Cherry Hill

We celebrated Pioneer Day by spending the day at Cherry Hill. It was not as crowded as I had feared and we were able to have a great time. The only time I got pictures was at lunch and when I had to go help Andrew warm up, since he gets cold so easily. We all slathered on the sunscreen and 4 out of 5 of us did not get sunburned - but Dan got a pretty bad sunburn on his shoulders. I know I put sunscreen on him multiple times but I guess it wasn't as effective on him. I was glad it worked for the kids.

I think the favorite attraction was the Dragon Slide. Bethany can go down on her own and each boy went down with a parent. We spent a long time at the slides.

We wore the kids out so well they didn't even ask about fireworks (probably cause we didn't tell them). Jorgen was so worn out that he couldn't make it through nursery the next day and Dan had to take him home early for a nap. He plays hard, that kid.

Eating lunch:

Playing at Pirate's Cove:

Andrew warming up:

First Day of School

Monday we got home from the reunion. Tuesday morning we started school. We had just 2 weeks of a summer break, so it just seems weird to be starting school already. The kids were excited though, so I guess it's all good.

Silly faces:


Bethany at her new desk. She has Mrs. Bingham for 3rd grade.



Andrew is in Mrs. Pectol's first grade class.

Jorgen really wanted to stay. He's going to be a handful to keep entertained while his siblings are in school all day. He isn't old enough for preschool yet.

By the time we get used to the school routine, we will be going off-track. C track is not my favorite track, but oh well. We are looking forward to a great school year!

Tolman Family Reunion

**I just put five new posts on, so keep reading to see all the pictures, if you want.

After the Tour de Donut (see last post) we hopped in the van again and started the long, long, LONG drive to the Tolman Family Reunion. This reunion has been going on since my mom was a little kid. We went to West Piney girls camp, about an hour past Idaho Falls. It took us most of the day Saturday to drive there. Once we got there we had to hurry and set up the tents before it got dark. I jokingly told Andrew on Friday that by the time he was 12 he should be able to set up a tent all by himself, you know for scouts. He took me seriously and on Saturday he wanted to set up the small tent all by himself. He actually did a pretty good job putting the poles together and sticking them through the right places. The only thing he couldn't do was pull them up tall.

Camping here was much more pleasant for sleeping - not nearly as hot. In fact it was downright cold in the mornings. However the bathrooms weren't as nice. Just some port-o-potties, unless you were up at the lodge were they had flushing toilets, but that was quite a walk.

Andrew setting up his tent:

Jorgen in the dirt already:

Sunday morning we had "Primary" and a "Testimony Meeting" with the whole family. (I skipped the first meeting to take a shower - there was always a line and only 4 showers and I hadn't showered since Friday morning. I really needed it.) Below is my mom and her cousins who were there. Her grandparents are in the black and white photos in the back. They had 11 children, one of which was my Grandpa Tolman. He died in 2001. It's a big family and they love reunions. It's been a long time since I've been to West Pine for the reunion, though, with various conflicts each time. In fact, I think I was probably a kid the last time I went, although some of my siblings have gone more recently. It was still fun to relive some fond memories. It made me miss my Grandparents, though.

The most memorable feature of this camp is the slide. Check out the look of pure terror in Bethany's face. You will realize just how long this slide is in the next few pictures. I remember going on this slide as a kid and I'm sure I was just as terrified. No, I did not go on it again. But I made my kids do it :) Bethany went down three times. On the third try she accidentally grabbed the sides and burned her hand. She didn't go down it again.

Check out how many stairs! I don't remember these nice sturdy stairs, I remember just some log stairs up the mountain.

My nephew Josh went down the slide probably a hundred times. He loved it.

Andrew loved it as well. He went a bunch of times.

It is a looooong slide!

Throwing rocks in the creek.

Going on a hike

This is Andrew's "deer in the headlights" look.

After dinner the kids were bored so I told them to make some rock art. This was one thing they came up with.

All the girl cousins. Abby, Bethany, Katy, Ellie, Rebekah

Katy and Bekah. It was impossible to keep the kids out of the dirt.

Monday morning breakfast

A last ride on the swings before packing up to go home.

On the way home we stopped and had lunch in Idaho Falls overlooking the temple. Who hasn't eaten here? I know I have a bunch of times.

Idaho Falls Temple

We got snow cones at "The Caboose."

After a lot more driving, we stopped for dinner in Layton (I know, lazy, but I knew there wasn't any food at home) and finally made it home by around 6:30. Jorgen had crashed and slept until 7:00 the next morning, he was so worn out.

Tour de Donut

Dan signed up for a bike race in American Fork called the "Tour de Donut." So after a night of camping (see previous post) we headed to the race bright and early the next morning. Bethany wanted to try the race too, since it was a little easier race. The race consists of three laps of 6.66 miles and after each lap you stop and eat as many donuts as you want. Each donut takes 3 minutes off your total time. Bethany just did the first lap and was done, then Dan finished the last 2 laps alone, after pulling the boys in the trailer the first lap. I was a little nervous for Bethany, it being her very first bike race. And the fact that she has just recently gotten comfortable riding her bike (it's taken a loooong time for her to catch on). But she did great and I was very proud of her for doing it.

This was getting ready before the race:

At the starting line:

Just after the start:

I had to get a picture of the cavemen riding the gecko, except I think the head got ripped off by this point.

Finishing the first lap. It took them almost an hour to do the first lap. They had to stop several times to break up fights in the trailer and for Bethany to rest. It was at least 90 degrees even that early in the morning.

Coming in to the finish:

Sweet rewards!

After the race, we got back in the van and started the long drive to Idaho for a family reunion. See the next post for reunion photos.

Friday Night - Utah Lake

We spent the past weekend travelling and camping. Dan signed up for a bike race Saturday morning in American Fork (next post), so we decided to camp one night close by at Utah Lake. I have never been here before. The camp site was okay. It was VERY HOT! Like 100 degrees I'm guessing. At least it felt that hot. Not much shade or trees to speak of, but at least it had clean bathrooms with flushing toilets. We discovered that Utah Lake is a boater's lake, so we were definitely outnumbered, not having a boat.

The kids tried to help set up the tents. We don't have one tent big enough for the whole family, so we split up girls plus Jorgen in one tent, and boys in the other tent.

I mentioned Utah Lake is a boaters lake. This is probably because, as we soon discovered, it is very rocky and muddy. But when it is 100 degrees outside, any kind of water is refreshing, so in we went.

The most common phrase was: "Look at this big pointy rock I just sat on!" Below they are showing off their rocks. It is definitely not as nice as Bear Lake for swimming and playing on the beach. But we still had fun.

Roasting hot dogs for dinner. We let the kids pick the menu.

Marshmallows for s'mores:

It was windy and hot all night. I didn't sleep much at all. But we had to get up early and pack up to head to the race, which I will tell you about in the next post!