Labor Day Picnic

On Labor Day part of the family went up Little Cottonwood canyon to have a picnic brunch. It was a beautiful drive and the canyon is so beautiful! The kids had a great time exploring and running around. We had a wonderful breakfast and enjoyed a walk down to the creek. It was a great little adventure!

Two of the cooks for the brunch. Pancakes, hashbrowns, bacon and OJ. Yum!
Big cheesy smiles from these boys.
Walking across the log together.
Up high on a rock waiting for the food to be ready.

The beautiful creek up Little Cottonwood Canyon.David checking out the stream.

$$$$$

Back to school is expensive! The kids all seemed to have grown over the summer. Too much good food I guess. So they all needed new pants, new shoes, new underwear that fit! Then there is the mile long list of supplies that are NOT (but you feel like they are) mandatory...paper, pencils, pens, notebooks, binders, dividers, kleenex, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, dry erase markers, highlighters, even reams of copy paper for the class. And then, just when you think you've finished drawing on your savings account, you go to registration. I don't know if things have changed, but there is no such thing as free public education anymore. Each of my children had fees, just to be able to go to school. There were activity fees, book rental fees, locker fees, gym locker fees, generic "registration" fees, and even a few voluntary fees like PTA and yearbook (which we skipped because we no longer had any money left!) Jeez, I'm going to stop feeding these kids to make up for sending them back to school! Oh, that reminds me, I have to put money in their school lunch accounts so they don't starve. :)

It's Early!

Summer was so much fun...and this summer Austin played hard and slept in. a lot. So getting up for school was not a fun time for him. This was his first day of 10th grade picture. All the sleep and eating allowed him to grow a full 5 inches over the summer and his voice is a lot lower too. This year Austin started a new high school. It is a brand new building and about 1/2 the kids are new. He's really enjoyed it this week. It's a charter school and the class sizes are small. He's got a fun schedule full of challenging classes and fun electives. He's also running cross-country for the school. It's fun to see him getting involved and enjoying the high school years. Go Bears!

First Day 2011/2012 school year

Today, three of the kids started school again. Where did the summer go? Way too fast! McKinley was excited, Ethan and Evan were not. It's going to be another good year though. Just can't believe how fast it's going. McKinley -2nd grade, Evan - 5th grade, Ethan - 8th grade. And next week, Austin off to his sophomore year of highschool....no way! It's good though...the kids are growing into wonderful, productive children. I'm grateful we have the education system we do and the opportunities it provides for my children! Thank you teachers!

2nd place at Addidas Cup Tournament!!

Evan was invited to play with his old team at a 4 day tournament in West Jordan this past week. It was incredibly hot each day, but the boys played very well. It was great to see good ball movement and a lot of different boys scored in their games. The defense was solid and the boys enjoyed the competition. The final game was a 1-1 tie after overtime and it came down to penalty shots. Unfortunately we lost 3-2 in penalty kicks, taking 2nd place overall in the boys U11 silver bracket. It was a great tournament with some really good soccer! Congratulations Blue Knights!

Sun Valley Camping Trip

We had to sneak in one final camping trip before the kiddos head back to school next week. We also met up with my mom and Irv, and Vicky and Jim and the girls. We each pulled our trailers to Sun Valley Idaho. None of us had ever been there and we were pleasantly surprised. The Sawtooth National Forest is a beautiful part of the country. The drive there was picturesque and the temperatures were perfect, even in mid-August. Unfortunately we experienced a flat tire on the way up there. But David and I were able to change the tire on the trailer in 40 minutes flat and we were on our way again. We stayed at Easley Campground which was right next to a hotsprings pool. We enjoyed visiting the hotsprings twice, went on a 12 mile bike ride (minus McKinley), and the boys hiked up to the top of one of the ridges by camp. Grandma and Grandpa played hours of card with the kids and we ate like kings! It was a lovely vacation, although we could have stayed a few more days.

It was fun to see everyone and to spend some time in the great outdoors of Idaho.

Bear Lake 2011

It's that wonderful time of year again when the Smith family heads to Bear Lake for our annual camping trip. This year we kept hearing reports of how high the lake was and how warm it was. They were right!! It was awesome. Instead of walking 1/4 mile to the beach, the water was 10 feet from the campsites! What a difference that made in the trip. The kids could go to the water without waiting for adults. You didn't have to "pack up" for the day and head to the beach...you could just come and go as you pleased. It was much more relaxing!

This year we also were in a new camping spot. We were unable to reserve the spots that we've had for 20+ years and were forced to get new spots further down the beach. We loved them!! There was so much more room and tons of shade. I think we will be moving there for all future Bear Lake trips. Since our group is only getting bigger and we are using more and more tents, it was nice to have the extra space.

The weather couldn't have been better this year. Usually we have one rainy afternoon or a cold spell, but this year we had a couple hours of wind and a rainstorm at night. The funny thing is that the weather reports said it was going to rain each day....we're glad they were wrong. We were able to enjoy the wave runners in the water and playing along the beach. We did feathers for our hair, permanent sandcastles, and duct tape wallets. And of course, we ate and ate and ate! That's one of the best parts of Bear Lake. Yum.

Of course I took over 100 pictures, but for blogging you have to cut those down to a few. So here are the highlight photos from this year:

The Smith family...all 54 of us!
Nana and Avery

Burying Taylor in the sand!

Grandad and Chad

Evan's big hole.

Three brothers...Dave, Mark, and Mike.

Putting feathers in Austin's hair.

McKinley...chillin'

Ethan at the beach.

Austin driving Dave on the waverunner.

Evan with Ellilia.