew several flip flops off the dock and if it weren't for Michelle, we would have lost all our snacks. We huddled in a corner for a little while before we gave in. By the time we got back to the main dock we were soaked (sitting in the front of the boat was a bad idea) and freezing. A few brave souls decided to stay but the weather never did get any better. It was still a blast even if the weather was lame.
We try to take a family picture on the last day of a camp out. This year, my parents were hosting the McGarry family reunion, so we got to shower first.This is everyone except for Ash and Rob.