Doughnuts

The next morning, we just had to have some doughnuts for breakfast. The kids thought that was pretty awesome. They had a chocolate ones. Kids are funny when they eat. They get so messy, as you can tell from the pictures.

Home

Two weeks didn't seem to go by very fast. It seemed like the days just drugged on. But eventually they did pass.

Ben made plans for the kids and I to pick him up at the airport. I didn't tell the kids until it was time to head to the airport. The were very excited once we got there.

They both had no idea what to expect when at the airport. It was so much bigger then them. They did love the rides on the escalators though. Once we got to where they come out of, they were very antsy. They wanted Ben to be the next person to walk through the terminal. At the first of an army uniform, they got very excited, but then very sad when they noticed that it wasn't Ben. More and more army uniformed men and women kept coming through the terminal, but no Ben. They each stopped and said that he would be shortly behind them. It seemed like time moved so slow.

Then through the crowd, there he was and the kids noticed just as fast as I did. They both went running and screaming for Ben. All those watching were just smiling at the sight of a Dad being reunited with his kids. No one knew that they had only been separated for such a short time, but it was very touching to see Ben and the kids just embrace for a few moments.

We were all very glad to have him home.

After picking him up we had decided that we wanted to get a treat. We first thought about ice cream. We headed for Layton with the intention of stopping at Cold Stone. When we got there we notice that the neon sign was on as Krispy Kreme. We decided to go there instead. We thought the kids would love to see how the doughnuts were made. They truly did. They loved watching the conveyor belt with all the doughnuts and of course the best part, getting a free sample. But we couldn't stop there, we had to buy a dozen or so to take home.

Movie

Our days aren't very exciting. They generally are filled with hanging out at home and waiting for dad. The kids will generally play nicely, occasionally not so nicely.

One day I was watching Percy Jackson and Owen came in and say down on the couch. I told him he might get scared and that he might want to leave. He looked at me and said, "no, I watch movie." I went back to the movie. I figured if is scared him, he would leave. Normally he does.

He was so enthralled in the movie that he couldn't take his eyes off the T.V. It was funny. When the monster came on the screen, you could tell it scared him a little because his facial expression changed, but he never left. He watch the whole movie with me. When it was over he asked me if we could watch it again. Silly kid.

Miranda's birthday

It seems like we have been celebrating a lot of birthday's recently. No different then last year, it just seems like they all pile up on top of each other. Another reason why summers are always so busy.

At family dinner on Sunday we celebrated Miranda's birthday. Once church was over we changed and headed over to help mom. Dad was at work. I know that when Ben is gone for drill and its our turn for family dinner it can pose a challenge.

Miranda picked a yummy dinner, roast beef sandwiches and an even better dessert, German pancakes. Everyone loved it. After dinner and dessert was over Miranda was able to open some gifts.

Man, as the kids get older, they are a lot harder to shop for. It seems like we revert back to gift cards or money each time. This time was no different. A Google gift card so she can buy books for her electronic toy. I'm not sure what it is that she has, but she loves to read, so she was very excited.

Ellie's birthday

While at the Sagez get together we celebrated Ellie's birthday. She turned 4 this year. It truly is amazing how fast time flies by.

Poor Ellie, she was sick this year on her birthday. Who likes to be sick and on their no birthday no doubt. I was happy to hear that she was finally feeling better enough that we could celebrate with her. She was very excited to be able to open some presents.

Gabbi picked out a lala loopsie doll and horse for her. I hope she likes it. Gabbi really wanted to open it and play with it herself.

Sagez get together

 It has been a few months since we have gotten together with the Sagez clan. It has been a very busy summer. I was glad that we were finally able to find a day that worked for everyone. We planned to get together out our place even though Ben wasn't going to be there. I know it would be just fine because everyone would pitch in and I would have nothing to worry about and that's exactly what happened.

Everyone got there around 6:30 or so. Once everyone was there we got the chicken on the grill and finished setting things up. While the chicken was cooking the kids play and the adults visited and played games. It was nice to relax and just be together. When dinner was done, we all dug it. Everything tasted great.

After dinner we played some yard games, visited and then had dessert. Everything was perfect, I couldn't have asked for a better evening. Even the weather wasn't bad. The back yard was shaded enough that it wasn't too hot to enjoy ourselves. The only thing that could have been better; Ben being home : )

North Shore

The next two weeks would be a trying time considering that Ben is gone. The kids get antsy, I get crazy not having a break, but yet I won't ask for help. I'm stubborn that way as you know.

I was very grateful for an invite from the Long's to go to North Shore to go swimming. I was a little worried that it would be hard to keep track of both kids because Gabbi would want to go where she wants to go and I wouldn't be able to watch her because I would be watching Owen. Owen's hasn't been a huge fan of swimming. But to my surprise, it wasn't bad at all.

Owen became adventurous and went into the deeper ends of the water, close enough to Gabbi that I could watch them both. Occasionally Gabbi would come in the kiddie section as well so I could again have an eye on both kids. The both had a lot of fun and they were very upset with me when I told them that we had to go.

Fireworks

2 years in a row now, we have just gotten back from a family vacation and haven't had the desire to go to the Pioneer's Day fireworks held at Weber State. Its one of my favorite activities each summer. The same happened this year.

When we got home from Lava we spent the afternoon cleaning up. Jenny was feeling sick and didn't want to go, Mom had not interest and neither did Tiffany. The rest of us wanted to go, but we worried that we wouldn't be able to find a place to sit since we didn't lay out any blankets. We decided to go anyways.

Once we were done with dinner we headed to meet Jeff. We found a pretty descent place to park, a little farther down then we normally do, but the escape route would be a lot easier. When we got up to the campus we weren't sure where we were going to sit. The soccer field outside the English building was almost completely empty. We figured that would be the best we could do at such last minute. Even better it was already shady. We didn't have to wait in the blistering sun.

The kids ran around and played games on the grass while we played some card games. Once the music started the kids sat down and settled down for the fireworks. The seats we had for the fireworks weren't bad at all. They went off right above a tree. Even though it was a rather large tree, we had no problems seeing the fireworks.

Worth the trek out to the campus even though it had been a trying day of unpacking and cleaning.

Lava with the Family

We normally go to Bear Lake every year with my family. This year we decided to go to Lava hot springs instead.

It was nice to already be up there, but I felt bad that Ben couldn't come with us and that we had to have my parents take the kids over night, since Ben had to report for duty. If anyone know my kids that can be a challenge in and of itself. But they were willing to take on that challenge to help us out.

Friday morning was clean up day at girls camp. The girls cleaned up faster then I had anticipated. I was done with camp by 9:30. That meant waiting for me. I went to a park, laid down a blanket, grabbed my pillow and waited for my family to arrive. Dad, Cameron, and Kayden got there around noon. We went to get a bite to eat and by then the rest of the family was there. Once we were all there, we hung out at the park for a little bit and then Jenny went to check and see if we could check in although we were early for check in. We were lucky. They allowed us to do so. We all headed to the camp site, set up camp, and then got things ready for dinner.

It was a very cramped camp. They were so busy and full that they actually over booked the sites. We were supposed to have three camp site, but where only given two. I was to put my tent on mom and dad's trailer site, but the grass available between the trailer sites wasn't big enough for my tent. I set it up as best as I could, but it was supposed to rain all weekend. If my tent wasn't put up like its meant to, you will be sleeping in a puddle of water. So I of course had a melt down. It had been a long week and I didn't want to deal with anything else. Plus my air pump wasn't working because the young men that borrowed broke it and never told us, they also ruined our air mattress. Its a good thing I had a spare. It was just a lot to handle on my emotional state. Mom sent dad over to help. Me being as stubborn as I am, didn't want it. Mom made me leave while Jeff and dad took care of my tent. When I got back from a small walk, they had moved my tent to next to Jeff and Jenny's. I was surprised that all three tents fit, but it actually worked out better that way.

Owen completely fascinated by the passing trains.

Once we were all set up, we played games, kids played in the river, played at the park, had some dinner, and then those that didn't want to go to the hot pools headed for bed. I had quite the challenge getting Owen and Gabbi to lay down and be quiet. Poor Jenny had pity on me and took Gabbi. She slept in their tent. I love my family, they are always looking out for me and wanting to help in anyway they can.

 Jeff attempting to do a flip like all the little kids

 Owen was laughing so hard while swinging with Kayden, I was afraid he was going to let go

The next day was our fun day. When we got up it was raining. It put a small damper in our plans. We had breakfast and hoped that the rain would stop. Lucky for us around 10ish the rain stopped. We got the kids ready and headed for the river. We planned to tube the river for the first half of the day. We rented our tubes for 3 hours, which was nicer ex specially with dad's truck. Brian hauled tubes and family up the hill to make sure they got as many rides down the river as possible. Jenny, Gabbi, Owen, took pictures and then played at the park. I didn't want to go down and I surely didn't want my kids to go down either. The river was pretty rough. Jeff and Tiffany after one trip down the river decided that it wasn't a good idea for Kamree to go down either. She almost fell off. So the younger kids played at the park until it was time for lunch, then we headed back to camp for lunch. We stayed there until everyone was done tubing.

Once tubing was finished, everyone else had lunch and while they were doing so it began to rain again. We were a little bummed because we had plans to go to the pool. There was lighting and thunder so when we called to find out about the pools, they said the swimming pool was closed, but the hot pots weren't. So they all planned to go to the hot pots while we waited for the pool to open. When we got down to the hot pots, I felt bad because dad paid for me. I had no intention of getting in the hot pots because I'm not supposed to. Doctor's orders. I again was stubborn, but lost when dad paid. The kids had fun in the hot pots with their cousins and I just put my feet in. I felt bad, waste of money.

We had been at the hot pots for maybe 30 minutes when they made the announcement that the pool was now open. Again I felt bad because it was a waste of money to only be there for 30 minutes and then leave. Dad paid for me and I didn't want him to waste his money. I again lost and was sent to the pool with everyone else. When we got there, we found a spot to lay our stuff and then headed to swim. I took my kids and headed to their kiddie pool. After a while Kamree joined us to Jeff and Tiffany could go down the slides with the other kids. All the kids had a lot of fun swimming, but after 3 hours we decided that we had finally had enough and it was time to head back to start dinner.

When we got back to the camp site Mom and Grandma had already started dinner and it was almost done. When we were done eating some went back to the hot pots and the rest of us went to bed. It had been a very long day. Owen fell asleep very quickly. It surprised me and Gabbi again slept in Jenny's tent.

In the morning we started to clean up while it was still cool outside. We sat the kids down to eat breakfast and us adults put tents away etc. We got done just as it started to get hot. I was grateful that we were done and didn't have to worry about getting things cleaned up in the heat. Once we were all done, we ate dinner, helped mom and dad pack up the trailer and then headed for home.

A hard weekend not to have Ben around, but thanks to my family they made it fun for myself and our kids.