Park City: One Adult, Six Kids...

My sister asked me to watch her kids for 5 LONG days and I had a brilliant idea to take them to Park City for most of those 5 LONG days.

Don't let their cuteness fool you. There was a lot of whinning, some full on brawls, much complaining... so I guess I'm telling you that they were acting like siblings from day one.

I didn't take any pictures of us at the pool because I was too busy with the kids and frankly, I was just too tired and didn't want to look for my camera.

This is the bed that I TRIED to sleep in. One night I had a child on either side of me and one crying in the other room.

This is the room that Cari stayed in for one night until she got deathly ill and escaped Park City in 3.8 seconds, Skyler was counting.

And this is the table where most of the activity took place. These kids ate like piranahs!! No joke. It was amazing to watch.

Looking back on the week, we did have a lot of fun and we were worn out every night. But it was a lot of work and I have to say I am very happy with my THREE children because I know now that I would not be a very good mother of SIX!

Success!

Last weekend turned out to be a huge success. I brought plenty of yummy food, tin foil dinners, smores, lots of snacks...
But somehow Devin was able to trump me by bringing the guns.
Spencer did a great job with the shotgun, he shot a lot of clay pigeons.

Devin and Spencer took turns managing the clay pigeon shooter thing and shooting.

Hunter enjoyed the fire. I think he went through 3 boxes of matches all by himself. This brought back so many childhood memories.

Drum roll please... Yes, this is Spencer and yes he is driving a four wheeler ALL BY HIMSELF. He did a great job on the trails with the whole family. This year we had to buy another four wheeler because the kids are getting too big and Spencer got to drive one for the first time. There were a couple of very rocky and tricky areas that we went through and he did a great job. So proud of him, because he is not adventurous and I know that inside it was scary, but he did it!!!

Katie even rode around all by herself. She was able to let go of some of her hatred of getting diry and ride around with the boys for most of the day on Saturday. But as soon as she got off back at camp, she went straight for the anti-bacterial wipes.

And then there is Hunter. What can I say, except he is an animal. He listened to about 12 seconds of instructions from Devin on how to shift gears and where the break was and then he was off. He is a natural. I am always amazed that Spencer and Hunter share the same DNA because they couldn't be more different from each other.

There goes Katie. What you don't see is that Hunter has sped way in front of her and she is trying to catch up.

This pic cracks me up because Hunter's foot can't even touch the floor board, but don't tell him that. He found a way to make everything work just fine, and I have to admit he was a great driver.

The only thing I would have changed about the weekend was the night we spent in the tent FREEZING TO DEATH!!! It was SO cold. Katie and I huddled next to each other literally shivering while the boys snored away on the other side of us. I don't know how they stayed warm because I haven't been that cold in a long time, maybe never.

Love the pic. Look at Hunter with his glasses on and folding his arms like he is the man. It is fun watching my kids grow up and experiencing the beauty of the Utah mountains. I feel like I am carrying on a tradition and it makes me feel good.

Where is the mom?

Who knew camping was SO much work. It has taken me most of the day to get ready for a one and a half day camping trip. My mom made it look so easy. All we did as kids was show up and then go have a blast playing in the fire, making our own little fires (all very safe, thank you dad).

Now that I am the mom, I have a great appreciation for my own amazing mother, because she just did it and never complained and my parents made it a fun weekend, even though they had no money and a camping weekend was all they could afford. As a kid, I had no idea that was why we always got to go camping. I thought we had the greatest vacations ever!

So while preparing for this fun weekend in a tent and next to a firepit, I have made a special effort and I have been the epitomy of happiness and excitement! I am so proud of myself, because deep inside I am wondering "Where is the mom?"

I'll have pics up on Sunday of our adventure in the High Uintah mountains, hopefully they will contain pure child happiness and lots of fun. And me looking like I know what I am doing and enjoy it, just like my mom did...