Almost the Perfect Weekend

Jon and I headed up to Provo last weekend for the first BYU home football game and for a little weekend getaway. We flew in Friday morning early and headed to Park City where we ate at a little cafe that had the best crepes! After lunch we rode the Alpine Slide, the Alpine Coaster and the Ziprider. They were all so fun, but the Coaster was by far our favorite. Jon screamed like a little girl the entire way down!!!

We were both a little nervous about the zip line, but it turned out to not be scary at all. There's no big drop or anything, you just coast down. Jon didn't quite make it all the way to the bottom, so he had to pump his legs until he made it to the platform. It was pretty funny to watch!

Jon's strapped and ready to go! I flew past him on the way down so he was able to get some pictures of me.

The view up there was so beautiful. My favorite part was just riding the chair lift up and enjoying the scenery and the peacefulness of being up in the mountains. It was so relaxing.

After Park City we drove to Provo and ran a few errands. We always laugh at this shopping plaza where almost every store is something Mormon related! We don't have any of these stores close to our home so it was nice to get some of the things we need.

That night we took Jon's sister, Kathryn, out to dinner for her birthday (and just to hang out!). My sister, Becky, recommended the Bombay House and is was SO GOOD. We will definitely be going back there next time we are in town. It was fun to catch up with Kathryn and see her for a little bit. After dinner Jon and I went on a walk by the Provo River and then saw a movie at Movies 8 (aka The Dollar Theater). We got milk shakes at the Malt Shoppe after the movie which definitely brought back old times. That's where Jon and I went on one of our first dates!

Saturday morning we woke up and hiked the "Y" on the mountain. We totally forgot how steep the climb is! We had to stop a few times, but we finally made it to the top.

The view from up there is amazing!

This Apache helicopter flew right over us while we were up on the mountain. I think this might have been Jon's favorite part of the whole trip!

After hiking the Y we went to the Cannon Center to eat, which is where I used to eat my Freshman year when I lived in the dorms. They've redone the entire thing and it is so nice now. Kathryn's husband, Marc, met us for lunch and it was fun chatting with him while we ate. The Ranch dressing and mint brownies are still just as delicious as they were 13 years ago, just in case you're wondering!

That afternoon we walked around BYU and stocked up on BYU gear at the bookstore. We then ate at J-Dawgs which serves the best hot dogs/polish dogs you'll ever eat!

We then headed over to the big game. Aw, the game. The team came out enthused and looked like they were ready to play. However, this was short lived when Flordia State scored in the first few minutes and then continued to score almost every time they got the ball the rest of the game. It was so frustrating to watch.

We are trying our best to smile despite the fact that BYU was down at half time. It then went from bad to worse the second half and BYU ended up getting crushed 54-28. It was still a lot of fun to be there with all of the fans (until they all started leaving during the 3rd quarter)! We stuck it out until the end since we had no where else to go.

To make ourselves feel better we went to Iceberg after the game and ate fries and fry sauce and milkshakes!

The worst part about the loss was that I was so excited about my BYU toes and then I just wanted some nail polish remover to get it off! Just kidding- we still believe in you, Cougars! BYU has lost every game Jon and I have been to for the past five years. So on behalf of both of us we would like to apologize to all Cougar fans out there for going to the game. The next game we are going to is the Utah State game and so help me if they lose that game- then we will know for sure that we are bad luck and promise we will stop going to any more games!

It really was such a fun weekend to sort of relive our Provo days. Lots of fun memories were made while we lived there and now we have even more to add to them!

A Week of Firsts

Jake's first day of school was last Tuesday. He is repeating the same collaborative Kindergarten class that he was in last year and we all couldn't be happier about it. His teachers are awesome and he made so much progress last year that we can't wait to see how he does this year.

He has had a great first week of school. He's been wearing underwear everyday and hasn't had any accidents yet. This is a huge accomplishment for him! I hope he has a great year!

Nathan's first day of preschool was today. He is in a new preschool this year that is 3 days a week. He seems to really like his new teachers and his new friends. I can't believe that he is going to be in Kindergarten next year- where does the time go?

Nathan loves to learn and loves going to school. I'm hoping he always has this love of learning!

Nathan has two teachers this year- Ms. Karin and her mom, Mrs. Smith. They both seem really nice!

The boys both had their first soccer games on Saturday. They have the exact same uniforms, though they are on different teams! The only problem with that is that when we went to Nathan's game Jake kept wanting to play on his team!

Jake had a bad experience with soccer last year so I was a little worried about how he was going to like it this year. Thankfully he did great! He scored two goals (one for each team!) and played hard the whole game. I was so proud of him!

Notice the tongue sticking out- he's a Michael Jordan wannabe!

Nathan had his first game ever. He did pretty well, though I think Jon needs to work with him and teach him how to play and what the rules are. Nathan would kick the ball once (usually in the wrong direction) and then just stop. He needs to learn to keep going and try to score a goal! He had fun which is what really matters, but he did make the comment that the other team scored all of the goals and his team didn't score any!

Look at that form on his throw-in!

Max cheered on his brothers from the sidelines!

This weekend was also the first time we met my friend, Heather's newest addition to their family. They adopted a little boy from Ethiopia in July and he is the cutest little kid ever!

Shea and Max played so well together. They are only a few months apart and hopefully will be good friends as they grow up (even though we don't get to see them often enough)! I'm sure they'll be making more trips down here just so that Max and Shea can play together!

Checking out Max's teeth!

Look at Shea's eyes- I love them!

This weekend was also the first time we have taken the boys to a horse show. Jake LOVES horses and always asks to go see them jump. Friday night they had a free show and so Jon took Jake and Nathan on a little daddy-son date and they had so much fun! Jake loved cheering for the horses and he even got to pet one of them. He keeps asking when he can go again!

I was so impressed that Jon actually asked someone to take their picture. He hates doing that and so I always have to ask. Way to go, Jon!

I wish this next picture was a first, but unfortunately the boys spill things all of the time. This is what Jon and I came down to as we were leaving to go out Saturday night. Apparently Jake decided that he needed to pour cereal for all of us! Thanks, dude!

This next "first" is a stretch, but Saturday night was the first time Jon and I have seen 'Legally Blonde' the musical! I loved it- I thought it was such a fun show. Jon liked it, but wouldn't go as far to say that he loved it! He was a good sport for going with me!

It's been a crazy week and I'm looking forward to things slowing down a little and for us to settle into more of a routine. I absolutely love the Fall and can't wait for the weather to cool down and for the yummy Fall treats and cute decorations!

Oh, and GO COUGARS!!!

He's excited. Very excited.

Jon loves college football. He has been counting down the days until the season started for a while now. Thursday was opening day so the boys and I suprised him by having a "Happy Football Day" party when he got home from work.

I made homemade BBQ chicken pizzas in the shapes of footballs (or at least I tried)!

I couldn't talk Nathan out of the party hats at the store- he was pretty excited about the party and said that we need to have hats!

The boys had fun waving their football clappers while they ate.

After dinner we played Pin the Football on the Field!

Jake got really excited no matter where his football sticker ended up on the field!

Max wanted in on the fun.

We then played Pass the Football, aka Hot Potato. We then put the kids to bed and then actually got to watch some of the games.

Today was BYU's opening game and let's be honest, this is really what Jon has been counting down for. It was such a great game- BYU beat #3 Oklahoma! After the game, Jon was so bummed that he didn't fly out to Texas for it. He is now talking about going to more games this season. We are already planning on going to 5 games, but apparently this isn't enough!

Go Cougars! We hope you have a great season!!!

Last Trip of the Summer

Last weekend we drove to Lake Mead for one last waterski trip before school starts. The water was perfect both days we were there which made for a lot of good ski runs.

Carli has always been afraid to even swim in the water, let alone ski, but for some reason she was determined that she was going to ski this year (I think she was excited that Becky was there and wanted to impress her)! So Becky and my dad stayed in the water with her while she made two attempts at skiing.

Unfortunately this was the closest she got to getting up (if you look closely you can see her under the water still holding on to the rope)! I really think she thought she had skiied because the rest of the day she sat on the boat telling everyone how to get up and that they just need to relax and hold on! She's a funny girl!

I got four ski runs in and each one was so much fun. I seriously love waterskiing- especially when the water is smooth!

Jon started skiing when he married into my family and he has grown to love it. He gets better every time we go and I think he is warming up to the idea of maybe owning a boat someday!

After the first day my parents went and bought "The Big Daddy" for Jon and others who may need a slightly bigger ski than the one that all of us girls ski on! It was much easier for Jon to get up and he had more control of the ski. He was even a good sport and posed with the ski after his run!

Nathan skiied two years ago and was excited to try again this year. He did such a good job! It took him a few tries to get up, but once he did he skiied all around the lake! Jon stayed in the water and helped him and then held up a flag so that boats could see him. I love how excited they both look in this picture!

It didn't take long for Nathan to look like an old pro!

Way to go, Nathan!!!

I asked Jon to put sunscreen on the part in my hair since it always gets sunburned and this is what he did to me- I think it's a good look!

Max and Will just chilled on the boat most of the time. They can't really move much in those life jackets!

Jon and the boys had fun riding in the front of the boat most of the time.

Max loves trying on Jon's hats, but we can't get him to wear his own hat!

The boys loved riding on the jet ski boat and doing 'donuts' and going really fast. Grandpa Bob is a crazy driver!

How is it that the Dayton's can get eight people to all look and smile...

...and we get this!

Oh well... Here's to next summer when we can go waterskiing again!