Punkinaze IV

We made our annual trip to the Punkinaze! I can't believe last year I was still pregnant with Sarah Jane when we went there! Brigham loved the hay slides, he ran the whole time to make sure he got lots of turns down it. Sarah was indifferent to the whole hay slide experience; we couldn't tell if she loved it or hated it. I know we all had lots of fun getting lost together in the corn maze and we celebrated with pumpkin ice cream when we made it out- and we didn't even cheat this year too!

Matt & Brigham: Where are we?

Brigham makes a handsome little ghost!

Sarah with two fists full of corn.

Matt and Sarah having a slide.

Me and Sarah.

Brigham at the top.

Brigham enjoying the ride down.

There's always a smile at the end!

N. Ogden Fire Open House

October is National Fire Prevention month, so a lot of fire departments are having activities open to the public. North Ogden seemed to have the most exciting activities tonight, so that's where we decided to go. Like every little kid Brigham was so excited to see the fire engines. Brigham was able to walk inside a fire engine, spray a fire hose, and ride in a fire engine and an ambulance where they turned on the lights and the noise. Those firefighters have a neat job, and we all had lots of fun!

What a long day!

Today we decided to go to the Utah State Fair in Salt Lake City to have some fun. We took the UTA Frontrunner down there, which I thought Brigham would appreciate and we would get to avoid expensive parking. Brigham was thrilled with riding on the train as expected, but some things went not quite as planned, particularly on the way back from the fair with the 8 block walk to the train stop back felt more like 20 blocks and we had to carry 40 pounds of an exhausted 3 yr-old under a scorching sun. By the time we made it to the train station we had a 50 min. wait until the train left and I splurged on the best $3 bottled water of my life!

We did have an unexpected good surprise when we had to pass by Leatherbys on our walk to the fair. Leatherbys has really creamy, rich, bad-for-you, enormous sundaes. It was an easy lunchtime decision.
When we made it to the fair there was a lot for us to see and do and it used up Brigham's energy surprisingly fast. And that was when our miserable journey back began. At least Leatherbys made the trip worth it to me!

More mileage on the Car!

We've been enjoying our summertime! I've been so busy I've neglected the blog for a few weeks and I have to take note of the fun things we've been up to!
We went to the Manti pageant June 25th with Grandma and Grandpa Larsen and cousin Ethan. Brigham keeps on reminding us practically everyday since that he wants to go back. I agree with him, I love the Manti pageant and the spirit there. I even enjoy the drive when we get away from the city and you can look out the car window and see all the glorious open space. It made me sigh about a trillion times and drove Matt crazy. I told Matt when we move from the Wasatch front I'll quit the sighing but for right now I'll have to sigh away *sigh*
On the way down, we stopped by the big red barn in South Santiquin for ice cream- which you are not allowed to pass by if I am in the car! Even though the power was out from the storms that day, we were able to eat some drippy delicious ice cream. They have some unique flavors- peanut butter and jelly, pumpkin pie, lemon custard, etc. Matt usually chooses one or two of the unique flavors and I choose the ice cream with the most chocolate content.
We did the Chester challenge, where you hold your breath through the town of Chester, I tried unsuccessfully and Matt prevailed. If I was driving, I would have made it. We also got to pass though my favorite one stoplight town of Ephraim- Go Mighty Badgers! In Manti, we ate at the famous stakehouse turkey dinner! We ended up getting a take-home box stuffed full of turkey to go which made it about the best day ever of my life right there!
The pageant was amazing and though I've seen it many times before, it always reminds me of the sacrifices of those before us and that families can be together forever. I'm excited to go again next time like Brigham!


Last week Matt took Brigham to the Splash pad and Sarah started pulling herself up to stand using the couch. I took a picture of her second time ever doing it, she didn't last long enough to get a picture of the first! She had the biggest smile on her face on her first time- you could tell she was so proud of herself! It's already been about a week since and she is an expert at pulling herself up now!

Brigham taking aim at the splashpad.

I love the focus on Sarah's face!

Hurray!

Now I get to see this every morning!

We went to Moon Lake with Grandpa and Grandma Larsen this past weekend. Grandma and Grandpa go every year with Grandpa's co-workers. It was a lot of fun and I finally got to break in my new tent I got 2 1/2 years ago for Christmas! Brig got to go fishing for his first time. He loved sleeping in a sleeping bag and in a tent for his first time too!

Sarah Bear breaking out of the tent!

Sarah Jane and Daddy!

I love that face!

The fishing was good!

Daddy and Brig.

Yesterday we went to the open house at the new Oquirrh Mountain temple with the kids for FHE. It was a longer drive than expected so it was difficult to keep Sarah (hungry) and Brigham (wanting to stretch his legs) from making a scene inside the temple. In the end we all enjoyed sitting by the water fountain after the tour was over!

Our Backyard Bunch

The backyard has been the coolest place to be lately. Brigham and Sarah Jane have been enjoying the new playground and swings. Sarah can't get enough of her little swing, she loves it when you pull her up and let her go. Brigham loves to swing too, and plays in the dirt even though I wish he'd choose the sandbox instead. We sometimes get to play with the neighbor's cat that comes to visit which is an added bonus because we just get to pet and enjoy him but I don't have to take care of him. (I miss having pets but two kids is enough work for me now).
Matt has been enjoying the backyard too- using the grill. He is so anxious for corn on the cob to go on sale so he can throw that on to cook.

Swingset buddies!

Sarah loves that swing!

Brigham and his silly faces!

One happy little girl- This picture also depicts the eyecolor dilemma I have- is that blue, green or hazel?

Summertime!

Summertime has been great thus far! Matt is keeping up with his summer school which has been mostly math classes. He hasn't found a job that is compatible with school yet so we have been enjoying seeing him around a lot more. Matt hasn't been bored though- he has been getting plenty of homework to do and he got to start on re-taming our much neglected yard. It was starting to get pretty wild out there- the overgrown trees, humongous weeds and the random debris left from past owners! Fun, Fun, Fun! We have been able to do lots of things together as a family which has been the best part so far for me! I took lots of pictures!

We went to a free car show in Ogden last night. Here I am next to my dream Jeep. I'd love to go to the grocery store in one of these!

Matt next to his dream machine! Brigham looked the least grumpy in this picture...

Sarah Jane is starting to take off! She does a really good army crawl so I can't expect her stick around in the same place anymore!

Went to the Drive in to see Up!


Enjoying a summer day!

Blowing bubbles and popping them at the same time- what an efficient kid!

Lake Powell

The kids and I went with my parents and grandma to Lake Powell over the weekend. I was so sad that we had to leave poor Matt behind to go to work and school. It rained a lot there but it's better than when it's so miserably hot! The best parts for me was lots of good food and hiking. Brigham loved throwing rocks and working on a sandcastle. The worst part was the looong drive with kids. I think we could make a record for taking the most amount of time to get home with the packing, stops to eat and change diapers and the blowouts (I'm not talking about the tire kind either)!

Pa and Brigham

Slot canyons are so fun!

I love this picture of Brigs!

Great and Sarah playing on the houseboat

Brigham fell asleep at the table. What a long day!