Snowbird!

Living with Grandma Tess and Grandpa Pete is so much fun for Kylie and Hayden.  Their favorite part is having a huge grassy area and park right outside the back door.  There are always other kids to play with (though sometimes they aren't so inviting...) and Kylie and Hayden spend the entire day going in and out and in and out while I am able to sit by the door and do some work and watch them.  It's the greatest!  Plus it's nice not to melt every time you go outside too!

On Tuesday we joined Grandma Shari, Grandpa Gary and Uncle Jordan up in the mountains at Snowbird!  Kylie and Hayden are just realizing that Snowbird is a Knudsen tradition, but Kylie recognized it immediately and was so excited to be back!

Of course, one of the first things they had to do was go out on the deck and play on the hot tub.

It was nice and overcast, so we actually had to wear pants and a jacket!  So nice and cool and green.

After getting settled we went on a walk to the park.  For some reason, the first thing Kylie does when she arrives is climb on top of the large bug and wants her picture taken.  Every single day we went (3 days in a row) she did the same thing!

After playing at the park we decided to do the casual hike to lookout point.

After all our exploring and fun we always like to take the ski lift back up the hill and then walk back down to our rooms.  Walking down is way easier than walking up ;)  After dinner and the arrival of Grandpa Gary (who was at work) we all went swimming!  The pool was nice and heated and the hot tubs were nice and bubbly!  Kylie impressed everyone with her quick swimming.

Wednesday was our big activity day!  We went to the park first to occupy some time, and when the rides opened at 11 we got busy.  First we did the trampoline.  I actually went with them, and it was my first time ever doing flips and showing Kylie and Hayden what to do. By the end I got both of them doing back flips and I was ready to get off!

Next we did the Mountain Coaster a few times.  It's everyone's favorite ride!

Then on to bounce houses, rock walls, tree climbing, alpine slide, and even the ropes course 20 feet in the air.  Kylie just flew around the ropes course and it was all I could do to keep up with her.  Hayden also did really well, but Grandma chickened out when she got up so high and an attendant had to come lead Hayden around.  Kylie was even brave enough to try the zip line with me!  Something I never thought she would want to do because of the super loud noise it makes when it stops.

Then we took the tram up the mountain and had lunch at the top of Hidden Peak.  It was so cool to watch the clouds roll by underneath us, but it was pretty cold!  Afterwards we went back to our room for a little break (I needed a nap!).  When Grandpa Gary arrived after work we did it all again so he could have a chance to ride everything with the kids!  By the end of the day we were sunburnt, worn out, and happy! I let the kids into the room's hot tub for a little bit to wind down that evening.  They love the idea of having a hot tub just for them!

Thursday we walked around the shops and got the kids some Snowbird shirts (because they are ultimate fans now) and then went back to the park one more time.  The kids could have stayed up there forever (Hayden thinks it is Grandma Shari's new home), and I know next year when we come they will be super excited!

Friday was the first time Brandon took the kids for the weekend.  It was a long drive down to Cove Fort where we swapped the kids.  Kylie and Hayden were excited to spend some time with their dad, even though Brandon called me with a crying Hayden at bedtime that first night, poor little guy!  We are going to try an every other week schedule since we live so far apart now.

Exploring our New Home!

After spending a fun and exciting week with Grandma Shari and Grandpa Gary, I picked up the kids on Thursday.  We met at the Museum of Natural Curiosity where we were meeting our friends from down south, Angela, Sophia, and Riley!  The kids all had fun seeing each other again (even though it's only been a week since we saw them) and running all over the museum exploring.

Then off to our new home with Grandma Tess and Grandpa Pete.  Since we were living with them now for a bit, the kids share a room with the bunk bed and most of our stuff is out in the garage.  It will take a little bit of getting used to, but I'm hoping to keep a similar schedule and keeping their favorite things out so it will feel a little more like home.

Friday we went to the library, which is huge and amazing!!  We normally go weekly to our library, and this library will make us want to come more often than that!  There are TONS of books, computers to play on and other toys.  Plus they have a temporary exhibit up on the 4th floor that is just full of building toys and things to do!

Later that day Grandma Tess took us to the rec center where we went swimming!  We had lots of fun going down the slides and chickening out of the cliff dive and relaxing in the lazy river.

Saturday we decided to brave the crowds and heat and went to Spanish Fork's kids carnival.  This was the first time I'd been in my hometown in over 12 years and it was weird seeing how much it has grown.  We had fun going from activity to activity and collecting prizes.  We got to shoot things, dig for treasure, get our faces painted, get tattoos, go on bounce houses, go bowling and Kylie got her nails done by a princess!

Then we did the fish rodeo, where the kids got into a huge pool and actually CAUGHT A LIVE FISH! How awesome is that?!?  Kylie caught hers super quick.  Hayden's turned out to be a prize fish and he won $5 in gold dollars and some Swedish Fish.  He was so exited and proud and didn't put his prize money down for two days straight.

Then Grandpa Pete (who was there documenting the event for his work) convinced Hayden to do these air bubble things where you are inside and you roll around on top of water.  Kylie was almost convinced, but she couldn't get over the loud air machine they use to blow up the balls with.  So only Hayden went and he had an absolute blast!

Sunday was our first day in our new ward.  Kylie warmed up pretty quick, but Hayden would not let go of me.  I sat through sharing time with him, but then pried him off me for his class and went to Relief Society for the first time in years!  No more being stuck in Primary with the kids!  Later that evening I took them on a small walk in Provo Canyon to Bridal Veil Falls.  We walked down the river to Nun's Park and back and had lots of fun exploring the wooded area and cold water there.

I don't think I will be able to keep up this pace of exploration and fun for very long (I am worn out!), but I think our first week here was a success!

Kelsey and Morgan get Married

It was our last week in our house in Washington! Everywhere is covered in boxes and I honestly don't think the kids completely understand what's happening.  They want all their things in boxes, because they know that anything in a box is something we are taking with us!  They even asked if I could put their beds and the sofa into a box!  Besides packing I have been cleaning like crazy.  Kylie and Hayden are both great helpers, and Kylie even volunteered to clean out the fridge entirely by herself and she did an amazing job.  Thursday we packed and cleaned as much as we could and then we left for up north in the afternoon.  Brandon has taken our cat Charlie, so we don't have to worry about him!

We arrived at Grandma Tess and Grandpa Pete's, where we will be living the next few months until we get more permanently settled.  The first night for the kids was in sleeping bags on the floor, since we only brought our little car load up for this first trip.  It was not as fun as I thought it would be!  You would think kids sleeping in sleeping bags = fun, but I suppose they were just super tired and wound up at the same time (a dangerous combination).

Friday was the day of Aunt Kelsey's wedding to our new Uncle Morgan!  Grandma Tess was kind enough to watch the kids while I went up to Bountiful for the wedding.  Then I came back to get the kids for the wedding reception at Grandma Shari's house.  After the severe disappointment of Uncle Dallan's and Aunt Jessica's wedding reception (no pizza!), they were not too eager for Kelsey's reception.  Luckily they were greeted with ice cream, cookies, and yummy fruit, so they were happy!

This was the first time Brandon had been with his family since we separated last year, so we decided that I would drop off the kids and he would handle the reception with them.  So I snagged a few pictures together with the kids and bride and groom and then left.  I though Brandon would take care of them all night, since they were spending the next week with Grandma Shari and Grandpa Gary, but apparently he ended up leaving after a few hours and Grandma Shari had to deal with two crazy kids wanting to go to bed and taking down the reception in her backyard at the same time.  Not my intention!

Well, that night I picked up Grandma Tess and we both drove back to Washington that night, arriving around 11.  We got some sleep and were up and at 'em super early in the morning for moving day!  Grandma Tess was amazing and drove the 20 foot U-Haul, and people from my ward came and helped us move everything into the truck!  Then we drove back to Provo and arrived around 4, only to unpack it all into the garage and then collapse for the next few days!  I can't believe we actually made the leap and are living in Provo!  Thankfully Kylie and Hayden are staying with Grandma Shari and Grandpa Gary for the next few days so I can unpack a little and get us settled.  Hopefully we will adjust quickly!

Getting Ready to Move

We got in our last hurrah this past week, going and seeing all our favorite things in the area.  We played with friends, we went swimming, to the library, the splash pads, and Kylie even tried the rock climbing wall at the rec center.  She's been begging to do it for awhile now.  She only got about 5 feet up before she froze and wouldn't come down.  When we finally got her down she wanted to keep the gear on, but didn't want to climb. Silly girl!

We also spent lots of time with Aunt Chantel and Uncle McKay, who have decided to move clear to Florida at the end of the month!!  We are going to miss them so much!! They planned an activity over at their house of shooting rockets.  It was a blast!  Kylie and Hayden had so much fun designing their rockets and then watching them blast off!  It kept all the kids entertained all night!  The house we did it at also had a huge desert turtle that Hayden didn't want to leave alone.

Hayden's hair is getting pretty long.  He let me put it in a 'unicorn' style for a little bit.  Since everything is crazy and half in and out of boxes he won't be getting a hair cut for another few weeks!

Happy 6th Birthday Kylie!

Kylie had so much fun celebrating her birthday this week!  First came her 'birthday fireworks', AKA Independence Day.  Brandon took them for the evening and Kylie and Hayden had so much fun swimming, grilling and then staying up super late to watch the cities fireworks.

Kylie's birthday day started bright and early, though, since they never sleep in!  I took her out to a birthday lunch and McDonald's (her choice!), then went shopping to spend her birthday money from her birthday cards. When we came home and she opened her present from Grandma Shari and Grandpa Gary.  The rest of the afternoon was spent playing with her new gifts before Brandon came and picked her up for her birthday dinner.  Hayden was sad that he didn't get to go, but Kylie was super excited for some one-on-one time with her dad.  She came home spoiled and happy!

On the 6th we had her friend party!  Kylie chose a rainbow theme, and she had fun decorating the cupcakes that morning.

We had a swim party and all her friends are little fishies, so everyone had a fun time!  We took some breaks for pizza and presents and then they swam for nearly two hours more!  Since we recently decided to move up to Provo this month (we decided the weekend before!), this was kinda a going-away party too.  We had so much fun with our friends, but we are so sad to leave such good friends behind!  Since Brandon is staying the in the St. George area, we are going to try and come down to visit every once in a while!