Conference weekend & a visit from Jill!

Over conference weekend, my sister Jillian came out from DC to hang with us. It was also her birthday, so it was a nice excuse to see a show and see some of the city. She got here on Friday afternoon. We went and grabbed a slice and then saw The Addams Family starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth (we didn't get to see her, she was out of town). It was a fantastic show, actually. Very funny and entertaining, very talented cast. Most of the songs were quite enjoyable. Some of the funniest parts were with the puppetry that they did. The sets were awesome and they did some cool stuff with the curtains. Hard to explain, but it was neat-o. It was all very clever. Nathan Lane was truly amazing. He is such a talented actor, with impeccable comedic timing. A perfect Gomez. I was so glad that I got to see him live. A guy I know from BYU, Clark Johnsen, (he was a Young Ambassador at the same time I was a Folk Dancer... we did Light of the World together, and he was in Whitney's MDT program), was one of the ancestors, so it was fun to see him in it as well. 

Saturday we spent most of the day in Central Park after Nate took the boys to the Central Park zoo.  We started at Hecksher Playground at the south end of the park, the walked through the mall, up to the lake and Bethesda Fountain.  From there we headed to Bow bridge, then up past Cherry Hill to the fountain.  Then out of the park by Strawberry Fields.  We picked up some jumbo pretzels and ate them on the steps of the Museum of Natural History, then headed home. 

Asher showing off his golf skills.  He's actually pretty good.

Sayer, charming random park goers.  Per usual.

Jill and Bart enjoying the sunshine

Making wishes at the fountain at the top of Cherry Hill in Central Park

Making a wish...

and the toss

Asher's turn

Thinking about what to wish for... pretty sure it had something to do with birds.  Shocking, I know.

Conference Sunday.  Jillian's birthday cake.

You can't tell, but they are singing Happy Birthday to Jill

We didn't have any candles, but Jill was a good sport and pretended to blow her candles out!

On Saturday night, we had a lovely dinner out to Deluxe, one of our neighborhood faves.  Sunday we listened to conference and baked.  Then we had bbq pulled pork sandwhiches, fruit, veggies, and other delicious treats, with some friends in the ward.  Jill had to leave late afternoon to get back to DC for school the next day.  Thanks for coming out Jill!  We had fun as always.  Next time, we will get out and see more of the city, promise!

Drummin'

Sayer was entertaining Bart by drumming on his bumbo tray. Bart was giggling so much, it was so cute. Love those little boys!

Rice cereal

Barty started eating rice cereal. He likes it. It would be nice if he would keep most of it in his mouth. I know he will eventually learn this skill, but it would be nice if he could master sooner rather than later. :) Either way, he sure is cute!

Coney Island

On labor day weekend we went to Coney Island for the first time. The weather was perfect, and the crowds were not bad at all. After a quick lunch of Nathan's hot dogs, we spent some time on the beach, then headed over to the Aquarium, which the kids loved. I would not, however, recommend waiting in line to see the 4-D Planet Earth movie... SO not worth it.

Our summer in pictures

First of all, can I just say how much I am loving Blogger's new photo up-loader? So awesome that I can finally upload a ton of photos at one time. This changes everything! It means that I might actually blog more! Only time will tell.

Ok, so I decided that I am never going to have the desire to do a post dedicated to everything that we did this summer. So instead, I decided to just document some of the fun things we did with photos. Unfortunately, I was not a very good picture-taker this summer, but here are some random selections...

Children's Museum in SLC.  Construction zone.  Boys loved it!

Boys hanging out in the bird house.  Their clothes are soaked from the water tables.

Playing at Nana and Papa's in Spokane.

Typical morning at Nana and Papa's... bowl of cereal, or crackers maybe, and watching tv.  Nice

.

Riding the airplanes at Riverfront park

Riding the train at Riverfront park

Mini-golf... Riverfront park

Mini-golf

Fountains, Riverfront Park

Nate, fiddling for our room and board at the Shafers in WA. :)   We stopped on our way to Sac from Spokane.  So fun to catch up!  Thanks for putting us up guys!

Nate and Barty snoozing on the road.  I may or may not have taken this while driving.

Barty's first swim in Sacramento!  Isn't his swim trunk and rash guard combo precious?!

Is that a white swim suit you're wearing Kadin?  Nice goggles!!

Brother time!

They love those goggles

Asher delighting in the baby chicks at the fair

Can you see the pure joy in his expression?!

Barty and his cousin Isaac.  Look at those squishy, chunky thighs!!

This summer, we spent lots of time with family.  We had a family reunion at Aspen Grove with the Olsons.  We went to Pasco, WA; Spokane, WA; Seattle, WA; Silverlake, WA; Sacramento, CA; Sunnyvale, CA; and then Yellowstone.  I think we are done traveling for awhile.  I got a little burnt out this summer.  Not that it wasn't so wonderful to be with family, because it truly was.  It's just so hard on the kids, and I always feel bad for imposing on everyone.  But we were SO happy that we got to see almost everyone this summer!!

We also had a great time in UT.  We got to hang out with all Nate's brother's and their fams, Jillian (until she moved to DC for the rest of the summer) and lots of friends that we haven't seen in a couple of years.  Nate got to play with all his old bands and do some recordings.  We hit up the Highland City Splash Pad many, many times.  Went to Veteran's Pool as well as 7-Peaks.  Enjoyed our favorite UT restaurants.  The boys had a blast riding their scooters and playing outside in the yard.  It truly was a great summer!

Yellowstone

We went to Yellowstone National Park with my family this last August, and it was such a fun time! The weather was pretty perfect, with only a few (totally amazing I might add) thunder, lightening and rain storms. We stayed in a cabin on Lake Hebgen, which was perfect for the whole fam. By day, we hit the park and saw plenty of geysers and hot springs, and by night, we ate lots of good food, saw my cousin in a play, played games on our computers, talked, read, had some spiritual thoughts, you know, all the good stuff. Here is a photo re-cap of our trip:

Unfortunately, our time in Yellowstone included lots of waiting in the car.  They were doing road construction, and would stop us for 20-30 minutes at a time.  We made the most of it though.

 

 

 

 

Mom and Dad.  So cute!

Ash and Jill.  Looking fine as ever.

Ben was amazing.  He carried that over-sized child on his shoulders for much of the trip.  Ollie looks pretty pleased with his circumstances I'd say.

Bison!

Over looking the plains... or something.  Don't ask what I am doing with my leg there.

Kids reading in a gift shop.  Love it!

Old Faithful.

Dad reading during one of our many stops.

Oh Ben.

Gorgeous!  The view, not me.

Asher and Kadin doing what boys do best.  Getting dirty and climbing.

Yet another Bison.  Thank you Ben.

Sayer and Asher watching something on the i-touch.  I am starting to hate technology.

Ice cream. Mmmmm!

Cute boys sleeping!

Picnic lunch.  First day in the park.  From L to R, Asher, Kadin, Sayer, Joel.

Kadin and Asher playing in the river during lunch.

Ash and Dad

Standing in line for the bathrooms... again.  I could not believe how many times certain people in my family had to go to the bathroom.  It was getting a little ridiculous if you ask me.

Notice, I am not in this picture... I am taking it.  Because I AM NOT IN LINE FOR THE BATHROOM!  Geez.  Love you guys! ;)

Waiting for Old Faithful

After Old Faithful.

Picnic lunch in the parking lot! L to R, Sayer, Asher, Joel, Lexy, Kadin.