Park City & Midway Get Away

After our trip to Disneyland, we weren't planning any other trips for the year.... but by July, I was really itching to get out of the house. Anyone who has three kids 7 and under knows how quickly your house can go from spotless (literally) to total destruction. Like 10 minutes!  And as hard as I try to put on blinders and look past the messes, it really, really drives me nuts. Therefore I am CONSTANTLY cleaning- knowing that if I don't I will have a major breakdown if I just "let it go" for a few hours. The funny thing is, even with all my cleaning, my house is never fully clean! {I've decided in order to attain that, that I'd have to tie my kids up.} I heard someone say once that cleaning your house with kids in it is like brushing your teeth while eating oreos. SO TRUE!  Anyways, I just really needed to get out and be able to focus on my fam without the beckoning of constant, never-ending monotonous chores. So I talked Chris into going to Midway and Park City for a few days and I'm telling you it was the BEST mini vacay ever! I found a great deal through Groupon to stay at the Homestead and it was just what I needed & I think we all loved it!

We started off in Park City (spent the first night there) and had the best day up at the Park City Mountain Resort! We rode the ski lift up and did a little hiking at the top of the mountain and the views were just awesome! My legs have had some major issues in this pregnancy (another post) so it was pretty mild hiking but still so fun and so so beautiful up there.  Later, the older kids and Chris rode the Alpine Slide while Lex rode the carousel, we had lunch while listening to a band and ate ice cream while taking in the gorgeous surroundings. I just love being in the mountains - it was such a fun day!! 

Off to the Homestead....

This "hotel" was awesome! It's actually a big collection of buildings /homes built in the early 1900's and the grounds are just gorgeous!! We stayed in the bunkhouse which inside wasn't all that great to be honest, but the grounds, swimming pool, & awesome on-site restaurant all more than made up for it! Parker and Emmie had their own bunk beds (basically built into a closet) but they thought it was the greatest thing and although there were 2 queen beds in the room, Lex slept in her pack n play, so we had a good amount of room, including a balcony. We will stay there again for sure! 

The Grounds! They were so SO pretty! We felt like we had the place to ourselves!!!

SWIMMING! 

The pools were a total hit! Worth staying there just for them. 

They have two large pools, one outside and one in. The one indoors gets the warmest water from a natural on site crater. It was awesome! The kids were in heaven! One of my favorite things was one of their on-site restaurants, Fanny's (says the pregnant girl). It was SUCH great food and each time we ate there (probably 4-5 times?) we ate out on the balcony overlooking a big pond with ducks and a beautiful golf course. Talk about picturesque! Chris brought us our breakfast from there to the pool one morning. Ahhhh, now that's the life of a prego girl! He's a good husband. :)

Chris' cute grandparents lived in Midway for something like 25 years, so he has lots of fond memories up there & it's really just a special place to him.. They still owned their home there for the first few years of our marriage so I have memories of spending time up there with Chris' fam myself. It is just such a majestic, serene mountain town and so fun to be up there again. He took us on a hike in "Cascade Springs" which is something he used to do as a kid. It was such a cute little place with bridges and streams and waterfalls...I'm sure we'll be doing that again sometime!

The night before we had to head back home, we rode the Heber Valley Railroad. It was sold out and jam packed full and crazy hot (no AC) but it was a lot of fun. I haven't done that since I was a kid so I was excited to take our kids on it. We sang songs & had snacks and enjoyed the ride and the scenery. The girls did some karaoke to "Let it Go" and it was really so cute!

The next morning we headed over to the pool for one last swim before check out time. I didn't want to go but Chris had to be back to work that afternoon by 2, so we said our goodbyes to Midway and piled in the car for our 45 minute drive back to reality, refreshed and renewed. Ahhhhh...a nice last minute get away can do a lot of good for your soul. And sanity. Loved it. Can't wait to go again!

End of the school year and Part 1 of our Summer Fun

SCHOOL'S OUT 2014

Parker had a great First Grade year! His teacher was a stern one and definitely one of the more unpopular ones in the school (she's a yeller & not exactly " nice") but thankfully he made it through okay! The kid just loves learning and takes so much pride in school and his friends there that he was still able to make it a good experience. I could say a lot more about that but I'll leave it there. :) I have to say however that I am soooo relieved that this year for 2nd he got a really really great teacher that everyone loves- especially Parker. Phew! He deserved it after last year! :)

Here he is front and center at the annual year end Dance Festival that the elementary school puts on. It's one of my very favorite activities that they do all year! All the grades get up and perform their very own dance to popular music from the year. His was western themed (ahhh I can't remember the song) and it was super cute! This is actually a pic of the finale with the whole school. I guess his teacher made them all tuck in the their shirts once they got to school. This made me giggle the whole time because his pants looks so high... and I would have put a belt on him had I known tucking was going to be the protocol...but oh well!  

New cousins arrived just days apart late in May. Will and Liv! Soooo happy to have more cousins and our only Utah based ones! They put P, E, and L's total cousin tally at 6. Eric and Cindy's three in TX, Cousin Jack of Cali, and these two new cuties! We love them!!!

Chris was working on Memorial Day so it was just the kiddos and I who trekked to Holladay to see my Grandpa and Michael and then onto Mt Calvary Cemetery above the Avenues in Salt Lake to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Westwood and have a picnic lunch. We would have driven to Midway for Grandpa L but I wasn't up to the long drive being prego and without Chris. Plus you can bet I would have gotten lost! We talked about Atticus a lot on our drive...I truly hate that my kids don't have him here to play with. I love it when they talk about him though and their Uncle Michael and I am grateful to know that with some patience we'll see them again. 

AND SUMMER ARRIVED!!!! I am so SO happy to report that we had a really fun summer 2014. I felt so guilty last summer getting so sick near the end of July and felt like my kids totally got gypped on their summer fun with me being down and out for several months. It was so awful I hate even thinking back to it... Anyways, I was really worried that being prego this year would also put a damper on things but my body has been such a trooper and I am grateful that it allowed us to play away! Here is a glimpse of  Part 1 of our summer fun: 

 June...

FATHER'S DAY!!!!

My kiddos love their Dad!!!

June 24th - our Anniversary! We've been married a loooooooooong time... and it has flown by so quick. I'm grateful I get to grow old with this guy! We got a sitter - yes - a sitter and actually went out without kids. It's such a rare happening (I think it's happened a total of 3 times all of 2014 and it's now October) that we forget what sitting and actually having a conversation without whiny crazy kids to tend to is like. We went to Toucanos (I think?) - a Brazillian restaurant at Gateway in SL and then walked around Temple Square for a bit. Such a fun evening! Our kids are a nightmare to put to bed so we try and spare the sitter of that deed if at all possible and go as early as we can. Just less stress all around for everyone. Parker took this pic of us on the swings after our date. On a sidenote, months after this night happened, I had taken that necklace out to wear, and Lexi (2) said, "Mom, this is the necklace you wore when Landry babysat us!". I was so impressed that she had remembered that little detail from months before!

Back to June...A few nights later, we had Landry babysit AGAIN (I know - two times in one week - total record for us!!!) while we went to the Sandy Amphitheater for a "Date Night with Matt Townsend". Matt is  a relationship expert - and such a great, FUNNY speaker - I just love him. He is sometimes on TV and the radio...anyways, my Dad and Melissa were so sweet to buy us tickets and we went with them and Melissa's two cute daughters and their spouses. We met first at the park for a gourmet picnic (seriously!) that Melissa made us and then went over to the amphitheater. The music group Voice Male also performed and were really good and really funny too. SUCH a fun night! And a late one.... unfortunately for our sitter, she had to put the kids to bed....and it was, for her a nightmare. Parker was so naughty she had to call me....and then they wouldn't go to bed... agh! That, mixed with the total of our two nights out that week equaling close to $80 in babysitting fees, pretty much sum up why we never get to go on dates! We'd be broke! And we realize that family have their own lives and things to do on the weekends... so we hate to impose on them unless it's really necessary or they choose a night themselves that works well for them. 

Fourth of July! 

Lex was SO sick in the days leading up to the holiday. She got pneumonia again from a little cold that turned into breathing issues... same story again and again! She started some heavy steroids however the day before and by the actual day she was doing much better. I never would have taken her out, but we were "helping" with our Ward bike parade and breakfast, so I didn't want to cop out of it...I just tried to keep her away from other kids and she didn't participate in the parade. 

The kiddos love the bike parade so much. We're glad to live in such an awesome neighborhood! Lex and I stayed home with her germs that night and Chris took the older kiddos to party and do firework with the Hansens. 

SWIM LESSONS. 

I kind of hate them, I have to say! They are so time consuming (with P and E in different classes we had to go 2 different times a day) and take up weeks of our summer. And after FOUR years of them you'd think my kids could swim, but nope... it's like relearning it every. stinkin'. summer! It drives me crazy! I have definitely learned not to start them super early because it's just such a waste - you think they're doing awesome and then they just forget! Emmie could swim better at 2 than P could that year at 4. She was really good! But by the next year...gone! Unless you're always at the pool, which we're NOT - esp this summer - then it's just a waste. Totally my opinion.:) On a brighter note, my kids LOVE them! So I guess maybe  there's some value there...

THE MOUNTAINS

We took advantage this summer of living so close to the canyon in beautiful Utah and went up on a number of occasions for tin foil dinners. I love a good campfire and being in the mountains - and so do our kiddos! Way fun family time for us!

THANKSGIVING POINT... what can I say? We love this place! We took full advantage this summer of visiting the Farm, the museums, and picnicking and walking through the beautiful gardens there. I didn't take too many pics but we were there frequently and LOVE our family time there!

This last few years we have done the UT County Parade of Homes. The parade lasts for several weeks and we just love going!!! There are so many homes to see we don't usually see them all, but try and go to  several each day a few days a week....with kids that's how ya gotta roll! So fun to be inspired by the decorating and designs of these awesome homes. It's fun to dream a little, right?! 

Last of all for this post, I took this little cutie in for a Dr appt to talk about where she was at with her growth. We were maybe going to need to start growth hormone therapy beginning in the Fall, depending on where she was at, and I wanted to kind of know which direction we were headed with the baby coming and all at that same time. I am a total planner and need these things laid out in my head for mental preparation if at all possible, lol! :) We were super happy to find that she had grown 4 inches in height in 9 months, taking her up onto the chart to the 12th %ile. She was much lower for weight though with like 1% but the height was a huge improvement! Still such a peanut but hey, it's not all bad being a petite girl - I know all about that! :) So the Dr said she's still not out of the woods, but for now, we are delaying any sort of therapy. We were so relieved!!!

Dancing Queen

This cute girl had her dance recital this last May. She goes to a pretty big studio so it was quite the production!

Waiting back stage! These three  friends carpooled all year and had playdates after dance each week. It worked out perfect! Such cute girls!

Her class did two performances - "All Shook Up", and "Girl Talk". Not gonna lie, Emmie has a little ADD (passed on from my self-diagnosed self) and therefore has a hard time not slipping into her own little "La La Land" during classtime. Therefore I was a little nervous that she would just stand up there and not know what to do, but she ended up doing great!! 

Emmie was soooooo excited to not only get flowers (in her favorite color picked out by her Dad) after her performances, but also her first trophy!! She was really proud of herself as were we on this big day!