August, in Fast Forward

We started August the right way--with a road trip. It took us all of 24 hours to get from Columbus, Indiana to Provo, Utah. But family is worth it.
We hiked to one of my favorite places in Utah valley, Bridle Veil Falls. Seriously, it's beautiful, and the canyon that surrounds it is simply awesome.
Egon came along for the ride.
The kids got to see their favorite people: aunts and uncles (pictured below is Uncle Mish with Oliver)
We saw my beautiful and talented sister sing at open mic.
The kids got reacquainted with their old cousins:
as well as some new cousins:
We hiked to a cool place the locals call "the grotto" in Payson canyon:
And then of course there was more celebration to be had, it being August and all (Oliver's month).
We made it through the long drive home and decided to have one last hurrah before school started for the kids. On Oliver's actual birthday (August 20th), we took the kids to King's Island, which has Snoopy Planet (perfect for our little birthday boy).

Oliver was so cute meeting all his friends, the Peanuts characters. He would walk right up to them and hug them.
The rides were all geared just for our pint sized birthday boy.
And then just like that, summer came to an end and the kids started school, Gabby as a forth grader, and Alex as a first grader.

Legilimens (a glimpse into our summer vacation)

If you haven't heard, we just returned from our east coast vacation.

We started off in Raleigh, North Carolina where my step-brother and his family live. They hosted us for two nights and we absolutely loved every minute of it.
Alex really misses being around family, so this was a special treat for him. He LOVES cousins!
Gabby simply adores her cousin David (as seen below) and was pretty much by his side through our whole visit:
Then, it was off to Charleston, South Carolina and the beach--a first for Oliver! Turns out he's a beach bum just like the rest of us.
We found a jelly fish (but weren't stung by any, thank goodness!)
the kids worked on their body boarding skills, which was tough because the waves were pretty wimpy.
Oliver bravely dressed in drag, and pulled it off quite well I thought:
Noah had to work for three days in Charleston (poor fellow), but the kids and I got to explore.

Some how, I summoned the courage to take all three kids on a boat to Fort Sumpter (the starting point of the Civil War), since history is way more exciting when you experience it:
Oliver was a royal pain in the $%#.
And of course, we checked out the market and walked around down town. I'm sure it would have been loads more fun minus kids and minus about 50 degrees (I cannot begin to tell you how hot and humid it was). SO HOT! And SO HUMID!!!
Luckily, someone noticed our sweat (possibly our stench) and let us in on a little town secret...

Fountain Park!
This picture gives you an idea of the lengths to which we went to cool off:
And then it was time to go home... or was it?

We packed the kids in the car on Thursday afternoon telling them we were headed home and that we would stay in a hotel on the way. We arrived at our hotel at about 11 that night with sleeping children who were unaware that we drove to Orlando, Florida (home of Harry Potter World at Universal Studios--have I told you yet that Gabby just finished reading the entire series?)

The following morning was Alex's birthday and we told the kids we would take them to breakfast and then to a mall to go shopping for Alex. We made sure the kids were completely distracted with DS's and battleship as we drove by billboard after billboard advertising The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The kids missed them all.

When we got into the parking lot of Universal, we let the cat out of the bag:

so long ipad 2:

The Three Broomsticks: where we blew $60 on lunch!
Hagrid's cottage:
Oliver wasn't a big fan of roller-coasters, but he got to go on them anyway:
Since it was Alex's birthday, he got to wear a magical pin that ensured special treatment and announcement of his birthday over the loud speaker on nearly every ride we went on (much to his approval):
The magical pin most likely also contributed to his getting picked by Olivander himself at the wand shop!
Turns out the boy isn't a squib after all!!!
And of course, there were other, non Harry Potter themed parts of the park we visited (Noah loves a good fish ride!)

Best vacation (and birthday celebration) EVER!!!

Vacation 2010

You might want to sit down, this could take a while...

Since we decided to move across the country, we've come to accept the fact that we will now vacation in Utah (our old stomping ground). It might not sound awesome, but it pretty much is. This time around, we decided to make the 24 hour drive instead of the 3 hour flight.

Thanks to Nintendo DS and Red bull, it was a relatively smooth trip.

First Stop: Denver, Colorado to visit the Sabey cousins (they're pretty much the funnest family ever).
While we were there, more cousins (this time, Lifferth ones) stopped in for a visit.
After Denver, we headed to Meeker, Colorado where we had to stay in this old shack:
Noah took the kids on a rock crawler which, he told them, "can go ANYWHERE."

Gabby's response: "Oh yeah? Can it go on water?" She loves crushing Noah's enthusiasm.
Uncle Gabe flew RC planes and helicopters.
The kids got to play with even MORE cousins.
And then we made it to Utah, our final destination where the fun didn't stop.

We threw Noah's youngest sister, Bridgett, a baby shower.

we ate this:
made these (instructions here)...
and these (instructions here). I think it's safe to say that it was the best baby shower ever.
The following day, we went on a bike ride with my dad and step-mom down Provo Canyon (one of my favorite places in the world). We stopped off at Bridal Veil Falls and Gabby decided to scale the base of the waterfall.
Alex followed close behind (barefoot).
This is me with the kids and my first ever BAD haircut.
This is my dad with a cute Oliver.
Gabby fell in the ice cold water which she thought was funny, until we got back on the bikes.
A day or two later, we celebrated Gabby's birthday by taking out her cousin, Hazel and friend, Anouk to Gabby's favorite restaurant, Zupas...
Then off to Color Me Mine, where we painted bowls.
Following that, we took the party to my dad's where we all swam in the pool.
in lieu of cake, we had ice cream sandwiches.
Some day later, my Mom and Step-dad threw a Bastille day party. We played the donut on a string game, which Oliver was a huge fan of:
Gabby's actual birthday arrived on July 16th and she woke up to a HUGE surprise... Lanie, the American girl doll.
She was pretty excited:
Hours later, all of our family and even some friends headed to a Provo chapel, where Gabby was baptized...
and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
And of course, we partied afterwards at a nearby park:
My dad brought along his rocket, which Alex thought was about the coolest thing ever:
The following morning, we headed home via Denver again, stopping in a cousin's wedding reception:
After getting home to Indiana, Gabby got to get her ears pierced in celebration of her turning eight.
They accidentally put in the wrong earings (Gabby wanted the red ruby, which is July's birthstone)

so I made sure they gave us the right ones free.