It Was Thiiiiiiiis Big!

On Saturday we tried our fishing expedition again. This time we went up to a well-stocked pond at Snowbird Ski Resort. The kids each caught two and were happy they had some success. Taylor had one on his line that got away. The story and the fish that got away just keep getting bigger. At one point Lauren caught one and then 30 seconds later, Taylor caught one. Parley was very busy getting the hooks out of the fishes mouth so we could throw them back into the pond. No one wanted fish for dinner :)

How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?

I've always worried that I am underpaying my babysitters. When I was growing up, I was basically a nanny for a family who's mom was getting her masters. I was paid $1/hr for 4 kids. I thought it was just fine. Now a days, babysitters make minimum wage - or more! I've been paying my babysitters $2/per kid. So, in my case, that's $6/hr. I always worry that they get more somewhere else. I found this little babysitter payment calculator. I think it might be a little high, but maybe I'm up in the night.

A Little Happiness

I saw this on another blog page and though it was inspiring. It is the british version of America's Got Talent. I guess he went on to win. You've got to love the underdog. Go Paul Potts!



* Am I the only one who's heart strings got pulled by this? It's nice to see Simon Cowell's attitude change during the performance.

Movie Star

We have a friend who owns and Ad Agency. He called and wanted to know if Lauren and Taylor could be extras in a commercial. It is for CHIP - Utah's healthcare for kids who's parents can't afford health insurance. It was a long day. We were out the door at 6:15 a.m. and home at 5:15 p.m. Lauren said it was hard work. There was a lot of "hurry up and wait." They got paid enought that they pooled their earnings and bought a Nintendo Game Cube. If you live in Utah, watch for it to start airing on August 6th.

Down On The Farm

Today we went to Wheeler Farms to feed the ducks and look at the animals. Other than worrying that the kids would get the bird flu if they touched duck poop, it was great :) Today is the first day in a long time it hasn't been in the high 90's or over 100. It was a good day to visit the farm.

Gone Fishin

Taylor has been wanting to go fishing for a long time. There is a fishing hole (pond) not too far from our house. As you can see, it's just in a neighborhood with no stream feeding into it. Needless to say, they didn't catch anything. We saw them swimming, but they weren't biting. Better luck next time.

Home Depot

BEFORE

AFTER

They just build a brand new Home Depot about a quarter of a mile from our house. We all went in for the grand opening and saw that they have kids craft days on Saturdays. I signed the kids up. They had a great time. Lauren built a memory box and the boys each built cars. Best of all, it was free!

Computer Guru

Josh is three. I am so amazed that he can walk up to the computer, wake it from it's resting mode, log on to the internet and navigate his way around PBS kids. All without help from anyone. Today he opened up this game all by himself and knew how to play it. I'm so old that I took typing classes in high school! He'll probably never even know what a typewriter is.

Thanksgiving Point

Our last activity with Gwen and her kids before she left was to take the kids to Thankgiving Point. The kids had a great time playing in the water. It was 102 degrees that day! This was after we'd gotten up at 6 a.m. to go ballooning. You can see that Josh was plum tuckered out :)

Ballooning

Getting ready to launch
Flying High
Deflating time
letting the kids "help"

getting the hot air out

Who would think all that balloon would fit into this little bag

One of my best friends growing up was Heather Kelly. Her family lived down the street and although they already had 10 kids, I felt like I was an adopted member of their family. Heather's dad and now brother fly hot air balloons. I have many fond memories of getting up at 5 a.m. to help inflate, chase and put away the hot air balloons. Today I had a chance to take my kids to see it first hand. I think they had a great time. We missed some of the inflating, but chased the "piggy bank" to where it landed. Bronson (Heather's brother) was so good with the kids and let them "help" with deflating the big balloon. The kids had a ball!

Nature Walk

We thought our "california cousins" needed to spend a little time in the mountains. On Monday night we went for a little nature walk at Snowbird. It was still really warm and very green. As we were walking, a deer crossed the path right in front of us. It didn't seem to care we were even there. The kids had a great time sliding down this rock.

Happy Birthday America

Watching the Sandy City Parade
Tasty dinner at Sweet Tomatoes
Joshy loves, loves watermelon
Waiting for the fireworks to start

We had a fun 4th of July. Earlier in the day Taylor helped Parley paint the deck. Then we all headed off to the pool. It was PACKED, of course. It has been a fun-filled week of fireworks festivities.

Pre 4th Fireworks

Last night we met a group of families and set of fireworks in the church parking lot. Taylor was sooo excited the whole day. He couldn't wait. All the kids were so excited, for about 10 minutes. Then they all lost interest. We had a good time, though, and now we're prepared for the big one's tomorrow.