A Tale of Two Fourths

Ryan here.

In Utah, you get two holidays to shoot off fireworks. There's the Fourth of July, of course, and then Pioneer Day on the twenty-fourth.

For the Fourth, the Allemans invited us up to Walsburg. It's a property located halfway up the canyon to Heber. It has a barn outfitted with a kitchen, beds, basketball court, ping pong table--you get the idea. Outside, you've got a playground, play houses, a pond with a zip line and paddle boats.

Here are the playhouses. They look so real!

But in summertime, the best part about Walsburg is the immense slip n' slide.

Eric really took to the slide. The first few times he rode on my lap, and then he insisted he could go it alone.

Needless to say, everyone had a blast. And after we got home, Beth got hold of an American flag and did this cute little dance:

On Pioneer Day, we usually head over to Uncle Dutch's place in Springville. He has a large property with a playground, sandbox, and a penned-off menagerie. There are black swans, goats, pigs, chickens, but mixed in are several animals you don't usually see in Utah: llamas, emus, a wallaby, a gazelle, and sometimes reindeer.

Here's Beth with the baby antelope:

The wallaby was really friendly . . .

But these seedy-looking turkeys kept following us around the yard.



Maybe someone mentioned Thanksgiving?

Not to worry. We made it out of there safe, and we were able to stick around to watch the fireworks. All in all, it was great couple of days.

Star Valley Trip

We're trying to catch up on posts, and I feel like we might actually succeed! Like the kids said, we made it up to Star Valley last month. We initially planned on going Memorial Day weekend, but we all got sick, so we delayed the trip till June.

Here's Eric, Beth and me on the porch swing out at Great Grandma's. It was beautiful up in the valley and made us all want to go up more often.

We were able to visit both my Grandfathers' graves. Here is Grandpa Clines.

And here is Grandpa Fluckiger.

Eric liked all the flowers in the graveyards.

We had a great afternoon playing over at my Aunt Margie's house. During the visit a little girl came down and held my hand. It took me a minute to realize it was a bewigged Beth!

Everything was so green up there. Here is a view from Grandma's field. The kids loved playing outside and feeding my Uncle Val's horse. (Well, Eric loved it. Beth tried it once and the hid from the horse the rest of the time.)
Eric and Beth both loved playing outside. We went down to the lower field to see the calves and their mothers. Kudos to Uncle Sam for cleaning up Eric's sandal after Eric discovered a fresh cow-pie.

The kids also loved getting to know their Great Grandma Clines.

Eric also thought that her old washing machine was fun. "Can we make ours shake like that?"

Thanks for letting us visit, Grandma. We love and miss you!

Ryan's Birthday

I know this is so late. But as I seem to say all the time now, "better late than never." We had a great birthday with Ryan this year. It was made even better with Zach and Alison here. I'm so grateful to have this man as my eternal companion. He is my greatest blessing. Thank you, Ryan.

Here we are at breakfast.

Here is the birthday boy.

"We're smiling so you'll give us cake."

The kids were overjoyed to see Zach and Alison again.

Beth still calls Zach her missing brother.

This is a very short video just for Zach and Alison. I don't know if you guys remember this, but here is a small clip of the "accidents happen" dance Eric did just after you got here. Miss you.

Ruby Valley

Back in May we were able to go see Sam, Mary and baby Maggie. It was a quick trip, but lots of fun. The kids' favorite spot was a big pile of dirt out back. Not a bad backyard if you ask me. (You can see Ryan enjoying the outdoors by reading.)
Beth liked Sam's roping practice thing. I know it has a name but it escapes me right now.
We also went out to visit the Hot Pots. They are sulfur springs that are a "topical manifestation of geothermal activity." In other words, this is where boiling water finds its way to the surface. Very cool--or hot, I guess.
Here is a video of the Hot Pots.

The real reason for the trip was Maggie's blessing. She looked amazing in a dress Mary made by hand. It was wonderful to be there. I'm grateful we are so close. Here is the star of the day.Family photo.

Easter

So now we get around to Easter. Here are the kids after a frantic egg hunt on Sunday morning. (Because of Beth's frantic and competitive nature she did get more eggs than Eric.)

Here they are proudly showing what they found.
"Beth, would you like to share some eggs with me?" I think the look is all the answer I need. (Even if she did share later.)

Here she is ready for church in her new Easter dress, making kissy faces.

Eric and Beth ready for Church.

Later we were able to go to Great Grandpa and Grandma Alleman's for the annual egg hunt. They had hundreds of eggs and the kids loved it.

The eggs were a nice compliment to their beautiful yard.

If you can see her face, she was totally outraged that it was out of her reach. I mean, what were we thinking?!
We were also really grateful that my Dad could be with us. I'm thankful for a day to think about the Resurrection. It's a special opportunity to pass the wonder of that miraculous event on to our kids. It was a great day.

It's A BOY!!!

So we went in to get the baby checked out today. He looks healthy and very active. VERY ACTIVE! Oh, yes, I did say boy! Beth is a little disappointed because she wanted a baby girl to share her room. Eric is happy, and thinks we should name the baby "Gordon" from the Island of Sodor. (He picked Gordon after I told him there was no way we would call the baby Thomas.) Here is a profile shot.
Here is a shot of him stretching. You can see his feet braced against one side, and although it is hard to see in this picture, his hands are above his head pushing against the other side. (the dot of stuff you see above him is the cord.) This could get painful as he keeps growing.
We are all happy and healthy and ready this kid to get here. (I'm ready for Beth to stop trying to tickle the baby through my stomach.)

Beth's First Hair Cut

Well, it took me forever but I finally did it. Beth got her first hair cut last week. We cut about three and a half inches off the back but only about a quarter of an inch off the sides. Just to even things out.

Before

After

Dang, who said she could grow up?