Lagoonies

We can't come to Utah without jetting over to Lagoon for some wholesome family fun! 

The big sisters introduced the baby brothers to all the amazing wonders of the park. They started off slow by taking them on a cruise on a kiddie ride (although LC spent the trip with his face buried in Abizella's shirt).

Then it was on to their fav, the Jumping Dragon. 

I rode with LC this time. He basically went into "shut down" during the ride. 

But when it was over, he said, "Oh, fun!" then hopped out, petted the dragon and said, "Thank-you!"

LC sat out the next few rides, but his cousin Skeeter couldn't be deterred!

In fact, it wasn't until we found some rides with steering wheels that LC could be steered in the direction of another ride!

Both LC and Skeeter were major fans of the vehicles.

Tadpole is a game man. He takes after his Pops. Here he is scoring his first win. This is BEFORE he saw the Angry Birds prize where he exhausted his day and his father's wallet. He did come off victorious, but he has Little Chief to thank. Pops and Tad were hucking balls at cups when out of no where a ball whizzed past and landed straight into a cup. Everyone turned and looked at a rather pleased Little Chief. The game attendant asked if Pops paid for that ball. Pops quickly handed over a fist full of cash, and the boys walked away with a jumbo Angry Bird!

This was actually a sad day for Superkid. He is officially over the size limit for the kiddie rides. Luckily there was  a less observant ride attendant on his favorite ride. He was able to jam himself into this little plane one more time for a farewell ride.

Happily, Superkid was a fan of the big kid rides, including Rattle Snake Rapids! All of the kids agree, this is the best ride ever. Aunt Jenny and I selflessly agreed to stay with the little boys so Pops and his Bro could have fun with the big kids. We also positioned the water cannons perfectly to blast the boat carrying our little loves. Too bad this ride is the best, because EVERYONE insisted on a second ride with the moms. I have never laughed harder than when our raft emerged from the tunnel and Pops and Uncle Brian ran for the water cannons while lugging their 2 yr. old boys.

What a great day! I love my Lagoonies!

Silver Lake Stroll

We grabbed our cousins and went for a hike around Silver Lake.

It is the perfect hike for little legs!

With plenty of rock scaling opportunities for all!

And plenty of opportunity for cousin bonding!

Bring On The Cousins!

We have had some interesting developments in the cousin department since our last visit out here. 

Some of our favs moved away to California. It is a good thing that they coordinated their summer vacation so we could be together!

Cali Cousins...

California Mindurs and baby Bry Bry (LC's nemesis)

In other news, we have added a few cousins as well. Cousin Mike got married over Memorial day weekend and added 2 more cousins to the mix, including the lovely Olivia, who made my niece Allyson an Auntie and me a GREAT Aunt. That is "GREAT BIG Aunt Missy" to you.

Also making my sister Charlene, "Grandma" and Little Missy, "Auntie".

And guess who are GREAT Grandparents?

We also have a new baby nephew, baby Britian. Sadly I have no photographic evidence. He was suffering from the aftermath of vaccinations and is now on a Hawaiian vacation. This little guy is super adorable. We can't wait to play with him next time!

We all gathered to watch the dipping of the sun over Antelope Island. 

It is the Phrogbottom official kick-off to summer.

We're Going To The Zoo Zoo Zoo!

You'll have to take my word for it. 

We seriously were at the zoo. 

Just happens that the only pictures I got were of my favorite humans.

Here we have the Abizella and Izzypops, reunited after a seriously LONG year of separation only made bearable by Skype.

And LC got to size up his cousin Skeeter, who may be a tad smaller, but stuffed full of courage.

 This kid isn't scared of anything!

Tadpole was treated to a REAL LIVE BIRD SHOW! 

...although sadly, most of the birds were well mannered and not at all angry.

Pops with the littlest ones...

Superkid out for a spin on a Mighty Eagle...

Aunt Jenny and Uncle Brian. Can't get enough of these two!

Here's Uncle B getting in a little last minute training before he heads off to Afghanistan

Can't forget the CHOO CHOO!

The Bros.

First Up On the Docket...

Blackburn Time!

We caught up with 2 of our favorite little ladies...

 Became pals with the little dude that was whisked away in infancy...

 And got to catch up with one of my personal favs. 

We were working overtime trying to talk Dave and Chris into returning to New England with us. 

They put on a pretty good show about loving their Texan life BUT they have bounced back before so we still have our hopes up!

Hello Utah!

The Toads loaded up their gear and hit the friendly skies...

Made even friendlier by bringing 'Lil Chief's car seat aboard. 

That and a dry erase board made the trip divine. 

Seriously, I can't believe that it took us 8 years to figure that one out.

We took a little break in NYC and then on to SLC...

We woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at Grandma and Grandpa's for sprinkler chasing

...and pancake making!

Sickies

Little Chief woke up Memorial Day morning with a bark and a fever. 

It meant for a trip to the doctor and lots of snuggling!

It got so bad that LC started asking, "I want some Tylenols" which made for great drug induced sleep.

Tadpole, on the other hand, is not a fan of the "Tylenols". After waking up from a 13 hour feverish marathon sleep he crawled up at the bar and cheerfully mused, "I'm just going to drink some milk. That will push my cough down." I asked him how he was feeling, he said, "My froat hurts wreeeaally bad." I offered him some Tylenol. He refused, "It's okay, I'll just ignore it. I'm ignoring it now... Hmmm... mmmmm...mmmmmm.... okay I'll take the the Tylenol."

Hmmm....

Ick.

Can I hide my tongue from this awful medicine?

"Get me the Puke Bowl!"

It is sufficient to say that he refused to finish his dose. He then said, "Silfy always takes care of my sore froat. I'm going to go get him." He hopped down and ran off to get his reliable silky blanket.

The "Direction" Gene

I've go this brother, he's really like none other. Although he does share one trait that all Phrogbottoms do. He is really the biggest back seat driver of all time. We all are. This is handed down from Bampa who has an opinion and well thought out route from anywhere to everywhere. I almost forgot how bad the phenotype was until I spent the week with my brother. When we were in college, we both worked at the Steiner pool together, which meant that we often worked the same shift so we could commute together. Thankfully, we both agreed that 15th East was the way to go (with the caveat of the 5:00 a.m. shift) or it could have gotten ugly...and sometimes did for my sister Mindurs who was forced to wear the "piggie helmet".

Steve was a fabulous host. Having been to Nauvoo a few times recently, and knowing the great roads of Indiana, he had a suggested route every single day. Not just suggested casually over a slice of pizza or something. But he put serious thought into each day and would call me several times with updates or to make sure I was on track. He even came up with the splendid idea of taking the detour to Springfield to see Lincoln country. And why not fly by the covered bridge capitol of Indiana? This idea appealed not only to my passion for a great route, but also my insatiable desire to cram as much as possible into each day. Some may find this back seat driver thing annoying (thankfully Pops doesn't, at least he doesn't let on to), but I find it to be nothing but the sign of an engaged mind, always plotting a course. Also completely thoughtful. So thank-you Steve. I get it.

Steve also reminded me of a Phrogbottom traveling fav., Oscar. He was with us 100% of every road trip. He was our cooler. He was loaded with diet coke and ice goodness for Bampa, and the #1 navigator spot for some lucky Phrog. Oscar was placed between the 2 front captain seats and it was here that we took turns perched, gleaning Bampa's road artistry and developing a critical eye. I often wonder how I am going to raise up the next generation of back-seat drivers with all the seat belt laws these days. I brought a kid's road atlas to entice the kids into picking a route or two, but it just isn't the same unless you are teetering around on a loose cooler with an unobstructed view of the great open road. I guess I will just have to believe in the bossy-driver gene, and cross my fingers that it is dominant.