Motorcycles and Skis

Sam's birthday present...a dirt bike!  He absolutely loves riding the motorcycle at Grandpa's so he has asked for his own for quite awhile. BS decided it's time to get into this action because it's something they can do together and heck, it's a lot of fun!  He is hoping to get one of his own soon.  Of course, although cautious, I am on board because I grew up with my brothers and Dad and all of the boys/men in my neighborhood riding dirt bikes.  I even like them and enjoy riding them!  We are excited and look forward to many trips to the sand dunes :)

Sambo really wanted to go skiing for his birthday, so we made a family ski day out of it and went to Snowbird. I am not exaggerating when I say it was perfect.  Perfect weather and perfect skiing conditions.

The kids sure make an awesome ski crew!

 

 

We didn't waste time eating lunch in the lodge, we just sat down and had a picnic in the snow

 Here is a cute pic of the girls later that night.  They were pooped and so Millie stayed home and had a slumber party with her little Sis.  

Eleven!

My #1 Son is ELEVEN!

{I had to clarify to Will that Sam is my #1 son because he is my first born son, 

not because I'm picking favorites}.

He is such a stud!  I couldn't ask for a better kid. So tender hearted and happy.

He requested Navajo Tacos for his birthday dinner the night before, and for his birthday breakfast we ate giant scones with cinnamon sugar that were delicious!  Then for lunch, Grandma Cindy came down and checked him out of school for a lunch date. Surprise!  She took balloons to his classroom with a treat for his class.  He wanted a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup so we went to a yummy local place called Cravings.

His day just kept getting better - we were lucky that Aunt Casey and her family were in town from Ohio, and it happened to be close to cousin Kate's birthday. So to celebrate we went to Chuck-E-Cheese to celebrate both of their birthdays.  Everyone had a super fun time like usual.  I was glad to see Sam is not too old for Chuck-E-Cheese.  He and Will combined their tickets and cashed out some sweet prizes.  Millie bonded with cousin Norah and helped her win lots of tickets.  Quincy was in heaven because she has like 4 buddy cousins to run around with.  Baby Kate was as cute as can be.  We sure do miss the Ludlows and can't wait for them to move closer in 18 months!  

It's always great to be with the family!

For the birthday dessert we had Krispy Kremes instead of cake.  So yum.

Kate found her nose!

 

Alex and Uncle Sean

Don't worry, Chuck E Cheese wasn't all we did for his birthday.  We told him he could choose something to do that Saturday and he chose skiing.  I will post about that next.  And wait until you see what this big boy got for his birthday...

Arrow of Light

Sambo earned his Arrow of Light and Webelos Badges last month at Pack meeting!

Now he moves up to the big BOY SCOUTS.  He is stoked for the campouts and to be with his other friends who have already moved up.

We are grateful for his awesome Scout leaders!

Good job bud!

Pinning on my Webelos pin (because he couldn't have earned his badges with out his Mother  to remind him :) 

Sambo's #1 fan. 

Weekend in Midway

In the last post I talked about Millie's big day for her birthday.  But it didn't stop there.  Her birthday is always conveniently close to Civil Right's Day, which is a day off of school.  Since Monday was the holiday, we headed up to Midway and stayed in Grandma and Grandpa's condo.  Thanks G and G!

Millie, Grandma, Grandpa, and I drove up Sunday and met BS and the kids there.  We ate a yummy Sunday dinner at the condo (thanks to the handy crock pot), and then settled in by the fire to watch a movie.  Monday morning we swam and then went sledding at Soldier Hollow!

It was a sunny day with beautiful blue skies...a nice break from the nasty inversion.  We had a great time - each one of us!  Even Quincy was so brave and went down every run!  It's fun to get pulled up the hill on the tube and then fly fast down the tube runs knowing you can't crash or get hurt!

It was an awesome way to spend the day!  

Sambo

BS, Millie, Quincy

Wilbur

When we were all pooped and cold we met the rest of my family at a local pizza place.  Then back to the condo for more swimming and official birthday party.

Millie chose Oreo Cake Pops for her birthday treat which she even helped me make.  They were scrumptious and the boys have requested them for their birthdays :)  We also had chocolate dipped strawberries.  It was hard to pack up and leave, but we knew we had to get back to life and school.  It was a good thing that when we got home at 11:00 that night, Millie came home to balloons and gifts from her friends on our front porch.  And also these:

Beautiful flowers from Grandpa and Grandma Clark!  She was thrilled to get flowers!

Happy Birthday Millie!

Teenager!

We officially have a TEENAGER!

And a lovely one too!

To celebrate this exciting milestone, we treated her to a day of pampering. 

First:  Getting her hair done at a fabulous Salon in Layton.  They serve you frozen grapes, snacks, and bottomless drinks while you just sit there and relax.  As if the scalp and should massage isn't enough!

She didn't do anything drastic, just a little trim and style. She looks older already!

Next:  Pedicures!  The joy of a pedi speaks for itself.  We all benefitted from this stop!

Third:  A visit to the Clinique counter at the mall for a little makeover.  She's only been wearing mascara (which is just fine), but she wanted to play around with a little make-up for the days she wanted to feel like a teenager.  She looked absolutely gorgeous!  Too gorgeous.  I forbid her to wear the make-up (not really).  She also got a great lesson on taking care of her skin like washing and moisturizing.  She has been very lucky so far to have a perfect complexion but that acne has to be coming soon.  I don't remember being so cute and zit free at 13!  

Next:  Dinner at Tepanyaki!  We let her chose where she wanted to eat, and of course this was on the top of her list.  It was a tough choice between here and Olive Garden.  It was fun and delicious as usual.

Then:   A sleep-over at Grandma's cabin!  This is one of Millie's favorite spots.  Just she and I went up while BS and the other 3 kids stayed home.  It was so nice having some alone time with her and we definitely needed the girl time!  I am so blessed to have her.  Truly so blessed.  This was a day neither she nor I will soon forget.

Last:  A weekend trip to Midway!  See the next post...