Tyler State Park: Texas Trip Day2

Our first day in Texas was spent at Tyler State Park in Tyler, Texas. Traci has always told us how awesome Tyler State Park is, so we wanted to give it a whirl. As we pulled in we were impressed because it surprised us how green and wet it was.  We always thought Texas was a dry desert but Eastern Texas is not that way. 

We got there in good timing while hardly anyone was there.  The lake was absolutely beautiful.  Surrounding the lake were lush trees and grass. The kids couldn't wait to jump in the lake and cool off in the water.

First though, we had picnic lunch.  As soon as they were done eating and lunch was cleaned up, they were in the water.  Texas is really humid and hot.  We are used to a dry heat in Utah but it was the humidity that was killing us.  It was so nice to take a dip in the water and cool off.

I don't think the kids came out of the water for longer than a few minutes at a time.  They had a blast playing with Johnathan and splashing around.  The adults just hung out at the picnic tables in the shade.  As long as we stayed in the shade, the heat was not too bad. 

Traci and Sean also brought their kayaks and Russell and Emily had a good time paddling all over the lake.  They went from shore to shore exploring.  At one end of the lake, they found a bunch of turtles.  They sat for a while just watching the turtles swim and poke their heads out of the water.  They said it was really awesome.

These cousins could not get enough of each other.  They all had a good time playing together after not seeing each other for a long time.  The only one not in the picture was Baby Olivia because she was sleeping.

After playing at the lake for a while, Grandpa and Grandma Farnsworth were getting really hot so they and the Cardon's headed back home.  Since we probably wouldn't be back to Texas for a while, we wanted to keep exploring.  After they left, we went on a few hikes around the State Park.

The first one we went on was the Blackjack Prairie Nature Trail.  This was an easy little walk through nature.  We saw a lot of native flowers, trees and scenery.  

The next trail we went on was the Whispering Pines Nature Trail.

This one was also an easy trail through the forest.  The kids liked looking at the bridge, the tall trees, and finding big bugs.  There are definitely a lot more bugs in Texas! 

We were just really amazed at all of the beautiful scenery.  I really would like to take more time and hike all of the trails in this park.  Unfortunately, though, it was so humid and hot that we just couldn't do it.  We will have to come back and visit in the fall or spring when it is not so hot and try again.

We really loved visiting Tyler State Park!

Leaving on a Jet Plane: Texas Trip Day 1

The Farnsworth clan is Texas bound for a great time. Traci has lived in Texas for around 5 years and we have never gone to visit, so we finally made it happen. It was her little girl Olivia's baby blessing on the 4th of July, so we used this reason to head down and to celebrate the 4th with them. The kids were so excited to hear the news. They were also way excited to fly on an airplane for the first time. It was quite a preparation ordeal to make sure we had all the clothes and each suitcase weighed less than 50 lbs. On June 29, we got on the road to head to the Salt Lake Airport for our flight.  Jen was able to take us to the airport and then store our van at their house until we got home.  This saved us a lot of money in parking fees because we didn't have to park at the airport.  When we got to the airport, the excitement grew even more. The kids saw all of the big airplanes coming and going. We made good time all the way through check in and also security. Once we went through security is was a waiting game until 2:00 when our flight came in. 

Here we are sitting in the waiting area just waiting for our plane.  We didn't have to wait too long though.  We ate lunch and made a last minute bathroom trip and it was time to board.  Since this was the kids first flight, they were even more excited now that we were on the plane. As the plane took off, all the kids were looking out the windows to see the clouds and all the small things on the ground. 

The kids all did really well during the flight. Even Brooklyn did a great job during the whole flight. She slept the whole way down and was quite content. We watched movies and read our books to pass the time. 

Emily had a fun time taking pictures out the window.  I was glad we flew during the day because the kids loved looking out the windows and seeing everything below.  There were a lot of clouds we went through too.  This was good and bad.  It was good because the clouds were cool to look at as we went through but it was bad because it made a lot of turbulence.  We were in the very back of the plane so we felt every bump and heard every engine sound. 

The kids were excited that they got treats and a drink during the flight. Logan was bound and determined to get a Coke. With the Covid rules we had to wear our masks the whole time we were in the airport and on the plane. We were all getting sick and tired of them and some of us were getting headaches and sick to our stomachs so the snacks were very helpful. Charlotte fell asleep during the flight and slept through the snack.  She was very disappointed when she woke up and realized that everyone else had gotten a drink.  She told me she was not going to sleep on the flight home because she wanted a snack! 

It was around a 3 hour flight and once we landed it was time to step foot in the land of Texas. This is the Dallas airport luggage pickup. Colby thought it was way cool how the luggage came out onto the belt. They all wanted to help get the luggage off before it spun passed us. We were lucky and had all of our luggage make it to Dallas.   

 Once were in Dallas we headed off to get our car rental and then drive 2 hours to Traci's house in Longview. We got a really nice Chrysler mini van with all the bells and whistles. It was just before 9 pm when we hit the road.  Thankfully, with the help of Siri, we were able to get out of the Dallas spaghetti bowl and head to our destination. We found out that the van was able to link with my phone with texting and calling, so we had some fun texting people by just talking and having Siri make out the sentences. We also had to make a few phone calls because we thought we were so cool. The kids laughed when we had Siri read the text messages or when she messed up on what we actually said. 

Here's a funny story about getting to Longview. We, of course, have no idea where we are and have no idea where cities are and it was around 9:30 and everyone was getting hungry. Tiff got on the phone and looked up the closed place to eat at Subway or other places. We found one place in this little town but we had to get off the Interstate and drive about 10 miles back into the town.  So we did this adding about a half hour to our trip.  We stopped and ate and then headed back to the Interstate.  As we got back on track to Traci's house about 5 miles up the road from where we turned off was a bigger city with a lot more food choices.  So basically we wasted a bunch of time and gas going to the tiny town off the beaten path.  We both laughed and kept driving.  

It was around midnight when we finally pulled in to the Cardon's driveway. Some of us were ready to get out of the car and others were already passed out in the van asleep. We got the kids to sleep and prepared for the next day's adventure. 

Since it was too dark once we pulled into Longview to take a picture of the sign, we waited until the next day to take a picture to show people we were actually in Texas. 

Summer Fun

Summer is in full swing now and the kids love being able to sleep in and not go to school.  We kicked off the summer with the annual Hyrum Hot Rods Car Show.  This is one event we love to attend each year. Each of us drool over all of the awesome cars and then pick our favorites to pose with for a memory.

There were so many nice looking cars this year. It was hard to chose just one favorite but we finally made the unanimous decision that the 2021 Chevy Corvette was the winner!  Just look at that thing!  (Drooling...)  There were so many bells and whistles that I am sure it could drive itself.  More than that though, it looks awesome! 

With the temperatures rising, the boys decided it would be fun to make a solar oven.  I didn't know how to make one so Colby got on the Internet and Googled it!  He found a YouTube video that told him how to make the oven and he and Logan went to work.

All they needed was a couple pizza boxes, tin foil and black paper.  They decided to cook smores in their ovens.  We put the ovens on the trampoline for maximum heat and then waited for a few hours.  I don't really know what we expected to happen but all it did was melt the chocolate. Some of the marshmallows had started to melt too.  So we tried the smores and yes they were good and gooey from the melted chocolate.  The boys decided they needed to make some tweaks in the design if they were really going to be able to cook anything like a hot dog or pizza.  We will definitely have to try again later.

Emily and her friend, Ayzleigh, put together a service project to plant trees at the Elementary school.  In fifth grade, they sold crafts to raise money for the school gardens.  They made over $200 in their sale.  Then Covid hit and they were not able to use the money as they had planned.  Well the $200 was still just sitting there not being used so the girls decided that instead of fixing the school gardens that never get used, they would plant some trees to benefit the whole school.  They were able to buy one tree with their money but it started the wheel rolling for more trees to follow.

After they had planted the one tree, the principal was so happy.  Russell told her that there was a good deal going on right now on trees and he could get 6 more trees to finish the driveway for about $1,000.  Mrs. Williamson said that because the school fundraiser went so well, they had money in the budget to get those trees.  Emily, Ayzleigh and Russell then organised a tree planting party and invited families from the school and community to come and help.  They were able to get about 6 families to come and plant.  They had all six trees planted in about an hour. 

Everyone that came and helped said they had a great time. They also commented that it was a great opportunity to teach their kids how to work and serve in a good cause.  Emily and Ayzleigh were recognized as getting the ball rolling on this much needed project.  The trees look great along the driveway and playground.  They will provide much needed shade for years to come.  When the trees were first planted, Russell worried that they would not make it.  The trees were really shocked from not having water for a few days.  Russell and Clayton, the custodian, really babied them along with lots of water and care.  Finally, after a few weeks, they started coming out of the shock and are now doing really well.  We were so happy they all lived.  This was a good project for the girls to be involved in.  I am glad everything worked out.

This year our strawberry plants have really taken off and produced a lot of strawberries.  We were worried they wouldn't produce anything because the dog kept digging at them all winter.  It turned out though that she was pruning them just right because we ended up with our best crop ever.

After combining all of our strawberries with some of our neighbor's, I was able to make about 7 and a half pints of strawberry jam.  It is so tasty!  This was not the end of the strawberries though so I also dehydrated a bunch of them, and we ate a lot too!

Another fun thing to do in June in Hyrum is check out the rodeo animals when they come to town for the Star Spangled Rodeo.

The kids like seeing the big bulls.  These guys were huge.  I would not want to be on the back of one of those when they let them out of the chute.  The rodeo is always a good time. 

Well, there is our first installment of summer fun.  Stay tuned for more.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father Day to me. I am one lucky Dad to have such a wonderful family! 

We were down in St. George this Father's Day weekend so it was a lot of fun to see both of our dads on Father's Day.  The kids spoiled Russell with some funny gifts like sunflower seeds, Reeses, socks, a back scratcher, and gear for his bike.  They each made him a card as well.  He loved all of it.  

While we were in St. George, we were able to attend Becca's mission farewell.  I know she will be a great missionary because she has a great testimony.  She leaves for her mission to Cincinatti, Ohio in a week.

Because the MTC's have been closed because of Covid, Becca had to do a week of Home MTC.  Then on June 23 or so, the MTC's opened back up and Becca was able to be one of the first missionaries to go back to the MTC.  Above is a picture of her at the MTC.  I stole it off the Church website in the article about the MTC's opening back up.  She is famous!

Also while we were in St. George for the weekend, Jacee had her baby, Fynlee Lacie Hulet.

She is so cute!! Here is the proud grandma.  I was lucky enough to be able to visit Jacee in the hospital before we left and hold her adorable baby.  They wouldn't let Brooklyn in so these two cousins will have to meet another time.

We also spent some time with Grandma Morwood.  

This was the first time Brooklyn and Grandma have met.  It was fun to see them together.  Brooklyn wasn't so sure at first and kept crying but then when Grandma fed her a bottle, they were friends. It is crazy to see 102 year age difference in these two.  We love visiting Grandma and are glad she is still doing well with her health.  After leaving Grandma's house, the kids had a blast at Terral's pool.

On the way home on Sunday, we stopped along the way to get gas and feed Brooklyn.  We stopped at a park near this awesome yellow Camero.  The boys could not stop drooling over it.  Then the owner of the car walked up and Russell told her the boys wanted to trade cars with her.  She laughed and said she didn't want to trade but if they wanted to sit in the car they could.  You have never seen such excited kids.  They totally were on board and happy to sit behind the wheel.

They could not believe that the lady was serious and let them pretend to drive her car.  The car looked just like Bumblebee from Transformers and even had the Transformer logo on it.  The owner, Jenny, said it was her midlife crisis car and was happy to share it with the kids.  She was very nice.  The kids were in heaven.  Then unfortunately they had to get back in the van...  Not as cool as Bumblebee.  Sorry.

This was a really fun trip and I am glad we got to spend time with family.   Happy Father's Day.

Baseball & Swimming

Summer is in full swing and the kids are keeping us busy with baseball games and swimming lessons.  Baseball and softball are the kids favorite sports to play.  I love how much they are improving every year.

Emily was on the Rockettes team this year. 

She is getting really good at playing.  She has decided that first base is the position she likes to play.  She was able to get a few people out this season in this position.  She also tried pitching again this year too.  Unfortunately, right before the season ended, she sprained her wrist pretty good and had to wear a brace.  This prevented her from batting and pitching in the last three games.  She was then moved to the outfield positions which she also liked. Luckily her wrist was not broken.

Colby was on the Giants team this year.

He is also improving a lot.  He was a great pitcher in a few games.  He also tried being catcher this year.  He really liked being catcher and was good at watching and being aware of what was going on while in this position.  

Logan was on the Cardinals team this year.  He is doing machine/coach pitch this year.

Logan's favorite position to play was catcher.  His coach loved to put him in this position as well because he was the only one that seemed to know how to play the position.  Logan was very aware of what was going on in this position and was able to get a few people out over the season.  Logan was also great at batting and seemed to hit every time.  He really hated when he hit the ball toward first base though.  

Logan's coach this year was really fun and loved encouraging the boys and cheering them on every game.  He even got all of the boys trophies at the end of the season.

Good job kids!  This was a great season!

The kids have also enjoyed being in swimming lessons.  We were lucky enough to get spots in the Logan Aquatic Center swimming lessons.  There is always a huge demand for slots and this year was even more crazy with online and in person registrations.  Luckily Russell was the first person in line so he was the only person that got a slot for the in person registration because all of the other slots were filled within 5 minutes of opening by the online people.

This was Charlotte's first year of swimming lessons.  She absolutely loved it!  She told me all about swimming, blowing bubbles, and talking to the fish.

At the end of the session, all of the kids were able to jump off the diving board.  They were all really brave and did it.  

Colby and Logan were in the same swimming lesson class, Level 3.  They learned a lot about swimming including floating, different swimming strokes, and diving.  They are getting more and more confident with swimming.  By the end, they were jumping off the diving board and swimming back to the edge all by themselves.

Logan was especially brave during swim lessons and decided to go off the high dive.  Russell told him he would give him a dollar if he did it so that was all Logan needed to hear.  Later Logan said that he was scared and thought he was going to drown but it was worth it for a dollar.  We just laughed at him and told him not to do harmful things for money.

I feel much better about the kids swimming abilities now.  They are really getting more confident.  Charlotte still needs some practice but she as long as she can touch, she does pretty well.

When we went down to St. George for Becca's mission farewell, we went swimming at Terral's pool.  The kids had a blast playing and practicing their dives off of her diving board.

I am glad they are no longer afraid of the deep water.  Later on we went back to the Logan Aquatic Center a few times for the Library pool party and the Logan City party and the boys showed me all of their tricks off the diving board.  They now like to do flips, cannonballs, dives and straight jumps off the low dive.  They are also getting better at the high dive.  They mostly just jump off of that one.  Logan did get brave enough to do a flip off the high dive too!  He did it a few times and then on his last attempt he spun a little to fast almost doing a double flip and landed smack on his belly.  It was such a bad belly flop.  He came out to the water crying because it hurt so bad.  He belly was pretty red after that and he did not want to do another flip off the high dive again ever.  In fact Colby really had to talk him into doing a flip off the low dive again.  Other than that, they are having a blast on the diving boards.

I am glad they are having so much fun.