Last 4 days in Utah!

I figured I better finish blogging about our trip to Utah before it's too late!

July 5 - Dad, Mom, Brandi, Bladen, Kapri and I loaded up in the bus with Nick and LeAnne following behind and was off to Hogle Zoo.

Our first stop was the Bird Show. Uncle Nick gave B a dollar to give to this bird who would put the money in this donation box.

Next was the elephant show!

And of course we couldn't get by without riding the carousel twice!

All Bladen cared about was riding the train!

The girls!

We had such a good time at the zoo even though it was blazing hot! Bladen is obsessed with animals so he was thrilled to see so many of them. His favorite were the elephants.

After leaving the zoo, we headed towards the Lagoon campground!

July 6/7 - Good thing Lagoon doesn't open until 10 am... trying to get 4 girls and 1 picky 2 yr old ready in a small space took FOREVER (not including the time we had to wait for Uncle Nick to get out of bed and moving)! However, we made it there right around 10 and I must admit I was a little nervous about taking Bladen to Lagoon because I thought he would get bored and impatient waiting in lines, letting us do things we wanted to do,etc., but boy was I wrong... I forgot how many kids things they have!

We started out by taking Bladen on the Terroride. I thought he would get scared and not want to go on anymore rides, but he rode with Papa and Nana and loved it. Next we were off the bumper cars.

The first time he rode, he was a little confused but on the second try he did pretty good!

Papa drenched B in sunscreen before we left and by the time we got to the third ride we were already sweating and B started rubbing his eyes, which meant getting sunscreen in them and anyone that knows Bladen knows he HATES anything to get by his eyes because he thinks it's going to burn. So I ran over to a gift shop while they were in line and bought him these studly $7 glasses! We had no problems after that and he actually wore the glasses the rest of the day without throwing a fit!

Kapri was such a good sport to ride all the kiddy rides with B even if she didn't quite fit in them!

This is all of us older "kids" getting ready to ditch Papa, Nana and Bladen to ride the bigger rides. (Yes Uncle Nick shaved his head since he is pretty much bald anyways - sure didn't get my moms genes)

Of course he was happy as a lark to ride the train, especially with Papa. Bladen did not want my dad to leave his sight the whole trip and my dad was a good sport to do whatever B wanted to do!

Haha... B was the only kid who wanted to ride this ride!

This is a mini version of the Big Shot. I thought this ride would scare the crap out of him since it shoots you up and then drops you multiple times. While on the ride, he couldn't hold his head up and would shake like he was having convoltions waiting for the drops so I definately thought he would freak when we got off, but NO he wanted to go again... I talked him into riding the boats again :)

Late in the afternoon, Dad, Bladen, Nick and LeAnne went back to camp to take a 2 hr nap while me, mom, Kapri and Brandi rode more roller coasters and watched a show. We hadn't went on any water rides since we didn't want to look like complete crap walking around the park the whole day, but it was getting late so us 4 girls decided to go on the log ride. We get on our log and the log in front of us as a malfunction, so we get stuck in our log for 20 minutes... but that wasn't the kicker... me and mom were in the back of the log with Brandi and Kapri in the front so our log was pretty much sinking in the back with the front of the log in the air hahahahaha!! People probably thought we were real winners, but we thought it was funny and couldn't stop laughing at ourselves. We of course got wet on the ride and figured we might as well call the boring ones to come back over and go with us again. The second time.... it was even funnier!! Pri, Nick, LeAnne and Brandi went in the first log and hey they didn't get too wet, but here comes Me and Mom in the front of our log and Dad and Bladen in the back (opposite weight of our 1st ride). When we got to the top of the hill the worker said "You guys have the perfect set up to get SOAKED" and soaked we did! So next time you ride a log ride and don't want to get wet, put the heavy load in the back!

Since we were already wet, we decided to go on Rattle Snake Rapids. If you haven't been, you get in a huge, circular raft and go through river rapids, waterfalls, etc. All 8 of us piled in the raft and started down the river. Brandi was the first to get soaked when a rapid went up over the raft and down her back. Then it got mom, tried to get LeAnne and I but we stood up and shifted the weight of the raft and missed it. Then comes the huge waterfall, and with our luck the raft went right under it and everyone got SOAKED (LeAnne and I got it the least). After drying our eyes so that we could see I thought B would be freaking out because he was one who got it the worst, but he looks at all of us and says, "SHHHOOOOOOOOOTTTT, oh know!" and started laughing. It was SO cute!

The drenched bunch!

A view of the Lagoon from the Ferris Wheel

We were at Lagoon for a total of 12 hrs and all of us still felt like we didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted... oh well there is always next time! We all had a blast!

2 sleeping buddies after a fun and tiring day at Lagoon

I'm sorry to say I've given my child OCD - Clean Freak. There can be the tiniest piece of anything on the floor and he'll pick it up and throw it away and we (meaning both of us with our own vacuums) have to vacuum the house at least once a day! This is a picture of him helping Nana vacuum the bus before leaving the Lagoon Campground.

On our way home to good ole Cedar City

July 8 - On our last day in Cedar, Brandi wanted to take B swimming so we headed over to the SUU pool and they swam for a little over an hour. B is like a fish and could jump in "one more time" a million times before getting tired. Auntie is so good with him and they had a good time!

A year ago in August, my mom and Bladen dug up this tree on Cedar Mountain. My mom then brought it home and planted it in her yard and named it Bladen's Tree. As you can see, it's doing good and getting big. I hope each summer I remember to take a picture of him by it to see how much it grows in comparison to him!

I just want to say Thank You to my family for all of the fun times we had on this trip! It was so nice to have all 5 of us together again. With me in Illinois, Nick in Vegas until a couple months ago and Brandi now in Philly, we don't have much time to spend together so it was a much needed Family Vacation. We are hoping to continue a Family Reunion each summer, so Nick you better be thinking of our next summer's destination!

1st 4 Days in Utah

Bladen and I just got home from Utah and we had such a great time! We did so many fun things and were pooped out by the end of the trip!!

July 1 - Bladen and I wake up at 4 am to catch a 6 o'clock flight out of Champaign. Everything is going fine until our couple hour layover in Dallas; however, we got into Vegas just in time to meet my sister flying in from Philly! My parents were there to pick us 3 up and we were off to Cedar City!

Pretty rainbow pulling into Cedar... much better scenery than the cornfields of Illinois

July 2/3 - We head up to Cedar Mountain for a Bulloch BBQ on Thursday and then spent the night. It's been so long since we've gotten all the Bulloch's together so me and my mom decided to send out invitiations for a BBQ for all of those who could come. All but 5 of the family members made it and that includes Nate and Ty who stayed in Champaign/Philly to work. Everyone brought up Hobo Dinners and stuff for S'mores. It was so fun to get all the little cousins together and they all got along pretty good, except for Bladen's tantrum, considering they never really see each other. Bladen's tantrum was over his 4-wheeler... you can DEFINATELY tell the poor kid is an only child! This is the first time he's been able to jump in his wheeler and ride it like a big boy (steer, gas, reverse and pay attention to where he's going all at the same time) and he was pretty proud of himself. So when the cousins got there and Jordan went to get in and have Bladen take her for a ride, B freaked and was being selfish and threw a fit for 40 minutes in front of the whole family! I wanted to kick his butt! After dinner he finally decided his cousins weren't going to steal his wheeler and he took Jordan for a ride and when she got in she said, "Don't cry when I get in; I am your friend" and Bladen's response was "I only love Papa". Let me tell you this was Bladen's favorite phrase of the our trip. He told EVERYONE that he only loved Papa, even both of Nate's parents, which made me so embarassed, but like Nate said, 2 year olds give their opinion whether you want them to or not and you can't change it either.

Auntie and Bladen with our sign on the side of the highway

Nana and Bladen gathering wood to make enough coals for 50 hobo dinners and lots of S'mores

Sitting around the fire waiting for coals to make S'mores (Nick's trailer in the back ground and my parents "bus" below were my home for most of our trip).

Lindsey, Marley, Bladen, Rylee, Zoe and Me getting ready for a 4-wheeler ride!

The 2 babies
Papa and Bladen "relaxing" for about 30 seconds. Bladen has ants in his pants constiently so trying to get him to rest is a chore!


Cedar Mountain

July 4 - We decided to spend the holiday in Cedar so we could take Bladen to the parade, the park and the fireworks and have a Dutch Oven Dinner with my mom's family.

Brandi, Bladen and I at the parade

Bladen has been asking me for weeks to go to Pri's house and ride horses, so Ben, KC and Kapri took B to their farm before the Larsen BBQ to see all the animals. B is a COWBOY!

Notice B's legs wrapped around Ben... he didn't want dirt in his shoes... pretty boy!

Riding Papa's rocking horse from when he was a baby - 52 yrs old!

Me, LeAnne (Nick's girlfriend) and Brandi after Dutch Over dinner. I LOVE LeAnne and was so glad to see her; she is like a sister! Her and Nick just recently moved to Cedar from Vegas so they were able to come with us on all our adventures!

Bladen throwing poppers and playing with Sparklers for the first time!

I will post about our last 4 days tomorrow!

Here Comes Summer

It's been awhile since I've posted and so much has happened so sorry this blog will be LONG. We've been spending so much of our time outside now that the weather is nice. It's been around 75-85 most of the days this month and HALLELUJAH it hasn't gotten too muggy and humid here yet! We started off summer by taking swim lessons with Danielle and Lauren at the Urbana Aquatic Center and it was SO much fun.I've had Bladen in swim lessons since he was 6 mths old so he is quite the little swimmer for only being 2.

He is so FEARLESS! He has to "jump in and go under mommy" and not just a under a little bit; he has to go under all the way!

Then the week after April 15th our life turned to HELL! I started out Friday night... I went to my work's April 15th party and after dropping off all the drunks around 10:30 I get a phone call from Nate saying Bladen had a surprise for me when I get home. I get home, get out of the car and Bladen walks me to the flower bed and shows me that he chopped most of the tulips that had just bloomed that day down with his shovel while his dad was putting up his new basketball hoop (supposed for 3 seconds). This was the morning after I'd already cleaned them up and realized it wasn't a big deal that they would die in a week anyway!

After my ranting and raving to both Nate and Bladen about the tulips, I go yell at Neko to get out of my car that I had left open during my fit. I continue my complaining and by the time I'm done Neko is NO WHERE to be found. I didn't freak out because at our new house he goes and roams the neighborhood until around 3 morning and then I hear him barking at the front door. The next morning though... still no Neko. Nate's been telling me for the past 2 years that he'd wish Neko would run away (ok since he's the one who bought him for me 10 years ago but whatever). We continue the weekend with the biggest monster child ever! He ends giving me another surprise on Sunday - while Nate, Jenna, Jillian and I were out doing yard work Bladen was supposed to be having a nap. Well Nate goes in to get a drink and comes out and says Bladen wants to see you. I walk in and the first thing I see is a dozen eggs cracked all over the kitchen floor in front of the fridge. I lost it!! I don't have many patience and this weekend had put me over the edge.

This was Bladen the day of the egg incident. He LOVES his "sister"

Monday morning I call the pound to see if Neko had gotten picked up by the pound and the lady informed me that Neko was killed Friday night. He was ran over and they had to euthanize him because he had a broken back and pelvis. I cried ALL day at work and was devistated the whole week! It still makes me sad and scared to be here alone at nights. Bladen and I miss Neko lots! So enough of the complaining about my monster child... he really is a good boy! He is the best helper in the world!Bladen helping me put chairs away after our BBQ (aren't all kids obsessed with wearing their moms' shoes)

Brandi and Tyler moved to Philly for the summer so that Ty could sell alarm systems, so they came through Champaign and stayed with us for a night! It was so good getting to see them since we haven't seen any of our family since Christmas! We took Ty to see the town and he was in awe of the University and how big and old it is! We took them to Papa Del's (Chicago style pizza) for dinner and then the boys played basketball in the rain until 11:30 while me and Brandi sat in the back of the truck in the garage and watched. They then headed on their way to their new home at 5 the next morning. Fast visit but worth it!

Bladen LOVES Auntie and acted like he sees her everyday!

Austin/Annie and Tyler/Brandi in Philly. I'm so glad Brandi has friends back there to keep her company!

Nate and I were supposed to go to Cancun the first week of May... of course that didn't happen because of the Swine Flu outbreak, but the good thing is I then got to spend all that time with my mom instead. She flew out for a week to watch Bladen while we were gone. This was the first time Mom's been to our new house and we had so much fun!

We planted all my flowers, did lots of yard work, went shopping almost everyday, went on walks to the park, ate lots of good food and of course we did pedicures!

My mom was also here over Mother's Day and left the day of my birthday... for the second year in a row :) What we did on Mother's Day:

The 2 beauties ate Chinese leftovers to hold them over for an early dinner at Texas Roadhouse

Bladen and Nate gave me roses

Went for a walk

to the park!

I was WAY sad to see my mom go. You'd think it would get easier after being away for 4 years but I still cry like a baby when she leaves. Bladen also understood for the first time that Nana was leaving and cried his eyes out at the airport when Nana left. It's so hard!

Bladen and I also went up to Chicago with Wendy/Taylor and Danielle/Lauren to see Seasame Street Live. Lauren, Taylor and Bladen (3 carseats and 3 adults in a TrailBlazer all the way to Chicago... see me in back haha)

Bladen was SO anxious for the show to start Praire's Pageant

Nate and I have been working our butts off on our yard! It was such a mess when we moved in so we've had to do a lot of work. We've bought and laid 1,500 lbs of top soil and 1,200 lbs of mulch and that only covered the front yard! We've enjoyed spending time together working on the yard! Front yard
Back yard

Bladen sitting next to my 2 cent flowers... Nate was at Walmart last weekend and they were selling these flowers for 2 cents haha... but hey they are cute!

Then we are to this weekend. Nate has to work all weekend so me and Bladen have had some quality one on one time together. I told Bladen Saturday was his day to do whatever he wanted so we work up on Saturday and had Captain Crunch before we headed off to Old Navy for the $1 flip flops (mommy's only to do list for the day), then we were off to Pets Mart to see all the animals. Bladen now knows his way around the store and what we have to see next (the kitties, then the dogs getting groomed, the birds and the hamsters and then off to the Nemos to finish it off). We then headed to the car wash to wash - yes Bladen's favorite place to go and then home for a quick nap before we were off to the Farm with Danielle and Lauren. I swear Bladen should be a COWBOY he LOVES animals!

B and Lauren in the petting area. Bladen was hilarious... one minute he was chasing all the goats around being wilder than crap and then 2 seconds later he saw a baby cow laying down and got so calm and went right over and sat down by him and started petting him so nicely... his mood changes so fast! Then we we headed home to set up his NEW swim pool!
He was in it for about 10 minutes and then was freezing... maybe tomorrow when it's warmer he'll like it better!

So this has been our life in a nutshell the last 2 months! We are now looking forward to July 1 when Bladen and I fly home to Utah to see our family for a week!