American West Heritage Center

While my mum was here, we took a trip to the American West Heritage Center, which is right here in Logan. They have various different activities at different times of year; our intention was to enjoy a walk through the corn maze.

We obviously picked a good time to go because we were the only people there. I'm not lying- there was no one else in sight and we had everything to ourselves! Perfect for a trip with toddler and baby :-)

A kind employee started up the 'train' just for us and we went around the spooky track several times.

Then Luke got to have his first solo pony ride. The little pony was so cute and just his size. He seemed slightly bewildered at first but he loved it!

Then on to the corn maze. It was a perfect day for it. Nice and warm but not too hot. A beautiful blue sky as a backdrop to the beautiful, tall, green stalks of corn. The maze was a little longer than expected but we had a pushchair (stroller) for each of the kids so it was okay. (Just working up an appetite for our yummy dinner at Sizzler later that night)

Mum wondering which way to go.

Map reader Trev feels confident in his navigational skills. Actually he was quite impressive.

Lainey being her usual adorable self.

After we completed the maze, we decided to have a quick look at the super slide. I couldn't resist- it looked so fun! I probably should have tested it by myself before going down with Luke because you do get very buried under the hay at the end, but he didn't seem to care. He became a super slide junkie and went down with each of us in turn.



Mum took a little extra persuasion, as she was wearing a skirt. But I knew she really wanted to try it out :-)


Before we left, we checked out the little goats in the petting area. They were just adorable!

All in all, we had a really fun afternoon. Thanks for treating us, mum!

Bear Lake

We spent the day at Bear Lake with several of Trev's family members. It was a lovely day for it- nice and sunny with a breeze. We came home tired and just a little bit sunburnt. (Mum and dad, that is) We also decided that we probably ate a bit too much. The ample supply of goodies that we took was supplemented by an array of yummy stuff brought by everyone else. Oh well, maybe one of these days we'll get some self-control.

Yee-haa

We went to the Cache County Fair and Rodeo. Trev has been to tons of rodeos in his time, but I'd never been to one. We were quite confident that Luke would enjoy it. He did, but he probably would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't have started at roughly the time that he usually goes to bed. But he did enjoy the cows and horses.

Since I have a few readers from England, I'll describe a few of the events. First there was bareback horse riding, where the horse is bucking like crazy and the cowboy just has to cling on for dear life. There was also a similar one, but they had a saddle. There was also a contest where the cowboys had to rope a steer and throw it to the ground. And another one with steers, but this time they were on foot and had to get it's nose into the ground somehow (I wasn't sure exactly what was going on with some of the events!)

The cutest, most adorable part, was called 'mutton busting'. Little children riding sheep! Those little kids just had to cling on to the sheep's neck as it walked or ran across the arena. It was so cute and funny to watch how tenacious they were!

Part of the rodeo tradition includes a rodeo royalty, pretty young cowgirls who are crowned queen, princess etc.

We were also treated to a couple of impressive displays by some teams of horses. The way they drive these teams is amazing. There was even a man who could drive six horses, whilst standing on their backs.

My photos really don't do it justice. I wasn't sure what setting to use on the camera. But it was a fun night. We did have to leave before the 'main event', the bull riding. The kids were getting tired and starting to whine, so we decided to call it a night.

Tony Grove Lake

We decided to go to Tony Grove Lake for the afternoon. It's a small glacial lake about 45 minutes drive from us, up the Logan Canyon. We had a nice picnic lunch in the peaceful surroundings. Then we went to explore the Lake a little. It's quite beautiful. At over 8000ft elevation, it is nice and cool up there, surrounded by pine trees and wild flowers.

The sad thing is, that while we were there, a man drowned whilst trying to swim across the lake. So suddenly there was a whole assortment of rescue divers, sherrifs, ambulances, and a helicopter. They found the body this morning.

We did enjoy our trip, but left in a sort of daze. It really was a sad thing to happen. The guy was only 20 years old.

Girls' weekend

Each year, the men in Trev's family (his dad, brothers and brothers-in-law) go on a trip of some sort. Last year it was a pack trip up in the mountains, this year it was Lake Powell. Since they are men, we don't get to see many pictures of what they get up to- they are having way too much fun to remember to document it. But while they're gone, us girls get together (with the kids of course) and have some fun too.

Day one-swimming.

Luke and his cousin Braylen are all ready to go.



Grandma watches over some of the little boys.



Trev's sister Katie with baby Quigley.



This is my nephew Corben. I love this little guy!



Luke had a blast.



That night, we bathed the older boys together. If you look closely at Luke's face, you'll see that he really didn't enjoy sharing his bathtub! That night, we all slept at my apartment. Six women and 6 kids in our little apartment. Luckily, we were all pretty tired and slept well.



Day two- Bear Lake.

Quigley and Lainey at the start of our outing.



Luke and Corben enjoyed the water.



And we all took rides in the little inflatable boat.



Lainey likes the feel of the sand between her toes, and watching the boys having fun.



Corben catching some rays.



Day Three and Four- chilling at the ranch.

After two fun days out with the kids, we were ready for some downtime. So we went out to the ranch and just hung out. We baked, talked, played, slept, ate and just enjoyed one another's company.

Luke has decided that he likes wrestling. Corben is the cousin who is closest in age to him. Corben is two and Luke is 18 months, but Corben is a little bit smaller, and doesn't like to wrestle. We had to assign Braylen to play with Luke, because Luke can't really hurt him (he's 4)


And in the babies' corner, we have Lainey and Taven. Taven is just one month older than Lainey.

Lainey got to spend a little time with her great-grandma.

We all ate crackers, cheese, meat and fruit for every lunch. Luke tried cherries for the first time and they were a big hit!

And of course, the boys had to have several rides on the four-wheeler.

Swimming

Can you believe it's already July? With all the rain we've had, it seems like summer is only just beginning, but really it's half way over. Now it is starting to get hot though, so we decided it was time to take Luke swimming for the first time. To say he loved it would be an understatement.

We hope to go at least once more this summer, but we've decided it will be more fun next year, when Lainey will be big enough to go in, so we can all play in the water as a family.