Staycation report

Last week, we pawn our kids off on my parents (thanks Mom & Dad.) I took work off and we started our staycation. It was nice to be able to just take care of ourselves, stay up as long as we wanted, sleep in as long as we wanted and do whatever we wanted. The 40th anniversary for the first moon landing caused many fine TV shows about the moon, NASA and the Apollo program available for viewing. I watched them until Jen was sick of her lunatic of a husband.

We enjoyed Herriman's local production of "The Music Man." It was nice to feel closer to our new community and enjoy a play. I had never hiked up to the cave in mount timpanogos and so did it. It was very enjoyable to pack up some water, turn on my ipod and take an hour hike up to the cave. The cave was very cool, (literally too.) But it was fun going through and see how nature has created some inner beauty. It was also cool to learn how the caves were discovered as well. If you have not visited this cave yet, get yourself some water and check it out. Your legs will be sore for 2 days, but you will love the memories.

We also enjoyed the latest Sandra Bullock movie, which was actually pretty good, except for a few nudity parts and an exotic dancer scene that will now prevent me from watching the office ever again.

When I was younger I did most of my temple work at the Salt Lake temple and enjoyed the live sessions. But since moving farther away and having kids, it had become increasing difficult to visit the SL temple and so we began attending other temples that were closer and easier to visit. But without any kids, we had the time to return to the SL temple and enjoy a session. It was nice to go through it again, especially since we were married there almost 8 years ago. We also visited Jen's former co-workers at the church office building. I used to come visit her there after my classes and we would enjoy lunch at the cafeteria. We took a trip down memory lane.

On Thursday we got our kids back, enjoyed a quite 24th and then visited with family on Saturday for the annual Nelson family reunion. This reunion was very enjoyable for me. Last year I was one of the presenters for the reunion and I enjoyed it very much. This year I was able to come and just enjoy the time with everyone without having to prepare a presentation. I am looking forward to next year and hope that my kids will enjoy them as they get older.

Our staycation was nice but I will ensure that the next one will be farther away from home. Far enough away that work cannot find me. They were persistent in apologizing for calling me, but continued to do so, especially the last few days of our staycation. My next job hopefully will not require me to be on call 24/7.

Harry Potter and the cliffhanger to get you to see the next movie

Jen & I had the pleasure of seeing the new Harry Potter movie on Wednesday night. Quite an experience to watch it with a theater full of children and teenagers. You could tell that many of them were girls when the Twilight trailer was shown and they all squealed with joy.

I have not read the 6th Harry Potter book yet and so was able to enjoy the movie without knowing the end result.(Except for the fate of a main character which was spilled by an article on sciwire. Darn website!) I enjoyed seeing a new Potter movie after 2 years of waiting. But just like the book does. The movie sets things up for the next movie rather than answer questions and entertaining you. We do learn more about Volumort's past and what is needed to battle him. But I think the good guys lose more than what they gain by the end of the movie and we are left wondering if things will not end up well for Harry.

It is just the the Empire Strikes Back. By the end the good guys are left at the short end of the stick and will have to battle against difficult odds to come out on top. The only thing missing from this movie was Snape admitting to being Harry's real father. Then it would have been exactly like Empire Strikes Back.

I did enjoy the movie and now that I've seen it, I want to read the 6th book. Does anyone have the 6th book on MP3 on in book form that I could borrow? I certainly recommend seeing it and helping the movie earn a ridiculous amount of money. The love stories involving Ron are very interesting and fun to watch.

Where am I?

ARRRRRR!!! Help! To busy to blog. Need vacation soon.

Crazy walk

Last night after dinner. Jen felt tired so I offered to take the kids on a walk while she rested. We are still new to our neighborhood and so I thought I would explore. We took a different route then our normal walks. But it was fun to see and meet new people. We ended up close to a county park. So we decided to go check it out.

While we were walking towards it I noticed a large group of people standing on the completely opposite end of the park. The play ground was total empty so we headed there. But just as we were getting close to it. A large fire engine pulls up and a plains clothes man gets out and starts hooking up hoses to the fire hydrant. The kids enjoyed watching the fire truck and then enjoyed the play ground. But then all the people from the group walked over and after arriving, the fireman began spraying water from his water cannon into the park. The kids loved running through the falling water and I just stood there dumbfounded at the sudden water party that materialized around us. I tried asking others if this was a ward or neighborhood party, but did not learn what it really was from anybody who knew.

We enjoyed the now water park until Karen reminded me that she had to use the potty for the 3rd time. There was no bathrooms at the park so we started our walk home. But we were still a ways away from home and Karen started doing the "I really need to go" dance. So I asked a man who was just getting home if my daughter could borrow his bathroom. He was kind enough to say yes and I sent Karen in while Michael and I admired an incredibly cleaner house then ours.

But then Karen stuck her head out of the bathroom and said she needed help. We come in to find that she went messy in her pants. (Guess she did not make it in time) and had made a mess in their bathroom. So here I am, in a stranger's very clean house, with two soaking wet children and a messy daughter with no change of clothes or diapers. Our walk had just started like any other. But it certainly did not end up like I'm used to.

After a clean up of my daughter and the bathroom. (And a chance for my daughter to learn what it means to go commando.) We resumed our walk home and after petting two dogs and saying hi to a neighbor, we finally reached home. Both kids needed baths to clean up for our "Walk." I don't know if Jen will let me take the kids out by myself again. But it certainly made our day anything but mundane.

So how was your day?

Carnivals and fun times

This is one of the best times of the year. The end of June till July 4th has plenty of community events like carnivals, festivals, parades and fireworks. Our kids are at the age where they really enjoy these activities and we as parents really enjoy seeing them smile. Here are a few of the events we did this past week.

Last Saturday we visited my parents in Cedar Hills. Their town was having a family festival that weekend. Thanks to grandma and grandpa, Karen and Michael got free passes to the festival where they rode on ponies, got face paintings, played in bounce houses and played bingo. We also enjoyed a BBQ with my parents and swam in their pool. We got home just in time to watch the Herriman Days fireworks from our own back yard.

Then on Monday, we took advantage of a gift card we had to a family fun center called "Boondocks" in Draper. It was a very short drive and lots of fun. Jen took Karen on the go carts while I took Michael in the bumper boats. (Michael is still too short for the cars.) We then took the kids into the "Kiddie Cove" which is a very large jungle gym type of place. Karen had a blast in there but Michael was nervous to go in. So I crawled through it with him and found myself enjoying things like a kids going down slides and stuff. I was probably breaking a rule by crawling through there with him, and it was not built for people of my size, but I absolutely loved it. I then took Karen on the bumper boats and we left determined to return again soon.

Last night Riverton started their town days events and had a family night at the carnival. All rides were only 1 ticket and you could get 2 tickets for a dollar. So for only $10 we rode the ferris wheel, the giant slide, the kids loved the mini roller coaster, train, cars and other rides. I even paid money to try the games that are always a cheat. But was able to pop a balloon with a dart and win a small stuffed California raisin for Karen. Jen was so proud that her man could win his daughter something. (Still a scam if you ask me.)

Doing these family events this past week has been an absolute pleasure for Jen and me. We have loved giving our kids enjoyable memories. And we have more to do this week. We will enjoy a parade on Friday evening and then fireworks on Saturday night. Do any of our family or friends want to join us?