Girlie-Man

We have a nighttime routine for getting the kids ready for bed: Put on your pajamas, brush your teeth, read scriptures, read a story, say prayers. On a rotating basis, one of the verbal kids gets to choose a storybook that we will read together as a family. Tonight was Nate's turn. As I was coming into the family room, I asked him if he had chosen a book. He answered that he had. Glancing at him, I noticed a book in his lap with a preponderance of pink on its cover.

"Is that your book?" I inquired.

"Yes," he replied.

Briefly mulling over the matter, I suggested, "It is a bit girlie, don't you think?"

His precocious pre-adolescent mind had apparently already dissected my argument before I had even presented it. "Some books aren't just for girls, Dad," he stated. "Boys can read them, too."

"Uh-huh," I conceded. "What's the title of that book?"

Nate, lowered his eyes and scanned the front cover. Then, after a pause of comedic perfection, he answered:

"Ballet Kitty"

I laughed hard, and informed him that this story will be going on our blog.

Independence Day

We had a nice, fairly relaxing 4th this year. I had the day off from work, which is always nice. Each year our ward has a picnic. We had fun eating sloppy joes and relaxing. The kids had fun playing games, running 3-legged races, etc. The weather was beautiful--sunny, but cool (in the 70's).

After the picnic we came home and hung out for my birthday. Nikole bought a couple of ribeyes and made a tasty marinade. I grilled them and some hamburgers for the kids.

Here I am blowing out my birthday candles. Nikole had initially put three small candles on one cupcake and a big number "1" candle on the other before I informed her that, in fact, I was turning 33, not 31. I think she was hoping I wouldn't catch the mistake and, knowing we are the same age, I would tell everyone that she is also 31. Or maybe she just likes younger men.

For dessert, Nikole had put together an ice cream tasting contest with seven different flavors. I was poised to win the trophy, but I mislabeled Drumstick ice cream as Tin Roof Sundae. Nate won instead (the kids only had to guess one of the ingredients in each flavor). That's fine with me. Either way we ended up with a freezer full of tasty, heart-healthy frozen treats!

Magna Cum Laude

Nikole, our offspring, and I recently returned from a trip to visit her parents in Magna, Utah. Unfortunately, we hadn't been out there in a few years, and while her parents have come to see us a couple times in Rochester, it was nice to see them in their natural habitat. Nikole's sister and brother also live in Utah with their families. Nikole and the children had flown out about a week before I came. I don't know exactly what they did during that week, but I know they enjoyed it. You'll have to ask her for the details.

Our kids really enjoyed seeing their cousins and seemed to hit it off as if no time had passed since our last visit. Here is Haley with her cousins, Corianne and Samantha, who are Nikole's brother's children:
The Friday after I got there, we went to Provo to visit the Y. It had been several years since our last visit, and things continue to change on campus. The Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni Building is complete. Unfortunately we didn't plan our time well enough to make it by. More importantly, we were able to hit the bookstore for some apparel and the Creamery for some ice cream.

Here are Nikole and I standing in the quad in front of the the Wilkinson Center, reminiscing about falling madly in love at the Y:

Each time we go to Provo, we make a point to eat at Los Hermanos, which continues to be our favorite "authentic" Mexican restaurant. I snapped a semi-candid shot of Nikole chowin' down:

After ice cream at the Creamery, we swung by the Missionary Training Center (MTC) so I could show the kids where they can go in 11-16 years if they live righteously. While they seemed to not grasp the significance of the moment, they did oblige me by smiling for this picture:

As we usually do when we visit Utah, we went to Temple Square. We got several pictures of the gardens. This a particularly nice one of Haley and Andy ("particularly nice" in the sense that they are not yelling and screaming at each other):

The visit to downtown also afforded me the opportunity to buy a couple of new suits at Mr. Mac. Turns out that I've never bought a suit from anywhere else. The service is outstanding and they do a good job of bloating the ticket price, so when they knock off a chunk, you feel like you're getting a great deal.

Nickelcade was another stop for us. It is an arcade where you pay a nominal entry fee, then use nickels instead of quarters for all the games. We gave each of the kids a couple dollars worth of nickels and let them run wild. The fact that Andy returned empty handed after about 15 minutes makes me think he was meandering around indiscriminately dropping nickels in games left and right, not sticking around to utilize the credits. We could have saved the money since, as illustrated below, he got plenty of enjoyment out of "playing" games without putting any money in.
The definitive highlight of our trip was the smashing good time we had at Cherry Hill. It is a campground/waterpark near Kaysville. My in-laws had rented a nice RV trailer where most of us slept. Those that didn't fit in the trailer slept in a tent.

We set up camp on a Monday and stayed until Wednesday morning. Tuesday was spent at the water park, which was a blast. The weather cooperated well as we were blessed with sun and warmth.

Holden (Nikole's sister's son), Andy, Nate and Haley

All the kids enjoyed the Pirate's Cove and the Lazy River. Nate had a lot of fun on Cardiac Canyon.

Nate and Grandpa Bice waiting in line for the Cardiac Canyon ride

Andy really enjoyed going down the water slides with his dad (sadly, no pictures). Andy and Haley spent most of their time in Pirate's Cove.

Here's Andy under a waterfall

Haley with Grandpa in Pirate's Cove

Cherry Hill also had softball and baseball batting cages. We had a few tokens from the package we purchased, and Grandpa Bice, Nikole and I made good use of them the last night we were there.

The trip was loads of fun overall. The kids did not want to leave. The night before we left, Nate cried, because he would "miss Grandma". We certainly look forward to the next opportunity to visit Nikole's family!