Bunk Bed Letter Matching

So I’ve been trying to think of some fun Upper case/ Lower case letter games for Porter and I randomly thought of this game.  I cut out small squares on white paper of both the Upper case and Lower case letters.  Then I tucked them in on the top part of Porter’s bunk bed.  I did this while he was sleeping, so that right when he woke up, he could start the fun.  HE LOVED IT and had a lot of fun matching the Upper case and Lowercase letters.  Every time he found a match, he would take them down until they were all gone. 

He did so well at this game, that we told him he could choose any toy at the dollar store.  He chose a bow and arrow set and has been busy being a ‘real live Indian’ ever since.  What a cutie!  I love this kid so much!!

Trip to the Cemetery

Both of our boys were home sick with ear infections and pink eye for Memorial Day.  So a couple of days later, when they were feeling a little better, we headed to Elysian Burial Grounds in Salt Lake City to pay a visit to some of our family members.  Here is Porter with the map that shows us to to find the graves that we were looking for.  He was so excited to help find them. 

First we visited my Grandpa Haslam.  I miss him so much.  I wish that Porter and Kaden could have met him.  I have a lot of wonderful memories of him, and it was a lot of fun for me to share some of them with Porter as we laid flowers on his grave. 

Kaden was very interested in the flowers.  He even had to have a taste of one…whoops!

I gave Porter some flowers to put on the graves that didn’t have any flowers.  He thought that was a lot of fun.  Here he is with his flowers.  He was so cute. And sweet little Kaden had fun chasing Porter. 

And here are Kaden and Porter with our Pioneer ancestor, Henry Haslam, and his wife Sarah Haslam.  So neat  to see their graves.

And here are Porter and Kaden with my Great Grandparents on my Dad’s Mom’s side.  Their names are Emily and Edward Rynearson. 

And then we went to visit my Great Uncle Ted (Edward).  I have so many memories of him and I miss him.  He bought me my baptismal dress which was pretty special.  I also remember him buying orange sticks for all of us every Christmas and we always looked forward to them every year. 

I love visiting cemeteries.  I love the peaceful feeling that is felt here.  I am glad that I was able to bring Porter and Kaden along and hopefully show them a little, the importance of family history and our wonderful ancestors.  Porter really enjoyed and has asked to go back to visit a couple of times.  I need to make it more of a priority, and get us there more often. 

Art on the Deck

These two little boys love to color and paint. So the other day I ripped out a couple of pages from a big coloring book we had, taped them to our deck, grabbed all of the paints, markers and crayons I could find and let the little boys go to town.   They were so cute and it was so fun to see them have fun together. 

By the time they were done, I think they had more paint on them then the pictures did..haha, but it was nice that the mess was outside and could easily be sprayed off by the hose.  And they were quickly cleaned off by a quick bath. 

Look at these adorable little artists!!  I love them!!

Weekend Getaway to The Homestead Resort

Paul and I had been wanting a little getaway for a while, and my Mom was so sweet to volunteer to take our boys overnight so we could enjoy a relaxing little getaway.  We stayed at the Homestead Resort in the executive suite in Midway.  It was amazing and just what we needed. 

That night we ate at the Asian Potato.  It was a cute little Asian/ Tai Restaurant that had the most delicious food.  Yummy!

Then we headed over to our resort.  It was very nice.  Here we are by the main building

This was our cute little place we stayed in.

It was amazing.. equipped with a nice fireplace, huge Jacuzzi tub, and cute little deck.  It was such a relaxing place.  It was perfect for us.  I would definitely stay here again in a heartbeat. It was kind of neat because the night that we arrived, there was a huge owl perched on our roof.  Unfortunately we weren’t able to get a picture before it flew away, but it was kind of fun to see.  Here we are enjoying ourselves on our cute little deck. 

The next morning we slept in until 10 and then headed to Fanny’s Breakfast Buffet where we ate the most delicious food ever.  It was such a beautiful and relaxing place to eat.  The scenery was beautiful and they played beautiful classical music.  We ate and ate and ate until we popped.

We then headed to do some snorkeling at the Homestead Crater. 

The Crater is a geothermal spring, hidden within a 55-foot tall, beehive-shaped limestone rock located on the Homestead property.  It is over 10,000 years in the making and was formed when melting snow on the Wasatch Mountains seeped deep within the earth. Two miles below the surface, the earth’s interior heated the water. As it percolated upward, it picked up minerals, which were then deposited on the surface -- eventually forming the volcano-shaped limestone deposit called The Homestead Crater.

The hole at the top of the dome lets in sunlight and fresh air while the interior stays heated by the mineral water at a constant range of 90 – 96 degrees Fahrenheit.  It was pretty amazing. 

First we took a little hike to the top of the crater where we could look down in the crater. 

Then we went back down and inside the crater to do some swimming and snorkeling.

I could have swam in there all day long.  It was kind of neat because there were tons of scuba divers that would dive under us and we could watch them.  Next time we definitely have to scuba.  The water was so so warm and relaxing.  We had such a great time together.

Then we headed home.  Had to stop and get yummy ice cream for the ride home.  We had such a fun little getaway and it was so much fun spending some together alone with my wonderful husband.  Thank you so much Paul.  I love you so much! 

It was so sad because when we got home, we found out that my Mom had to sleep on the floor in Kaden’s room because he didn’t sleep at all..  poor little guy and my poor Mom.  We ended up finding out that he had an ear infection.  My Mom is such a trooper.  Thanks so much Mom for watching the boys!  You are the best and we love you so much!!