Bearded Cousins

The two bearded boys have only one day left together before returning Ammon home to his family.

They played golfed and high jumped at night. They wear their beards EVERYWHERE!

Bear Lake

The "big decision" was decided this morning. Thanks to Roberts, the Supreme Court basically upheld Obama Care. Hopefully this will awaken the American resolve to vote Romney this November.

(Kirsten, Dave-o, Steven and Ammon)

(Kirsten and Dave-o)

(Steven and Ammon waving at a boat full of girls)

(Mom and Dad)

(Steven, Ammon and Dave-o)

Following the depressing ruling from the highest court in the land, we all drove to Bear Lake. Mom came (eventhough she isn't feeling well) and rested under a tree in the shade. Kirsten, Steven, and Ammon loved building sand castles. Dave-o liked wading in the knee and waist deep water while throwing rocks around. Three hours later, the wind all of a sudden picked up, sending grains of sand pelting us relentlessly. Our stinging bodies quickly packed up (along with many other sunbathers) and left. There were even whitecaps on the waves formed from the strong wind gusts.

We returned home and I taught the boys how to high jump with rubber bands that are strung together.
(Gotta love their expressions.)

. I also finished crocheting Steven and Ammon's bearded beanies. They love them!
I bought the pattern from here.

A Typical Preston Afternoon

Mom isn't feeling well today. She went to the doctor and found out that she has a sinus infection plus bronchitis. I was surprised when she and Dad still went to the temple for their 8 hour shift. The rest of us were tired of being in a car, so we stayed put. I let the boys pick out a wiffle ball bat at Kings. They spent most of the day in the backyard hitting balls around. After dinner, we played at the park. The kids loved spinning on the merry-go-round; until they felt like throwing up. Then they jumped off of the swings until they were in pain from various injuries. Just a typical afternoon with anything other than typical children.

Day Two in Salt Lake

We met up with Douglas and the kids at ten in the morning and spent a couple of hours at the Church History Museum. (Thanks for taking the day off, Douglas).

Steven looks scary but Malena looks adorable. Bonnets are definitely made for girls.

The second floor of the museum was very entertaining for the kids. Steven and Ammon monopolized the dancing section where they donned Mexican skirts. Dave-o loved the kitchen area where you can pretend to feed the missionaries. He pretended to bake cookies the entire time. Afterwards, Douglas took us to a Japanese restaurant that is similar to Benihana. Dave-o did NOT like the fire part of the show. The food was amazing. Steven enjoyed the shrimp being thrown into his open mouth.

Our last stop before heading back to Preston, Idaho before rush hour traffic, was the Copper Mines. We peered down into the enormous pit in awe. Seeing how huge the machinery was made me feel very small. 

Steven and Nikkaila

(This picture is for Dave-o)

It was sad saying goodbye, but on an up side, we were able to take Ammon back with us. Needless to say, Steven is very happy!

EFY and Salt Lake City

Justin and James are now settled into their companies at EFY. James at Provo and Justin at Logan. Mom and Dad saved me by bringing Justin to his session. I took the rest of the kids with me to drop James off. As we got close to Salt Lake City, James told me that he now appreciates living in California much more.

I was really nervous about finding my way around the BYU campus. The grid system was just as confusing now as it was 15 years ago. The first building that James got excited about was the LaVell Edwards Stadium. To finally see it in person after spending a lifetime of only seeing it on the television was a dream come true for him. I had forgotten how impressive the mountains look towering over the campus.

(Ben, Kirsten, Josh, James, Matthew, Steven, Braydon)

After wasting a good 20 minutes getting turned around and dodging construction, we met up with our friends, the Sundstroms, at the Creamery. Steven was in awe when the employee handed him his bowl if ice cream. Two scoops is equivalent to a four scoop in California.

The boys were anxious to spread their wings and begin a week of independence. We parted ways with James at Helaman Halls.

(Justin...James and his roomie, Matthew)

Next, Steven, Kirsten, Dave-o and I  headed back the way we came to pick up Nikkaila, Ammon, and Malena. They came with us to check into the Little America Hotel and then we were off to explore Temple Square with lightrail as our transportation around town. 

Dave-o was in heaven, loving every minute of it.

Because of temperatures in the 100's, we spent little time outside.

In the evening, Douglas took us all out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Steven and Ammon flirted with the hostess. The kept a sharp eye out for her throughout the meal, making sure to smile and wave each time she walked by our table. They're such goofballs!

Sunday "Visitors"

The boys survived church at my parent's ward. (They hate being a "visitor".)

In the evening, Mom, Dad and I attending a fireside with Elder Groberg as the speaker. It was wonderful. I'll write about it later.

Here are some cute pictures of the kids passing the afternoon away.

Reunited With Grandma and Grandpa Weller

Six o'clock couldn't come fast enough. I had just spent seven hours in a sleepless nightmare. Of my many sleeping options, I picked Kirsten to sleep with, thinking she would be the calmest of the five. Boy was I off! She thrashed around a lot in her sleep. I was kicked and hit countless times by her.

We were back on the road again by 7:30am; this time without the Sundstroms. We sadly parted ways. They going to Provo and we to Preston, ID. Kirsten's "traveling morning sickness" showed its ugly head (consistent with all the other times we have traveled long distances). After throwing up a few times, she felt better and was fine for the rest of our journey. We stopped in Holbrook, ID at a park with picnic tables and swings located to the south of an older yet quaint LDS chapel. I took Dave-o to the metal playground where two little girls around his age were playing. After climbing up the tricky ladder, Dave-o stood on the platform leading to the slide. I told him to go down the slide.

Dave-o shook his head and said matter-of-factly, "No, Mommy. I waiting for the girls to go first."

The father of the two girls, laughed and said, "Now that's a well mannered boy you have there."

We made it to Preston, ID a little after 2pm. The kids were so happy to see their grandparents. And Dave-o was happily reunited with the next door neighbor's cat, Rover. We had dinner at Big J's and just hung out. I am optimistic that I will have a better nights sleep. Farm air has a way of relaxing me

The kids spent a lot of time letting go of pent up energy.

Dave-o helping Grandpa weed.

Even Rover liked the bubbles.

.

Caravan

 

 We made it to Battle Mountain, Nevada as planned. Caravanning with the Sundstrom family somehow magically made time fly. I have to admit though, I was tempted to keep driving. Arriving at my parents house tonight would have been wonderful. However, breaking up our trip makes it more bearable for the kids. 

 The hotel is okay; not great. Just okay. The Zinn/Sundstrom clan spent some of the day swimming in the indoor pool. In the evening, when the temperature cooled off, we walked to a nearby playground at what I'm assuming is the only high school in this small town. While we were there, the wind picked up and we experienced a bit of a sand storm. We hightailed it back to our hotel when we noticed a huge wall of sand blowing our way. We couldn't even see the mountains. The boys thought it was great fun. I didn't care for the burning feeling in my nose and the grit in my mouth. 

 Tomorrow, it's off to grandma and grandpa's house. Yeah!