Alex turns 8!

Alex has been so excited for his birthday.  He has been planning and getting ready for this day for months.  He loves opening presents and loves having parties!  So, of course we had several!  We started with a family party on the Sunday before his birthday.  We had a "How to Train a Dragon" cake, a barbecue and of course presents.  He got spoiled with lots of fun presents from the family, including lots of Legos! 

The next day was his actual birthday. Alex wanted to spend some time with his cousins, so we invited them to go to the splash pad by our house. Later that night, we went to dinner and Alex opened his presents from us. More presents!

That next weekend, Alex had his friend party. He wanted to swim, so we went to our neighbors pool with lots of boys and a few girls and had a fun swim party. After swimming, we came back to our house for cupcakes and ice cream, presents and of course a pinata.

Alex, I am so proud of you! I can't believe you are 8 years old. You are such a good kid, with a sweet personality who cares for everyone around you. I love you!

Hiking through the Wild Flowers

We spent the week down in New Harmony.  While I was teaching all week at the Rural Schools Conference in Cedar City Tara and the kids took advantage of the down time to do all kinds of fun stuff - riding the 4 wheeler, swimming at the rec center, project time at the library. It was non stop adventure.

On Saturday we packed up all the kids and headed to the hills. It was the annual Wild Flower Festival up near Cedar Breaks and we wanted to get out of the heat. It was awesome! The kids loved getting out and seeing all the amazing colors as we hiked around Alpine Pond. Take a look:

Hotlanta

The summer marked my first trip to the South. I was able to go to Atlanta for the ISTE conference and it was an amazing trip to a different part of the country. Some of the cool things I was able to see while down in Atlanta:

1. The CNN building. This place is awesome! I am a huge news junkie and CNN has always been one of my favorite stations. It was incredible to see some of the different things that they do from international news to Headline News and more.
   
   
   
2. The World of Coke. I really didn't want to go to the World of Coke, thinking it would be just a touist trap but this place was amazing! They had tons of interactive exhibits and really got you excited about  Coke (one of my least favorite drinks).  My favorite part of the tour was to taste Coke drinks from around the world - everyone's favorite has to be the Beverly from Italy!
   
   
   
3. Turner Field. As everyone knows I am a huge baseball junkie and the chance to go to a Braves game was tops on my list. The game wasn't very exciting, until after we left.   The Braves won the game 4-3.  I guess we were the good luck charm for Atlanta, as the Braves scored all of their runs after we left the game during the eighth inning. Oh well, it was still fun to see another professional baseball game.
   
   
4. Foodie. I would say my favorite meal was going to be Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffle House. I absolutely love chicken and waffles. This southern delicacy was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
   
   
   

Overall I'd say my trip to Atlanta was very successful. One thing I'll also say is I'm never going back to Atlanta in June! The temperature was constantly over 90° and humidity was over 90%. I looked like I just stepped out of the shower throughout most of the trip. If I go to Atlanta again, it'll have to be during the winter.  Still cool city, cool people, cool time in Hotlanta!

Camping-Just the Girls!

So my friends and I have a somewhat new tradition that I hope continues for awhile.  Last summer we went camping for a night, no hubbies, just the girls and all the kids.  We had so much fun that we decided to do it again this year.  And I hope it continues for a long time...

All of us had a good time.  We went for a fun hike, had a snowball fight, ate lots of treats, rode lots of scooters, built lots of forts and enjoyed some quiet time around the fire.  

Here are a few pics of our night away.

Father's Day 2014

Today was a good day!

I was able to enjoy a nice breakfast.  The kids and Tara served a delicious assortment of my favorite morning treats.  Then it was time for presents - as you can see from the pic it was quite the haul.

Thanks for making my day so special!  It's great to be a dad!