First Day of School

Woot-Woo!  Look at me posting about the first day of school on the first day of school!  That is quite the accomplishment.  I'm just trying to set a good example for my little scholars that you can and should finish what you set out to do.

First day photos:

 Ethan 4th grade - Mrs. Crittenden

 Emma 2nd grade - Mrs. Evans

 Hannah kindergarten - Mrs. Newman

 

Girl's Night

Around here we're pretty good about having a "mommy time out/girl's night" night fairly regularly, but we only get a REAL girl's night once a year.  Our annual event includes, girl friends, hotels, food, shopping and laughing until you think you might die from lack of oxygen.  Those are the general requirements but the specifics change every year.  This year we decided to take a walk down memory lane and spend our one night in Logan.  Out of the 4 of us that attended this year, 3 of us graduated from USU and the 4th of us had never been to Logan before.  
Here's a brief overview of our adventures:
*Stayed in the University Inn
*Ate at the Beehive Grill

*Did a little shopping
*Went to the movies
*Ate waaaayyyy to many treats
*Laughed hysterically late into the night
*Took a walk down memory lane around the beautiful campus of USU.

*Broke into the new student living center and snooped around the apartment of a freshman just moving in.
* And last but not least indulged in some delectable and world famous Aggie Ice Cream

Of course, since this was Melissa's first visit this was her first taste of 

Aggie Ice Cream

I had so much fun!  I love Logan and have the best memories of living there for 6 years.  Many things have changed, which makes me feel old, but the things I remember most are still there and still make me smile.

It's Fair Time

It comes once a year. . .fun for the whole family. . .food, food, and, more food. . .can you guess?  That's right, the Davis County Fair!!   Every year our family looks forward to the fair. Since JayDee is on the Fair Board we spend quite a bit of time there and this year was no exception.   On opening night  (Wed.) we started our fun by going to the tiger show.   Sounds awesome but didn't quite live up to our expectations, unless of course you think seeing some baby tigers kind of up close behind a fence is awesome, then it was awesome. 

These pictures were taken by my budding photographer Emma.

After that fun, we headed over to the arena for the demolition derby.  I couldn't wait for this.  Having two boys that are very boy, I couldn't wait to see their reaction when the smashing began.  I wasn't disappointed.

 We're waiting and. . .

AWESOME!

The next day we took our neighbors with us to visit the animals.  We saw cows, pigs and sheep but our favorite animals were the goats.  They were the most friendly.  They would see us coming and jump up to greet us and let the kids pet them.

 Isaac wasn't too sure about this guy. . .he was taller than we were when he jumped up and that intimidated him.

These two were our favorites!

We just couldn't get enough of our furry friends so we had to go ride the ponies and visit the petting zoo.

 That's an Emu - - you don't see that everyday.

F

Friends and the Fair. . .doesn't get much better than this!

And last but not least, Saturday.  Saturday is the last day of the fair.  Most people have come to watch the rodeo but not us.  That last night is set aside for JayDee and I to close the fair.  Let me clarify, we don't actually close the whole fair just the horticulture stuff.  We eat as much fair food as we can, watch a little Rock Band competition, and then clean up all the entries of fruits, vegetables and flowers that haven't been picked up by their rightful owners.  Doesn't sound fun you say?  Well that's because you've never done it with us.  We make if fun every year! It's tradition.

Official shirts and everything!

JayDee does breathe a sigh of relief when it's all over but we can't help but anticipate next year's fair.

The Hills Are Alive

   This summer the Gunnells have spent quite a bit of time up in the hills across the Wasatch Front.  I'd like to say that it is just because we love the outdoors, which is partly the case, but the main reason is that JayDee is in the process (the very looonngg process) of writing a wildflower book.  This unfortunately has taken him away almost every weekend, and some week days,  in the attempt to find every flower he needs for his book in full bloom and splendor.   So to help with the separation anxiety we have felt he has often allowed us to tag along.  I'm sure most of you are thinking. . .what fun!  That is a great family outing.  And in theory it is, but when you have 4 kids that have absolutely no interest in the beauty that surrounds them and a husband that has to stop and capture all that beauty with a camera lens it makes Mom rather crazy.  I tease JayDee that this book venture is either going to result in our children completely loving and appreciating flowers or they will never want to set foot on a mountain or in a garden as long as they live.  
     I guess I'm making this out to be worse than it is because really we have enjoyed ourselves.  We've even had a once in a lifetime (hopefully) experience that we affectionately call "The Great Adventure."

 Here's the only picture of our hike up Adams Canyon

 Here we are with our friends the Thompsons, hiking the Cecret Lake trail at Albion Basin.  The kids had a lot more fun when we added friends to the mix. 

Isaac has turned into quite the little mountain man.  He just keeps going and going.  No rock, stream or steep scaled hillside can get him down.  He was so confident on this hike that he insisted on holding Ella's hand to help her down the trail. Once we got back down we had a little campfire to roast hot dogs and smores.  I can't even quantify how many hot dogs and marshmallows we've eaten this summer.  Ugh!

 I LOVE this picture.  It just shows how completely brilliant our children are.  We had a pretty smokey fire this time but Ethan and Ollie really wanted their marshmallows roasted so they just turned their hoodies around, put their hoods up and roasted away.

 With all these campfires, I've turned into the s'more queen.  I've got s'more assembly down to a science.  All you've got to do is layer the grahams and chocolate on your lap so they are ready when the roasted marshmallow is sufficiently toasted.  Place roasting stick with marshmallow onto the chocolate side of the graham and then use the other side of the graham to slide the marshmallow off the stick and into the middle of the s'more.  Perfection every time!  This routine keeps sticky fingers and dropped marshmallows down to a minimum.

   So our "Great Adventure" happened on our hike up a trail at the Brighton ski resort.  We were there to look for the elusive Parry Primrose.  A flower that grows in high elevations and has a very short blooming window.  Our hike began like all the others. . .

lots of dirt, rocks and trails that go up, up, up. 

We had our eyes peeled for any new flower but weren't having any luck.  We did however find a lake that we didn't know was at the top of Brighton.  We dubbed it "Hidden Lake" because it's hidden at the top of a ski resort.

 It was a beautiful lake and completely surrounded on all sides by hills and trees. 

The trek down was just as uneventful as the way up until. . . we came to a narrow path flanked on one side by about 6 foot willow trees and the other side a boulder slide.  We were chatting and moving the kids along nicely until we heard a loud "Hrumph" from the willows right next to us.  JayDee and I froze, looked at the willows and then suddenly JayDee is scooping the kids up and throwing them up the boulders on the other side of us.  We got the kids as high up on the boulders as we could and sat down to wait.  I've never seen JayDee more afraid.  From up on the boulders we watched a cow moose happily munch on the willows right alongside the path we had just been on.  

 Okay, I enlarged this photo as large as I could so you can see the moose's head in the middle of these trees. She looks tiny and quite unassuming in this pic but believe me she was HUGE and right in front of us!

This picture says it all.  Ethan loved watching the moose, Isaac wasn't sure about it and Emma was terrified.  JayDee went immediately into protector mode and made us sit on these rocks until the moose found its way farther from the trail.  When she got far enough away, we brought the children down and they walked quickly and silently to the trees about 100 yards away.  Just when we thought we were safe and started talking again, JayDee mentioned how glad he was that the moose didn't have a baby with her because that would make her more violent.  And just as he's saying this, here comes the baby moose down the trail.  JayDee freaks! And herds the kids up another pile of boulders.  We sit there while JayDee does some surveillance.   Apparently JayDee and the baby had a little stare down and the baby moose decided he didn't want any trouble and left the trail.  When it was all clear we clambered down the boulders again and started blazing our own trail through the trees trying to get as far away from the moose as possible.  The girls are freaking out, silently, and after about another 100 yards I begin reassuring them that we are safe.  We're trying to make it back to the original trail when suddenly JayDee stops dead in his tracks and tells me there is another one.  ANOTHER ONE!! Are you kidding me?  This time we found the daddy moose.  Yep, about 50 feet in front of us standing directly in our path munching on a tree is a giant bull moose.  His body was huge and blocking the path, while his head was buried in a tree.  I couldn't believe it.  JayDee decides we are just going to take the direct path back to our original trail (thank heaven for the chair lift going up the mountain that oriented us).  It meant crossing a wide open meadow with little cover but we thought if we were quiet and quick enough we could make it without disturbing the bull moose.   JayDee led the way while I passed the kids over the trail to follow their dad, all the while not tearing my eyes off this moose in case he noticed us.  Thank heaven it was lunch time because he was too busy eating to be bothered by us.  Well we made it to safety. JayDee almost collapsed from the anxiety of it all and Emma and Hannah kept asking if we were safe. That's when I tried to lighten the mood by telling the kids what a great adventure we had.  I told them not many kids ever got to see a moose, let alone 3, in person and up close.  They agreed it was pretty cool but were glad to get back to the car. 

What about the flower you ask?  Well, thanks to that momma moose pushing us up that first boulder slide we found it.  It's a miracle!

Here she is, the Parry Primrose.  I don't know if it was worth the scare but this has kind of turned into our family's flower. It will always hold a special place in our hearts. 

Firsts

We've experienced a few firsts around here lately. 

#1 - We have just completed our first week of swimming lessons, and when I say we I mean the kids.

It's a first because none of my kids has ever taken swimming lessons before.  I have always attributed it to my children's fear of water. . .well their fear of putting their faces in the water and that's a pretty important aspect to swimming.  But if I'm completely honest, they've never had a swimming lesson because their mother has never given it a thought until it's too late to register for them.  All I can say is thank you good old Surf 'n Swim for catering to such moms as me by making different sessions of swimming lessons available throughout the summer and not making all registration at the beginning of the summer. :)

Here's our progress so far. . .

Emma showing off her back float.  She was pretty worried about this one because she thought she already had to know how to do this before class started but she picked it up swimmingly.

 Here's Ethan kickin' it on the kick board.  He's learning to "really" swim and loving every minute in the pool.  He is constantly working toward making it to the other end of the pool and he's made it a time or two.

After two days in the preschool class where all they did was blow bubbles and try to get the 2-3 year olds to actually let go of their mothers' legs, Hannah was moved up to the level 1 class where she is actually learning something.  That was really my fault. I signed her up for the preschool class but I thought since she had never had a swimming lesson before that she should start at the beginning. . .I just didn't think the beginning was soooo beginnerish.

 And here's my Isaac being a real trooper.  Having to hang out around a pool and not get in it is a pretty big struggle for him but so far he's been great!

First #2 - Emma has finally lost her first tooth!

Yep, she's 7 years old, going into the second grade in a week and a half, and she's finally joined that elite elementary group of the toothless. She couldn't have been more happy.

 One tooth down and 19 to go.  Little did she know that tooth number two would be coming out so soon.  That's right, about 10 minutes after this picture was taken Dad wrestled out number two.

After the excitement and emotional turmoil of the first tooth, Emma was fairly wary of letting Dad have a "look" at the second one.   After a significant amount of coercion he got that second tooth out and she got the prestige of saying that she lost her first two teeth on the same day!

All Are Safely Gathered In

So this is just a quick post to say that our Trek experience was awesome!!  JayDee and I had so much fun being the Ma and Pa to 11 children for 4 days in Wyoming.  The only regret I have of the entire experience is that I didn't bring my camera.  It was on the "optional" list  of materials to bring and I was being a purest.  My thinking was that the pioneers didn't have cameras.  The Stake isn't allowing cell phones, ipods, watches, jewelery, etc so why are they allowing cameras?  Well now I know. . .it's for the memories.  There were multiple times throughout the trek that I was sorely sorry I didn't bring my camera.  There were about 6 of my kids that did bring theirs but I have no pictures of my own and it makes me sad.  I know that in the near future I will have access to some pics and when that happens I will post a more extensive post about our adventure but until then just know that . . .

THE BINGHAM FAMILY ROCKS!!

(Our Trek Family name)

Here's the family song we made up that pretty much sums up our experience.

Set to the tune of "A Pirate's Life For Me"

Yo Ho Yo Ho the Bingham Family

There's Austin and Laura, Logan and Lauren, Jenna and Camille

There's Katie and Stephen, Dylan and "Hitler" (not his real name) Brigitte don't call her Brigget!

Yo  Ho Yo Ho the Bingham Family

We trek all day, we talk all night, we make the Lowders yell!

We're happy-go-lucky, we play chubby bunny, we're spiritual as well!

Yo Ho Yo Ho the Bingham Family . . . Arrggg!!

  

Birthday Fun

Emma and I love having our birthdays together but this year was especially fun because our annual Rasmussen Reunion fell on our birthdays and the reunion was held at Cherry Hill.  One of the Gunnell kids favorite places!

We've had season passes to Cherry Hill this summer, which has been really fun.  And I took the opportunity of birthdays to actually take my camera along and document some of our fun.  All I wanted for my birthday was an entire day with my entire family at Cherry Hill.  Even though the kids and I go 2-3 times a week, JayDee rarely comes for the obvious reason that he works during the day. So Friday the 23rd, I got my wish and we spent the day - from opening at 10:30am to closing 8:30pm - at the pool.  Grandma and Grandpa Taggart and Aunt BriAnne came for part of the day too.

Emma just loves baby Eden.  And how could you not in that fantastic suit!?

 Check out those beach babes!

Grandpa with all his granddaughters.

Saturday the 24th (my birthday) was reunion day.  We started bright and early with breakfast and then moved right on into all the traditional reunion fun.  This year our family (my brothers and sisters) were in charge of the reunion craft.  Since the theme of the reunion was "Splish Splash" we had all the kids decorate their own rubber duckie to be used in a game later on in the day.

W

We seriously overestimated the number of kids in attendance so everyone, 

even adults if they wanted to,  got to decorate 2 or more ducks.

After the decorating, the kids got to help finish a rubber duckie pinata that we made to help raise money for next year's reunion.  We had previously done the paper mache(?) and cut all the crepe paper so the kids just helped us glue it all on. Here is our duck's progression from start to finish.

 Closer. . .

 and closer. . .

 Almost done and. . .

 FINISHED!!

 That's one good lookin' duck!  

And one very sleepy Grandpa!

Now you may be wondering how this pinata helped raise reunion funds.  Well, we sold swings.  That's right, if you wanted a chance at the bat you had to pay for it.  And pay for it they did.  Everyone lined up and took their swings.

  Emma took her swings. . .

 Hannah took her swings. . .

Isaac took his swings. . .

along with all the other kids and here is our precious pinata during and after his beating.

 First to go, the tale feathers.

 Next came the head.

 And finally he came down.

 And of course, the frenzy that followed the duck's demise.

After lots of fun and games and lots of food, came the family program.  This is the time during the reunion for sharing of talents, jokes and just plain silliness.  Every family must be represented, so to represent our family my sister Shanna took the stage.  She combined her talents with a bit of silliness and sang a duet from the show "Wicked."  A duet you say?  Yep, she sang both parts.  Half the time she sang the part of Glinda and the other half she sang the part of Elphaba.  Still can't picture it?  Well, here's a visual.

 This was at the end when both parts were singing together.
She was the hit of the show!
I had a great birthday.  I love my family!
Sunday the 25th was Emma's birthday.  She had a much more traditional birthday than I did.  She woke up to her favorite breakfast. . .cinnamon rolls.

  And then she got to open her presents before church.

 The Mickey Mouse ears were her idea. . . she said they matched the tableware 
because they had a princess tiara on them.
After church we went to Grandma and Grandpa Taggart's house for a Mom and Emma birthday dinner.  Emma got to pick the menu and it was delicious.  Grandpa's famous BBQ chicken, potato salad, watermelon and corn on the cob.  For cake, well. . .Emma wanted it to be hands on so it was just a regular old cake that she decorated.  Can you tell?

  We added a couple pies for the masses.

 We played games and had an all around great time.  Birthdays are always fun and I really like sharing mine with Emma every year.  She is a sweetie when she wants to be and every once in a while she'll give us preview of what we get to look forward to in the teenage years.  Yikes!  But she does have a caring heart and the most beautiful eyes.  
I love my girl!
Happy Birthday to Us!