Spring Break Day 4: work hard/ play hard

We unloaded our sleeping bags again and set up camp in the bedrooms and grandpa's house. Monday morning we got right to work in the yard!

Camille and Rachel gathered pine needles and other debris.

Bryce and Sydney helped pick oranges.

Parker really enjoyed his job on the riding lawn mower.

Soaking in the Arizona sun.

Sterling trimmed a couple of palm trees.

After working all morning we went to lunch at the greasy spoon, otherwise known as Pete's fish and chips.

We stopped by the cemetery and said hello to Grandma Brown.

Last on our list was heading to Tortilla Flat to eat Prickly Pear ice cream. It was pink and tasty but a little bland. But when you have the chance to have ice cream made from a cactus, you say, YES!
This is a picture Sydney took on the way to Tortilla Flat.

And the bathrooms never disappoint. I didn't see the men's bathroom but I heard it was even more scandalous.

We had a quick dinner at KFC and then headed home where grandpa talked the kids into watch Bourne Legacy. 

Random: March

March 4 - Rachel and Bryce were very entertaining with Sunday Night Wrestling.

And if that wasn't enough, here's a little more. They were wrestling for 40 full minutes. Going to daylight savings time gave them some extra energy in the evenings. :)

March 9 - Paul came to visit and we had dinner together.

March 9- Paul came to Utah to ski with friends and we were lucky enough to have dinner with him!

Rachel really really really wants a puppy.

But she also knows Sterling will not buy a dog unless we have a fenced yard.

One of our chickens started laying green eggs! Just in time for Easter!

St. Patrick's Day!
Emily came over and enjoyed corned beef, cheesy garlic biscuits and green mac and cheese. You can tell by HashBrown's face that I made too much and it wasn't their favorite. Ah well. 

We went to the Jordan River Temple openhouse. It has been closed for several years while it was renovated.

I found this sppon in the downstairs freezer. Looks like someone wanted ice cream and fought with it. The ice cream won!

Apricot Festival 2015

July is one of our favorite months of the summer. It is also one of the busiest months of the summer. One of the highlights is the Apricot Ice Cream Festival that happens every year. This year, we were lucky enough to have Grandpa stay at our house for a few days. On Friday, we drove to Park City, to the Canyons and took a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain. Then grandpa kept a bench warm while the rest of us took another lift further up the mountain to a little lake and walked a mile back down.

The cool part about the second lift ride was that it was most commonly used by mountain bikers. On the way up, we got a bird's eye view of them taking jumps and doing tricks.  On the way down, we got this cool video.

OK, also in this video, you see how Hash hikes. Its a big ninja adventure. And then his Dad hides and scares him by saying "ooo, la la." Now when my kids scare each other, they jump out and say "ooo, la, la." Its hilarious and very random.

The next day the whole Brown clan got together and hiked Bald Mountain. It was a long, rocky, windy hike and it was awesome!

Look at all those natural mountain lakes. Bald Mountain is really really high! Its almost 12,000 feet above sea level.

At the summit!

After the hike and a nice picnic lunch, we returned home for a BBQ. The LDS missionaries made a guest appearance and shared a message.

After the missionaries left and were safely out of hearing distance, we had our first ever Lip Sync Battle. I started it off with "Kissed By a Rose" by Seal, but no one got video so these pictures will have to do.

And then the REAL show began!

We also awarded the traveling Apricot Festival award. This year it was awarded to Grandpa. 

There is so much to love about this family. I love this Apricot Festival and love hosting it, year after year!

Past years:
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008

Apricot Festival - Challenge Course

 

July is Apricot Festival time.

More precisely, Homemade Apricot Ice Cream Festival

aka Brown Reunion

or any and every excuse to make and eat homemade ice cream.

 

Take your pick.

 

This festival has evolved over time. I do believe this is the 9th year. The last few years, we've included a physical activity on the morning of the dinner. Last year we hiked Timpanogos. The year before the menfolk biked 100 miles around Utah Lake. This year, we stepped it up a notch and spent the night at Heber Valley Camp. It's an amazing camp. Soon after we unloaded, we went to the Challenge Course. It was amazing!

 

Cousins were excited to be together.

 

 

Siblings were happy to be together too.

 

Parker is excited to climb the pole on the ropes course.

 

Sydney too.

 

The first step was to climb the pole.

 

The next step was the walk across a log.

 

Finishing it off was the zipline down!

 

Even Grandpa got into the action. Quite impressive!

This is me doing a little Spiderman action!

 

Bryce was in tears in the beginning, watching others do it. Finally he worked up his courage to climb half way up the pole and then swing in the harness. Proud of that little dude.

 

And then my camera died. Disappointed is an understatement. I'm hoping to gather pictures from others. After the high ropes course, we did a few team-building, faith building ropes courses as a family. It was awesome to be in that setting and talk about faith and testimony as a family.

 

Another great part was getting to know Anne's husband and her cute little boy. Also Trish and her boyfriend. Great great guys! Also reconnecting with Owen and hearing about his mission to the Ukraine. I love our extended family. A lot!

 

We had a delicious build-your-own dinner and sugar-cone dessert, then went on a short hike. The next morning we went on a sunrise hike, followed by pancakes and sausage and then we were off to the lake for some time in the canoes. Ster and I loaded our canoe with Rach and Hash. The cousins had fun chasing, playing tag and splashing each other. Soon after lunch we went home to prepare for the dinner and ice cream.