Boys and their Toys

So Kolton has had a dream for quite a while now and it finally came to fruition in the form of a roadbike. 

And he loves it. 

He searched Craigslist for weeks and weeks in every spare second he had and finally fell in love at first sight with a bike that was down in Ogden. 

He was having a hard time driving down there without being certain it was what he wanted, so he kept looking and looking until I was done with the obsession and told him to choose one so he could move on with life. 

So he cut a deal with the owner who agreed to meet us in Tremonton one Sunday afternoon. 

We drove down with Brevan who wanted to ride home with Kolton while I drive alone in the car. 

As soon as we got out of the car at the little Arby's gas station, Kolton had a grin on his face which only intensified as we took it for a quick test drive. 

As we pulled back into the gas station I was told to stop looking so happy so we didn't look too interested. I don't think my small smile was the problem. 

Of course we got it and Kolton and Brevan had a lovely time driving it home on that windy day. (Not sarcasm. They both loved it.)

And Kolton has found every excuse since then to drive it. 

Like I said, he's in love. 

The rest of Thanksgiving

So for Thanksgiving we headed up to Island Park with my family. We got there on Wednesday night and stayed until Friday afternoon. We spent our time eating delicious food, doing puzzles, playing pool and ping pong and watching movies. It was a good time! 

Mud Lake Fair and Rodeo

The Mud Lake Fair is one of my favorite parts of summer. I don't really know why besides the fact that it's just dang fun to go out and about and see all of the people in our little town turn out for the event.

And plus, there is always good food to be had. 

I went down the day of the pig show to see Addi, Brevan, Teagan, and Kortni show their pigs. It was a dang long, hot day and I didn't stay for too long because I got all sorts of nervous that school was starting and I had yet to organize my classroom. So I went down to the school for a couple hours and worked and then still was able to make it back in time for the rest of the show. 

 Teagan reminds me so much of Kolton in that picture.

 If moving a pig around a stinky corral filled with fifty others pigs doesn't look like fun, then I don't know what is! 

I did pig 4-H for a number of years and while it really was a good experience...I sure don't miss it too much. Except for the payoff at the end of the summer, that was always nice. 

That night was the big parade. My Grandma and Grandpa Newman were the Grand Marshals of the Fair this year so they invited us cousins to ride with them in the horse drawn wagon in the parade. We had a ginormous laundry basket full of candy and still somehow managed to run out before we made it to the end. We ended up digging out the candy that Keston had stashed in his pockets. 

It was so fun!

 After the parade, we ate at the fairgrounds and I was able to get a picture with the Grand Marshals themselves.

 And of course I had to eat some of the delicious authentic Mexican food that is always the main part of my diet during fair week.

Oh yum! Those tamales and rice were to die for! 

And then on Saturday night, it was time for the rodeo! My favorite! 

I don't know why I love the rodeo so much but I just really do. Everybody in the community turns out for it and it's just a really good time! 

I was even able to drag Kolton out of the combine to join in the fun!

And that was that!

Until next year!

Bear Lake

We went up with the Hansen's to Bear Lake again this year. 

We had ourselves a nice little time!

The first night we got there we ate a quick Costa Vida take-out dinner and then ran off to the Pickleville Playhouse to see "Bandito Rides Again" and laughed our heads off. 

 

It was so dang funny. At least I thought so. I think it was the fake Spanglish accent that is so similar to how my family talks all the time that made it so funny.

The next day most of us went for a wing dinger razr ride. It was quite the dusty, bumpy loop we took. Shannon and I were in the razr together and I don't know that we were the best matchup. We were a bit scared on some of the steep and rocky parts and I was just sure glad she was the driver and I was the one who got to the hold the sleeping Taven.

Did I mention we were in the back of the pack the entire ride? Everybody got a kick out of how dirty we were when the ride was over.

 Later that afternoon some of the family split to go spend some time on the beach and Kolton and I took a nap.
That evening the rest of the family went to see the play and we stayed to watch the kids.

The next day we woke up to a stormy looking morning, but we had a boat reserved, so a few of us headed down to the lake despite the bad weather. We wakeboarded a tiny bit and kneeboarded and had a good ole time even though the weather didn't cooperate.

 

 Love that boat driver!

 Turns out, I do have some of my mother in me. I went out on the kneeboard, threw a couple 360s and felt pretty proud of myself.

 Kortni also impressed us with her 360 kneeboard skills.

 And Tyson was the lucky one who got to walk back to the pickup in the freezing water and rain.

After miraculously getting a refund for the time we didn't use on the boat, we decided to head home and bum around the rest of the afternoon.

We played a lot of pool,

 Watched some T.V,

And just dinked around.

Later that night, Kolton, Teagan, and I left to pick up some famous raspberry shakes from one of the hundred spots in town that sell famous raspberry shakes. And it was definitely worth it. SO good.

The next morning, it was time to pack up and go home. We tried to get a few shots of the beautiful views around the cabin before we said our goodbyes and jetted outta there.

 Hee Hee...

 These two look like they could be father and son.

 Our favorite newest Hansen family addition- Daegon Myles Barzee- who we all got a chance to snuggle with at some point during the trip.

 Brotherly Love...

 Maybe not so much....

And that was the trip! We had a real nice time and can't wait for next year!