Mom & Dad Visit

The old folks flew down for a visit and Dallin's baptism. We had a whole lot of fun while they were here (and hopefully they had a little, too) ;) Dad gave them a chat about how he wasn't going to deal with any whining beforehand--so of course, I snapped a picture.

Dad took the boys to the nickel arcade (which they loved) and mom, Ronnie, and I loaded up the girls before naps to get snowcones at Snowasis.

Mom and I went shopping to get her a dress, Ronnie and I went to dinner at 7 Brothers with them, Lehi and I did a double date to Top Gun: Maverick (they hadn't seen it and we were not going to complain about going twice!).

Dad went golfing with Lynnae, so Mom and I made plans. We drove up to Roy with my kids. We drove past the house she grew up in and talked about how their great-grandpa built it. Mom got flowers for Mary & Grant's graves and we visited the cemetery. I had Lincoln sound out Grandpa's name on the gravestone and he got a bit smile on his face when he realized it was Grant, his middle name namesake. I asked Mom to tell us something about each of them--she talked about how they were both hard workers, Grandpa was really good a breaking horses, he loved a good t-bone steak, and he worked at the Hill Airforce base as an engineer. (I honestly can't remember if she shared anything about Mary...I think Brielle had a meltdown at that point). Next time, we will hear more about them both! We chatted about the roses on the headstones and how they had beautiful ones in their front yard and how the Salt Lake temple was there because that is where they were married.

We finished up our Roy trip with a Burger Bar shake. I got a raspberry cheesecake, Mom raspberry chocolate, Lincoln marshmallow brownies (he didn't like the brownie chunks), Maverick marshmallow cookie dough, and Brielle chocolate brownie. Their small shakes are huge, so we need to have the kids split next time. (My selfie skills need some serious work, sorry to cut you out, Mom!!)

Mom had a book that Sandy wanted to borrow, so we planned to stop at her house on the way home. What we didn't plan on was the address Mom gave me being Dennis' house. 🤣 We pulled up, gave it a look, and then went to Sandy's. (The slight detour included lots of teasing directed at Mom). Sandy gave me some winter coats to split with Ronnie and we chatted in her driveway for a bit. Mom told her how we visited the cemetery and Lincoln's name came up. Sandy thought it was so awesome we named him after Grandpa. I then told her we got both of the Heiner greats, with Madeline's middle name being Mary.

Dad and Mom went to Sarah's 60th birthday party and came home way too late, just like the night they went to Dennis' for desserts with ALL the Heiner siblings (Marilyn was there!) What am I to do with them?

It was so much fun having them in town and we are excited for another visit!

Lagoon

We planned our Lagoon trip for our thrill seeker, Lincoln, in celebration of his upcoming birthday. We ended up having so much fun, we decided it will be a new family "back to school" tradition to carry out a week or two before school starts. Sweet Gina met us in Farmington, took the girls for the day, and left Lehi, me, and the boys to go play in the park. The first 45 minutes we were there was a bit of a golden time--we got there right as the park had opened and a lot of the rides we hit were a walk-on. After the first ride (consisting of spinning in a lot of circles) Lehi suddenly understood my disappointment when I remembered I left the Dramamine at home. ;)

We did about 3 hours of rides, followed by time at Lagoonabeach, and then more rides. Lehi said we stayed a lot longer than he anticipated (we left around 8 pm). We were proud of Maverick for trying out a few roller coasters, even with his fear of heights. He even did Wild Mouse twice! His favorite of the day was the Musik Express, which he rode about 4 times.

(Wild Mouse)

Lincoln rode any and all rides he was tall enough for (Roller Coaster, Colossus, The Spider, and Wicked being some of the more impressive ones). His favorite depended on what time of day you asked him/what he had ridden last. On the drive home, he said Rattle Snake Rapids was the best (we had also ridden that second to last of the night). I am excited for him to pass the 46" mark to experience some of the other thrills of Lagoon.

(The Bat)

The waterpark was a lot of fun--I kept thinking the whole time how much Brielle would love it there. Lehi took the boys to one of the waterslides and waited FOREVER in line. Maverick came shooting out the bottom, so I anticipated Lehi and Lincoln any second...but they never came. Then I noticed them walking down the steps. The worker measured Lincoln at the top and turned him away. We didn't consider the height difference there might have been without shoes on! However, they tried the slide by the kid area, and he was right at 46" and was able to do that one. I snuck in about a 30-minute nap on a beach chair while Lehi supervised the boys. It was the power nap I needed! (No pics, we threw everything in a locker).

We hit pretty much every height-allowing ride, minus the haunted houses (the lines were stupid long) and the log flume. We actually stood in line for the log fume for about 30 minutes, made such little progress, and decided to wait to do it until next year.

The boys only completely ditched me on the Sky Ride. We got caught off guard when we noticed the chair coming around, so Lehi grabbed the boys quickly and hopped on...leaving me there alone. People in line started laughing and commented, "That was cold!!" Even the worker said, "that was rude! You need to just put your feet up and relax." And so I did.

Lehi and I successfully made a Lincoln sandwich, followed by a Maverick sandwich on the bumper cars, displaying a superb amount of teamwork and skills. As soon as we got off, the boys sprinted to get right back in line. They loved this one!

I loved being able to spend time with the boys. Life is a little crazy now and the girls can make it tricky to get out and do things as a group. Big shoutout to Gina (and Bill) for keeping a 2 and (almost) 1-year-old for about 11 hours! (Also, thanks to Kristina for leaving the Lagoon season cup for us when she visited--I think we filled that up at least 6 times).

We had Lincoln pick a treat for the boys to share when we left--his blue cotton candy was a fantastic selection. He even shared a (very small) piece of it with me in the car.

(Wild Mouse #2)

LINCOLN TURNS 6

Lincoln is such a sweet and easy kid. He loves Maverick and his sisters fiercely and is always thinking of others. He loves video games, riding his bike, Pokemon, and playing with friends (Thomas is a fan favorite). He is insanely silly and has a light that is so needed.

LINCOLN STARTS KINDER

Lincoln started Kindergarten at Liberty Hills. He was so read and so excited. He didn't even give me a second glace when we got on the bus with Maverick. His teacher this year is Mrs. Anderson. Kinder is half day and he will get to go to speech during the day as well. He is going to rock it.

UFC

Lehi and I decided to go big for our 10-year anniversary. We left the kiddos with Bill and Gina for two nights, got a hotel in Salt Lake (Little America) and went to UFC with Tyler and Alex. We were in the AT&T Center for 6 hours, watching preliminaries. The fights were epic with an awesome card. The last fight of the night we witnessed a piece of UFC history when Edwards took the Welterweight belt from Usman. It was hands down a Usman win until 4:04 in the 5th round TKO. The arena was electric. Watching with our BFFs only made it all that much better!