Kid's Tri- June 2008

Ethan and his buddy, Sam.



Blakers finishing the race.



Blake and his good buddy/"cousin", River.



Ethan swimming.



Blake swimming.



Ethan and Blake by each other on the bike ride.



Ethan on the home stretch.

I finally got these pictures from the depths of my computer. Ethan and Blake participated in the Diamond Kid Triathlon for the second time this summer. They both completed the entire course independently! This included a 50 meter swim, 1 mile bike ride, and a 1/2 mile run. This is one thing that makes me happy- seeing my kids active and doing something that is hard but achievable. They were both very tired after as they enjoyed their swag bag full of goodies. Good job buddies! Do you think it's too early to start Keaton next year?

Anderson's Dairy- Summer 2008

We went with a group of friends to a tour at our local dairy- Anderson's Dairy. They do a great job keeping the attention of the kiddos. They have a room full of talking animals that put on a show and then a pretty entertaining movie with plenty of jokes that were "utterly" funny (see what I mean, funny, huh!). We got to walk through the ice cream/milk/cottage cheese making processes and see things hands-on. The day is capped off with a bowl of their ice cream. The kids had a great time...especially Keaton. He talked about the talking animals for days.

The 4th of July and Beyond...

We went up to Utah for the 4th of July this year. We got up there in time to celebrate Darren's birthday at Brick Oven and then Keaton's birthday at Boondock's. On the 4th, we got up early and went down to Provo to catch the tail end of the hot air balloon celebration and get a spot at the parade. After one hour of the parade, our kids (and Darren and I) were ready to get back to Jill's house to play with the kids and get our bbq going. My mom came to Jill's to watch the babies and we set out for the Hannah Montana concert at BYU's Stadium of Fire. We now know that next year we will be just as happy sitting outside the stadium to watch the celebration. Then the kids can run around. Our favorite parts of the show: the jets over head and the sky divers. My favorite part of the night: re-enacting the scene from Ferris Beuller's Day Off. Remember the end of the movie when Ferris is running through people's backyards trying to beat his sister home? Ya, that was us, compliments of Uncle Justin. We parked in a neighborhood east of the stadium and he led us through a short cut that he takes to the games. The difference tonight? People were out enjoying the great weather and celebrating the 4th. We walked through random backyards while strangers just looked at us- most saying nothing. Except when Justin complimented a lady on her apron. We got to greet them all on the way back through as they were still outside watching the fire works. Priceless. My camera was broken so I need to get my pictures from Jill. Especially Keaton's b-day celebration.

Brothers

Over the Hill

Darren turned the big ole 4-0 this month. To throw him off, and to catch all our friends who would be traveling this summer, I threw him a surprise birthday party at the beginning of June. This summer our good friend Steve Fellows also took the plunge into mid-life so his wife and I (Jen) combined the festivities. I learned that this kind of party can't happen without good friends. Everything from food, decorations, sneaking the surprise, etc all was completed only with the help of very talented people. We served shredded sweet pork with all the fixin's for a yummy Mexican fiesta. Then some especially skilled gals (I don't dare mention names for fear that I will forget someone) made some sweetness decorations and the house and backyard were literally lit up with fun! We had a mariachi band come for entertainment- that was the icing on the cake for Darren. He loves mariachi and has always wanted this particular band to come to our house. Here are a few pictures to enjoy. I need to get more from Jen. Happy Day, Big-D!

Bailey Reunion in Park City- 2008

We had yet another fun-filled reunion with my family in Park City this year. My mom found an awesome bed and breakfast that rented the entire thing to us. We all had our own rooms (those with kids had two rooms) and our own bathrooms. There was a pool table room and a loft with air hockey and games. The kids had so much fun playing with cousins and running around everywhere since the place was so big. Of course my mom hooked us up with yummy food and treats. We spent one afternoon at the park playing games, including an obstacle course that my mom planned. (See pictures!) Then the other day we spent time at the Alpine Slide and the new Coaster. It is always a hit- my kids will talk about that all year and will ask for it next summer. I know that we were all surprised (sarcasm) that Keaton got sick. Yes! Another bout of the stomach flu on top of strep throat (I should add here that Ethan and Blake were also on medicine for strep throat- we were the life of the party, eh!). It made for a fun 2 days of no sleep and needing to be held. On the plus side, although I was sore from holding Keaton non-stop, I got to rock him in my arms to sleep and that doesn't happen often with that busy kid.