Fun at Newport and Malibu Beaches (and Disneyland)

We spent the last week of March in California visiting the beach and Disneyland. Lots of fun and memories.

Heads up!!

No, Sarah wasn't driving the boat.

 Will be even more scary for Mom in 10 years.

 Notice Teya's excited face on Space Mountain

Kyle and Cara were in the front car, and Kyle had different thoughts

Batman Teams Up with Zorro

Swim Meet in Logan

Our family had a mini-vacation thanks to Cara and Kyle swimming at the Bridgerland Open Swim Meet in Logan. This was only their second swim meet, so they didn't have any qualifying times to move them to the faster heats. Both did very well and won almost all of their heats. They swam multiple events over two days including: 50 Free, 100 IM, 50 Backstroke, 100 Free, 50 Breathstroke, 200 IM Medley, and 100 Free Medley. Out of 10 teams that were there, Kyle finished 8th Overall for boys 9 and under, and Cara finished 9th Overall for girls 10 and under. Cara also qualified for the State Championship Meet in a couple of her events, quite remarkable for someone who hasn't competed before.

As the videos show, without prequalifying times, Cara and Kyle were placed in the first heats and blew the other newbies out of the water.

Kyle in the 50y Free
(Green Cap)

Kyle in the 50y Fly
(Green Cap)

Cara in the 50y Free

(Green Cap in Lane 1)

As well as they did, if they work on strengthening their kick, they can further excel.

And if you are still interested, Kyle did really well in the 100 Free.

Kyle's First Pinewood Derby

Kyle and Jer didn't do so bad at the Pinewood Derby. They had fun making the car together, and it ran pretty fast too. Teya and Tadd also contributed to the car design.

Kyle's is the blue car in the near lane (Lane 1).

Great Chili, Crazy Costumes, and an Overdose of Candy -- It Must be Halloween

Guess which holiday that Mom is so glad is over that she took down the Halloween decorations on Sunday (Halloween) and put up Thanksgiving decorations. She also bought the kid's candy from them, and gave it all to Jer to dispose of (like he is really going to do that). She can't wait until the Christmas music starts on Nov 1.

Anyway, Halloween seemed to last forever at our house. It started over a month ago when Sarah started making the kid's costumes, which turned out great.

Last week, the kids had a crazy hair day at school. We then had a fun Halloween party at the Lewis's on the 23rd where we carved pumpkins and the kids started to accumulate their candy. We enjoyed the Ward Halloween party on Friday night, where Sarah won the Best Chili Award.

Crazy Hair Day at School
(on purpose this time)

Carved pumpkins at the Lewis's

Potato Head Family
(Tortilla Form, two little potatoes, and Pickle Form from Toy Story 3)

Jer won the funny costume award

(Thanks to a friend at work who provided the idea, the hat, and the suspenders)

Doh!-Nut Falls

After the YM canceled their hike to Lone Peak this weekend, I (Jer) and Kyle went hiking Friday afternoon. We set off for donut falls, characterized as a small waterfall that goes through a rock hole. I calls it Doh!-Nut falls because it took three attempts to find a way to actually reach the falls. On the first attempt, a middle age couple was trying to climb the steep wall on the east side of the falls. They turned around after it got to steep. We climbed to the top of the cliff and didn't want to go down the same way. (Lesson one taught to Cub Scout Kyle, it is easier to climb up a cliff than to climb down.) We followed a game trail that led us back to the creek. On our second attempt, we backtracked to find a trail that heads up the west side of the canyon. We did get a better view of the falls on the west side, but we hadn't reached the cave. On our third attempt, we went back to the creek and just bouldered up to the falls, which really wasn't that difficult, and much safer than the steep climb that we took on our first attempt. Doh!!

On the way down, we stopped at Hidden Falls. Not quite as impressive as Donut Falls, nor as fun to get to, but it did have a cool mine.

Hidden Falls

Kyle & Cara's Biathlon

Kyle and Cara had fun competing in the Alta Canyon Rec Center Kids Biathlon which included a 100-meter swim and a 1-mile run. Kyle won the overall and Cara placed second, with Kyle finishing about a minute ahead of Cara. Kyle's swim training has helped him get in shape.




Cara finishing the race:

Kyle's finish wasn't as dramatic but the video is interesting. Watch for the lady staging a finish, and Tadd running through the finish line trying to have some fun himself.

SNOWDER FAMILY SHOWS SUPPORT FOR PET SUPER ADOPTION WEEKEND

Kids beg Mom for a dog. Will she break . . .?

Actually, surveys show that 5 out of 6 Snowder's want a dog. The sole dissenting vote won't give and has been under pressure to bend. Neighbors have weighed in on the debate and one posted the pet adoption poster on our lawn. Thanks Doug! We never give up hope. We want a cockapoo, a breed that doesn't shed, is hypoallergenic, doesn't get to big, and is great with kids.

Hot Days of July

Sailing on the Jordanelle:

Fun With the Lewis Side of the Family

Kids' Vacation to Yosemite

The kids had a great time in Yosemite. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa Snowder. Cara almost made it to Half Dome. Kyle floated down the river. Teya saw lots of wild animals.


Phone Conversation with Home:

Teya: We saw a coyote and a fox.
Mom: Did you pet the fox?
Teya: Mom. It was a FOX!

Self-check Test for Brain Damage; Cara's 5K; July 4th

Self-check for Brain Damage:

Teya passed on a self-check test for brain damage. She hit her head pretty hard a couple of days ago and must have been worried that she did some serious damage. She later told us that when she hits her head, she asks herself, "What is 1 + 1?" If she knows the answer, then she doesn't have brain damage.

OK. (sigh) I guess I'll have Steak
The family 4th of July get-together in Provo was bring-your-own meat for BBQ. To save money, we purchased hamburger meat to bring. When Cara was first told about the event, she pleaded, "Can we please have ribs. I love ribs!"
"No, Cara, we are not having ribs."
"Ok, (sigh) I guess I'll have steak."
(You can imagine her disappointment when she was brought down to reality that we were bringing hamburgers.)

Fortunately, Grandpa & Grandma came through and brought filet mignon for her and us. (Jer says: Yes, steak is better that dessert.) If God didn't want us to eat animals, He wouldn't have made them out of meat.

Cara's 5K:
We are so proud of Cara. She ran her first 5K, finishing in the top 36% of all female runners, and in the top half of all runners. She had enough "juice" at the end that she sprinted the last 200 meters, passing several runners and attracting notice of the race announcer, "There's a runner that is excited to finish."

Fun 4th of July Weekend:

Other than a few people getting sick and Kyle throwing up in his aunt's car, it was a wonderful weekend. We had great times with the family, including a BBQ, swimming, croquet, fireworks, flag raising ceremony, Grandma Johnson's 4th of July program, fun runs, and Toy Story 3.

The interaction of the two-year olds was fireworks itself.

Reenactment of Boston Tea Party

YOU DANCE LIKE YOUR MOM!!!! (A can't miss video)

Tadd turned on the radio, pressed the search button until he found a station he liked, and then WENT TO TOWN!

A can't miss video:

For the Family: Sandy City Performance

For our family members, I've uploaded the kid's singing performance in the Sandy play. The video was to large so I had to break it up into two clips.


Clip 1 of 2

Clip 2

No, This Isn't Hell--It's Nevada

111 degrees is hot!!!!

As a background, we had a fun weekend in Arizona for Holly and Killen's wedding. We were not use to the heat, and made good use of the pool at the house the family rented. It was good to see everybody. Cara taught Jeremie that his description of the many "cactuses" is wrong, and that it is "cacti". On the way back, we stopped at the Hoover Dam at the border of Arizona and Nevada. We parked on the Arizona side and walked across the dam to Nevada. We let the kids pick out souvenir items, and Teya picked out a little stuffed dog that she named "Angel" because she saved it from the dam gift shop. In the 110+ degree heat, Cara started to show signs of heat stoke and the kids longed to return to the air conditioned car. They commented that they thought that that this is what Hell would be like. Sarah, corrected, "No, this is Nevada."

Kyle and his cousin.

.

Below are some videos for the family:

Coming out of the temple.

Pool Play.