Lagoon and Science Camp

Okay before I go any further I need to clear something up. Daren is a fantastic Dad. I cannot think of a better Dad around. He is helpful and involved and always looking for ways to make memories (good memories) for our children. To start things off: Lizza got a haircut! It looks so cute and I cannot believe I let it grow out. She looks really good with hair like this.

We have had a fun couple of weeks. The Wallace clan (minus the Souza part - we missed you guys!) Went to Salt Lake City for a long weekend. We went to Lagoon all day Friday and had a great time. Daren and I hadn't been there since we were dating and we both agreed things have improved. Our kids had a blast running around with cousins, grandparents, and us. Each of them had a favorite ride. Abby liked the sky coaster ride. She rode it 4 times! The first time she almost fell off as they were getting on and I thought, "This is the end. She will freak out the rest of way, but she pulled it together." I think Grandma and Brynne helped. Lizza liked the great white roller coaster and Mousetrap and Puff! She just couldn't decide which was the best. Meg liked Puff the roller coaster and then the sky-ride is her next favorite one.

Max loved the water fountains. He got soaking wet every time. The last time we went to them for the day he went in the middle. You can see the middle behind this water picture. He got shot by water and loved it. He's a crazy man!!

Herb and Vicki (Daren's parents)are so good about just making a fun vacation.

The next day we hiked Ensign peak. It was almost a mile round trip, and very steep. It was hot but our girls did so well. Meg even raced me to the top and "she beat."

Sunday we went to church at the Joseph Memorial building, which is our normal place to go when we go down there. The kids love the building and the time is really convenient. Here's all of us after church. It was a wonderful weekend.

After Salt Lake, Abby and Lizza, along with cousins Tanner, Anika, and Brynne, went home with Grandma and Grandpa for science camp in Idaho Falls. We missed them here at home, but Meg kept me busy playing all day with her. It was fun to just have 2 kids: It felt liberating! Two was a hard number for me in terms of kids. But Four is killing me! I felt like we could do anything with only Meg and Max this week. We didn't, of course, do anything, but we could have. There wasn't any fighting because Meg and Max have nothing to argue about. The house didn't get very dirty because Meg enlisted me in pretty much everything she played, so I was right there to clean up one mess before we went on to the next. But I missed my older girls. I didn't get to talk to them Tuesday night because I was at craft group and I was really sad about it. I was pumping Daren for information as to what they said, what they did, etc. He was making fun of me. But they came home with so much to tell us about and show us. I am grateful they get to go and have willing Grandparents to take them. It is a great experience. They made digestive systems, grew clear spheres, made solar ovens, experimented with absorption, made dancing beads in a test tube, dissected sheep's eyes, and looked at intestines and a sheep heart.

Along with science camp Vicki takes them to do things everyday. The women is amazing and never rests. So Lizza liked making an edible aquifer at camp and going to the zoo the most. Abby liked dissecting the eye and looking at the other body parts-but not touching them. Her favorite extra curricular activity was going to the movies 2 times and shopping at the dollar store. Megan's favorite part of the girls being at science camp "was just playing princesses with me, Dad, and Max". And we did - a lot. She also started swimming lessons while they were gone. She loves it and has one of her "best friends" Madison in her class.

After everyone was home and settled we went on a family hike yesterday and it was really fun. We stayed in Boise and went up Bogus Basin (which is a ski hill) and there was a hike that was only a mile. It was a fun trail that went in and out of the trees. We saw lots of bugs, rocks, and sticks which all seemed to be a big hit with the girls. We have a few more short family hikes up our sleeves for the summer that we are all excited to go on.