Payson Lakes Grotto

The morning after the 24th, we were sitting around and my sisters kids wanted to do something, as well as her husband. Her husband doesn't like to sit still and likes to keep busy, he also likes to be outdoors. There were a couple of hikes/walks they knew about that were close to their house and so we tried to decide which one to do.

We eventually decided and probably half of my kids complained. Shaylyn was concerned cause she didn't have 'real' shoes. She only had flip flops. I told her she'd be fine and we were on our way.

The boys wasted no time getting their butts dirty...

The rest of us tried a more laid back approach.

Jace was really taking his time and that meant I was falling quite a ways behind. My sister's awesome husband, Cody realized what was going on and asked if he could carry Jace. I wasn't sure Jace would go with him as he's kind of funny around people he doesn't see very well - but apparently Uncle Cody was an okay guy and he went with him just fine.

We made it to the grotto and found it incredibly crowded. Which I guess shouldn't have been a surprise as it was the day after a holiday AND a Saturday. The kids managed to have fun anyway. And Tanis was a great helper with Jace.

There was a way to get to the top of the waterfall, but it was a steep climb. Therefore, only Shaylyn and Lex went up with Cody and his son. My brother Logan took his son Vincent up as well.

It was then time to head back to the car and back home.

{..Yup she's barefoot. Her concern about not having real shoes wasn't unfounded. There are the ocassional times you should listen to your children...}

There's a story to the next picture.
My dad is getting older and while he's not in as bad as shape as he thinks he is in his head, he does have some issues with his knees. He was a little nervous crossing one of the little bridges and he was honestly shaking a bit. He asked Cody if he wouldn't mind helping him keep his balance and Cody did just that. He made sure he was right there helping out and ready to do what he could should something happen.

The kids weren't thrilled to go back home afterwards as they wanted to spend more time with their cousins, but I was anxious to see Eric. He was going to be at the store all Saturday night as well, so I just wanted to touch base and see how he was doing.

We stopped by the game store on the way home and went and said hi to Daddy. He was glad to see all of us and I think we were all glad to see him. There are things that are hard to do without Daddy around and we miss him when he's not with us.

What Happens Next...

Thanks To The Pioneers!

Up until the day before, we had zero plans for Pioneer Day. Yup, that's right - zero! I kind of avoided making any plans because I knew Eric had to be at the game store for a majority of the day and night, which meant we wouldn't be doing anything.

Then my little sister told us her plans had changed a bit and we were welcome to come to her house. We'd have a BBQ and then go see the fireworks their city puts on. I wasn't totally excited to drive the hour to my sisters on the freeway and play single mom, but I wanted to do something, so I did it. I also wasn't looking forward to driving home at midnight or later, so thankfully my sister had also invited us to sleep over.

We arrived at my sisters around 5:00 p.m. and had a wonderful BBQ. I felt bad that I didn't do a whole lot in the way of helping her, but my mom was around and has been at her house more often than me and knew in what ways to help. 

Before too long we found ourselves in the front yard. Uncle Cody had a few little fireworks to set off that didn't necessarily need the dark of night. The kids had fun watching them.

About dusk we headed over to the ballfields and found a spot for the fireworks. There were TONS of people around, but because we were in a wide open space and people did a pretty good job of spreading out, I didn't feel too uncomfortable.

While waiting around for the fireworks to actually start, I decided I should get a couple pictures of my siblings that were around (although I somehow missed my baby brother).

My brother, Donovan had recently moved back home from Wyoming and it's been so nice having him around again. Growing up we were pretty good friends and he's one of the siblings who has a lot of the same interests as me.

My baby sister, Kaeloni is one of my best friends. I can't say enough about this wonderful lady. She is pretty much amazing and is a hero in my eyes. Donovan had talked to us about smiling with our eyes only and well, neither one of us could do it very well and we had to hide our smiles to even try. My nephew does the greatest photobomb...

The three of us have way too much fun together. But I'm glad to have them around.

My baby brother, Logan just happened to have his son for the weekend, so we got to see him too. I don't see this little guy very much as I'm not at my mom's very much and I'm not sure of the custody agreement between my brother and his son's mom, but I think his time is something like every other weekend or something.

Anyway, Vincent was able to join us and actually didn't mind talking to me and letting me get up close and personal with him.

Because the wait for the firework show was kind of long, the little kids (and the big kids) had fun running around and playing games in the huge outfield.

Then it was time for everyone to play with the stroller, in many different ways.

My mom and dad needed something to do, so Kaeloni had them play a game that she had on her phone. I don't know what the game is called, but it was pretty HILARIOUS to watch my parents move their heads down to switch the topic.

Then the lights went down and it was time for fireworks. It was one of the best shows I've seen and I can see the appeal and why my sister chooses to do this most years. Perhaps we will find ourselves out there next year as well.

What Happens Next...