canyon

With my sister and her kids here, we have been keeping pretty busy. Between jumping on the trampoline, running through the sprinklers, multiple ice cream cones and popsicles, and a trip to the park, it seems we barely have had time to stop and breathe. Writing it here makes it sound like its not much. But it seriously has been non-stop fun. The kids absolutely love the constant action and running until they drop. Mo said to me today, "I love having my cousins here."

Tonight we drove up the canyon to do one of my favorite things: roast hot dogs and make s'mores. It was so much fun to watch my niece and nephew do this for the first time. Plus it couldn't have been a more perfect night. And like Gilbert Blythe would say, "I don't think we will get many more nights like these."


His first burnt mallow:

Fia's turn:



Learning the sacred art of s'more making:

The reward:

simpler times

This is awesome and hilarious and so true. Enjoy.

weekend in vegas

The hubby and I went to Vegas this last weekend. Just us. Sans kids. It was awesome. The drive alone was so great. Just the sheer fact of not having to stop for potty breaks or listen to whiney kids. It was wonderful. We could even talk and not be interrupted. Wow. We were definitely spoiled. I wish I had loads of pictures to show you but we truly enjoyed a lazy, fun-filled weekend. And by fun-filled I mean chilling with friends and eating out and watching movies and being lazy. We seriously didn't do anything super crazy. Just laid low and enjoyed every minute. Well, we did go to a concert our first night at the House of Blues. That was actually our main reason for going but having friends who live there is a double bonus. As you well know, Keane is one of my faveity-faves. I think I have mentioned them here once or twice, maybe... ;) For some crazy reason they chose to not return to Utah on their tour this year. So we had to resort to going to Vegas and seeing them there. Good excuse for a weekend getaway, right? It was such an awesome concert and we were four feet away from Tom the whole time. Here they are singing their most popular song. Enjoy.

Keane: Somewhere Only We Know from Nells Bells on Vimeo.

heritage

My eldest sis and her two kids flew in last night from London. We absolutely are so excited to have them here and for a whole month to boot! The kids especially are excited to have their cousins here and across the street to play with all the time.

We spent this morning out at the heritage/living history center. Our first stop was to visit the mountain man tent. Would you believe this is the first thing he handed our kids?

Um...lets think about this one: four kids running around with tomahawks and trying to chop everything in sight. It was the most memorable part of the day for them!


The mountain man then decided to teach them another dangerous practice that we all want our kids to learn young: how to start a fire. Perfect.


They were all very engaged. They also loved trying on the hat made out of beaver pelt.




We then moved on to the more dull parts of the history museum like riding the train and horses:


Oh. And don't forget petting the pigme goats. That is SUPER boring and dull compared to holding a tomahawk:

It was an eventful morning and one I'm sure the kids won't forget. It was great to just all be together and out enjoying the beautiful day.

fanatical friday

Paul McCartney finally made it to Utah. It was the concert of the year (especially since the U2 shows were canceled). I was very impressed by his longevity (he performed for three whole hours and didn't have an opening band -- it was just him) and the way he interacted with the audience. He truly is a born performer. Here is one of my favorite points in the show. It was just him and a guitar. This video is a bit long but totally worth the watch. Enjoy!

Paul McCartney 2 from Nells Bells on Vimeo.

fanatical friday

Could Friday get any cooler?
The Edge. Muse. Where the Streets Have No Name. Glastonbury Festival 2010.
Enjoy.

o canada

In honor of Canada day today, we celebrated by chopping down a tree. Not just any tree. The giant pine that has been in our backyard forever. Longer than we have owned the home. I'm sure the original owner would not want to know there is one less tree in her old backyard. I am really hoping it wasn't planted on a special day either. Hopefully they didn't take, "plant a tree on your birthday" seriously. I am sure the country of Canada would not like to know one of their own (the hubby) was in favor of the removal of this tree. And on Canada day, no less. Oh my.

It was a beautiful tree. It became a hazard to have and the city was very kind to come and remove it for free. Originally we had a tree specialist come and give us a bid on removal. He thought a bid close to $400 would be about right. I could hire a beaver for much, much less. I'm sure the tree specialist didn't take that into consideration. Luckily, a giant powerline runs above our yard and the tree was dangerously close to it. So much so that it could catch fire or become electralized and shock the kids. Can you imagine that headline: "Electric Tree Kills Two." Shudder.


It definitely made for an entertaining afternoon. Especially since the tree guy decided he needed to keep climbing higher and higher. The kids loved that. The squirrels: not so much.



Grandpa came over with his John Deere wagon and loaded up the firewood. This also became an activity enjoyed by Mo.

So here's to Canada: a country full of pine trees, like the one we chopped down, and Big Turks and Mounties and Canucks and ketchup chips. Pretty much all things weird and tasty. O Canada!