Floating on The Great Salt Lake

The library has a State Parks pass which I was told "is never in", so when I saw it was checked in one day, I snatched it up, with no destination in mind. Since Tyson has never been to Antelope Island during the day and I have "Float in The Great Salt Lake" on my bucket list, off to the Island we went!

We had a lot of fun. It was a Monday and not a holiday, yet there were still people from all over the world there - Canada, Ukraine, and we counted at least 8 license plates from other states. I'm so glad we took the time to enjoy something in our own back yard.

Tyson and the kiddos walking down to the beach.

Sweet Lydia on the salt flats beach.

Lydia loved the warm water. She kept walking in circles around me over and over.

For the beauty of the earth.

Tyler, loving the muddy sand.

Nervously assessing the lake. I've heard stories of how smelly and buggy the lake is, but it wasn't bad at all. The water was warm and it was a beautiful day.

Floating! It was actually really cool. I couldn't believe how easily I floated!

Wahoo, check that one of the bucket list!

The sand on her face attested to how much fun Lydia had.

Cute Tyler.

Antelope Island in September.

Fields and fields of sunflowers.

Tyler Starts Preschool

1st day of Preschool for Tyler! As he was getting in the car he said, "Wait! I forgot something." He ran back to his room and came back downstairs wearing an oversized Newsies hat that he got from my old things when I was a kid. Of course I let him wear it. :-)

He loves his preschool and so do we! The teacher, classroom, and program are great, they do such cute arts and crafts, and I get to follow them on their blog -

http://littlesmartypantspreschool.blogspot.com/

Tyler's mansion of a preschool.

Soccer

Saturday, August 27th was 4-year-old Tyler's 1st soccer game and I'm pretty sure we the parents were the most excited. And sure enough, his team did not disappoint. They were so cute, all those little boys in oversized uniforms running all around. This is going to be a fun season!

Practicing his moves.

Coach Z teaching how to kick.

Tyler kicking. Nice job!

Lookin' good!

Having fun.

This is how you throw it in from out-of-bounds.

You can let go of the ball now, Tyler...

Awesome throw!

Hot

"Hey, come back here!"

Supportive Litte Sister watching (and wishing she was kicking the ball).

Go Number 2!

Often off in his own world...

As the game waned, Tyler would come in for parental pep talks to keep him going.

Mental note: Fill up two full water bottles next time!

He made it through the game with only one meltdown (it really was hot out there) and discovered the joy of after soccer treats. Good game, son!

The Davis County Fair

What a fun fair! The Davis County Fair was just the right size. On August 20th, our little family plus Grandma and Opa spent the morning admiring animals and produce, checking out the booths, and even eating a little fair food.

The petting zoo was awesome! A tortise that kept slowly following Tyler around, a miniature horse, a baby camel, a baby zebra (perhaps the same one we saw in Scipio on the way to CA?), lamas, goats, puppies, a baa baa black sheep, oh man, it was great!

The pony rides were always my favorite part of the fair. Tyler was hesitant until he saw Lydia's excitement. Then they both had a blast (okay, I did too even though I had to walk next to the pony, instead of getting a ride).

Lydia was in heaven with all the animals. She loved the bunny house where she kept exclaiming, "Kitty! Kitty!" Tyler earned a free book by keeping track of all the books he has read (he will go page by page and study the pictures of dozens of his story books). The book was a simple chapter book - his first. We read it to him (a Magic Treehouse book - Mystery on the Moon) and he is hooked! He also earned a ride and chose the boats.

The novelty wore off quickly when the other children kept clanging their boat bells.

All in all it was a fair I would recommend!

Look What I Made!

That's right! All by myself with the help of internet tutorials and my new sewing machine.

Notice the embroidered trim -

And here is the final product on my cute model!

Father's and Son's Campout

Tyson took Tyler on his first Father's and Son's campout, along with Grandpa Jim on August 13th. They camped just past the city of Morgan and were gone less than 24 hours, but came back with tales of grand adventures such as a dog eating their beef stew, an air mattress fiasco, and treasure hunting for candy (Tyler's favorite part). Fun times! Tyler is still talking about Father's and Son's.

The Big Three-Oh

You only turn 30 once, so to make it special for Tyson, the kids and I gave him 30 of his favorite things throughout the day (July 26th). Things that included: Breakfast and dinner out, a professional massage, tools for his grill, his favorite marinades and other treats, giftcards to Home Depot, herbs and outdoor planters that he has been eyeing for almost a year...

...and this Midnight Delight deliciousness from Coldstone.

Happy Birthday, Tyson! 30 and still lookin' good!