Hellfire 15

This last weekend we spent our time out on the Boneville Salt Flats for Hellfire 15. We were of course part of the set up crew so we went out on Wednesday afternoon to set up. The next four days were all about rockets. Kelly had spent a lot of time over the summer building rockets to fly out here at hellfire. This rocket is one he found different materials and created from scratch (usually he builds rockets from kits). This rocket went up really well but the nose cone didn't come off and it crashed on landing. Not to much damage though, it will fly again.We thought while we were out on the salt it would be fun to do our Christmas card picture. So you will see this picture again.

Here is Kage as we were setting up. He wore Kelly's hat to help keep the sun off. The sun is very intense out on the salt. Poor Kage still ended up with blisters on his chin because of the reflection off the salt.

On Thursday morning a little mouse came running across the salt. We were all shocked because of the extreme environment of the salt. With some help from one on the vendors the boys caught the mouse. David kept putting on the gloves and holding the mouse. By the end of the day the poor mouse seemed to really be struggling, the next morning Grandpa took the mouse over to the hills and let it go. Hopefully it survived.

I just like this picture of the boys hanging out in our shade with their shades on.

I was terrible at taking pictures this weekend. We were joined with friends and family on this trip as well but I didn't take pictures of any of them. Kelly's Dad and SueAnn came out with us on Wednesday. Kelly's brother and his son Tanner flew out from Texas to spend the weekend with us. We also had our friend and neighbor Dave Anderson and his son Derek with us Thursday to Sunday. We had the Reykerts come out on Friday but we were unfortunately rained out that afternoon shortly after they got there. (We had a micro burst storm come through that just about destroyed our tent and a lot of the gear we had, it was really scary for a few minutes). Saturday we had the Braithwaite's come out and spend most of the day with us. Just after they left we had another wind storm come through and blow everything around again. (At least there was no lightning and rain with this storm). We also spent a lot of time this weekend swimming at the pool and eating a lot of food at the buffet! We had a great time. Thanks to all of the friends and family we got to spend time with.

Four Wheeling in Cache Valley

Saturday the boys and I went with my Mom and Dad up to Logan to do a little four wheeling with Ashley and her family. It was a great day (except a little trouble with one of our four wheelers not running properly). First thing we saw a Moose and calf. We also had a group of airplanes fly over with a refuler that was pretty cool to see. They seemed so close because we were in the mountains. The wild flowers were so pretty. We had a great day! Thanks for the invite Ash & B.

July's Happenings

This month we have been busy with many different activities. We tried another night of dinner around the world. The kids wanted Chinese food. It was okay but I think I would rather just get take out next time.

The boys and I enjoyed the Steele Days Parade with Amber, Gregg, and boys, and Mom and Dad. They ended up with a lunch bag completely full.

We didn't do much to celebrate the 24th of July. We did a few sparklers and smoke bombs that evening. The boys always enjoy those.

July is Day camp time for the boys at Jeremiah Johnson Day Camp for Cub Scouts. David was able to go to Weblos camp. They needed parent help with the Wolves and Bears so I volunteered to go. David came with us. We only had eight boys total. It was fun to see what the boys did at camp.

The boys took swimming lessons this month. David passed his level but Kage needs a little more work to pass his.

Island Park part 2

Friday night after we unloaded at the cabin some of us went for a ride up to Big Spring. It was absolutely gorgeous. After we came home to find many of them in the hot tub. This of course is where David was. He loves hot tubs.

Saturday morning we took a family picture. Then we canoed down the Big Springs river. I didn't take my camera because I was afraid it would get wet but I wish I would have. The river was so beautiful. We had a raft and four canoes. We took turns being in the raft and canoes. Along the river we saw moose, fish, and beautiful birds including a Bald Eagle. That evening we went and watched the fireworks over the lake. Before the fireworks they had a boat regatta. Several boats were all decorated for the fourth with lights. The sunset over the lake was so pretty. The fireworks were some of the best I had seen in several years. We were so close to where they were letting them off you had to look straight up to see them.

Sunday we spent the day in Yellowstone. It had been fifteen years since I had been to Yellowstone. It was fun to take the boys for the first time. With only one day in Yellowstone we tried to do as much as we could. We stopped at Fountain Paint Pot geyser. Then we headed off to Old Faithful. (This was probably the highlight of the day. Kage was really excited to see a geyser). We watched the geyser and had lunch. Then we went to Fishing Bridge, Yellowstone Lake, One of the waterfall's, Norris Geyser basin. We were headed out only to get stuck in traffic jam. We were told to turn around so we did. We went back to Canyon Village only to find out that the road was open and if we would have stayed where we were then we would have been able to keep going shortly. The whole ordeal ended up taking us an extra two hours in the car. We ended up spending the better part of twelve hours in the car that day. I would love to go back to Yellowstone and spend a little more time.

Monday morning we packed and cleaned up the cabin. As we left we stopped at Mesa Falls. It was so pretty. We had a great trip and it was a lot of fun to spend some time with my family.

Island Park Family Reunion

We just got back from a fun long weekend in Island Park. My entire family (Minus Kelly who is working in South Carolina for two weeks) spent four days and three nights in a cabin in Island Park. Most of us left Thursday July 1. We enjoyed breakfast at IHOP to start then we stopped at Smith & Edwards in northern Utah. My mom gave everyone one dollar and we were trying to find the most creative thing for a dollar. It is a very interesting store. Then we went to Lava Hot Springs. We enjoyed a great afternoon swimming and jumping off the diving board. They have platforms you can dive from. Chelsea, D.J., and Gregg all jumped from the top platform. Kage wanted to but I was too nervous to let him jump. He loved jumping off the diving board though.

After we left Lava Hot Springs we drove to Idaho Falls and spent the night. The next morning we took a little time to enjoy the falls and take a few pictures.

Our next stop was Bear World. You get to drive around and see elk, buffalo, wolves, and bears in "natural" environment. We did see several animals but I wouldn't spend the money to go back. They had brown and black bears that were pretty cool to see.

After you drive through part of it they have a petting zoo that is pretty cool. They had bear cubs playing (not to pet), the kids did get to pet deer, chickens, goats, and pigs. They also had a bunch of carnival type rides. The little kids loved it. David thought he was too old for the rides. All he wanted was fudge.

Summer So Far

So far this summer we have spent a lot of time at home and a lot of time building rockets. Saturday before Fathers Day we participated in a rocket demonstration out at Miller Motor Sports Park for Clark Planetarium. We thought it would be a lot of fun but it was kind of a mess. It was very windy and the location they had us launching took all of the rockets over the fence. Kelly ended up climbing the fence to look for other people's rockets and walked over a mile to get back in. Of course I didn't take pictures I really need to get better at that.

Saturday was the monthly launch out at Pony Express Test Range. The weather was great. The boys launched several rockets. We also had some neighbors come out and launch and that was very fun. I know that rockets will continue to be a big part of our summer.



We have spent a little time at the pool and enjoying the summer weather. We look forward to more summer time activities.

Disneyland

Last week my parents took my boys to Florida for the week. Kelly and I decided to take a road trip and we ended up in Southern California. We spent most of our time in Disneyland.
One of Kelly's favorite rides in Disneyland is It's A Small World. Every time we have gone to Disneyland we have to ride it at least once. We spent parts of five days in Disneyland.
On Wednesday we went to the beach. We ended up at Newport beach first. We walked out on the pier and watched them fish for a little bit. We also laid on the beach and walked through the shops.
Then we drove down to Laguna Beach. This beach had a ton of seaweed all over it. We did walk down and look at the tide pools. This is about the only picture we got of the two of us together. We had a great week. It was really nice to spend time together just the two of us.