Happy Veteran's Day

We had a great day today. We were lucky that the shop has now slowed down so that Todd could take off work. Our long time ol' friends (of 16 yrs) joined us for a day of family fun in the desert. Matt, Sonya, and their kids met us at Upper Sycamore Creek for the day. Above, Sierra is leading Weston on a ride. She was such a good little mommy to take care of him.

The kids had fun running around and just getting dirty. I really should have gotten a shot of each kid for a "Which kid is the dirtiest contest." I guess that's what it's all about though. Here, Wes goes out to check out the ol' abandoned water tank.

Here, Kynlee gave Cash some loves. Yes, Cash joined us too, of course. He loved it and wanted to follow everyone around on their quad rides (just like Kota used to do in his younger years). Unfortunately, we were short on space in the truck, so we left Kota home. We figured he's old enough that he'd rather simply lay at home and rest. ?? Hopefully.

Weston couldn't get enough riding in on his quad. Even when Sierra stopped, Wes just kept on going...like the Energizer Bunny.

Well, everyone enjoyed the riding. It's one of family's favorite past-times. When Zane first started riding quads, he could barely talk. He was under the age of two. We remember he'd simply say "ride. ride. ride." while we were at the dunes. Zane didn't want to stop riding either....just like Wes now. I guess all the boys have it in their genes.

Zane ....cruising along.

Sierra and Kynlee....best friends since birth. We wish we still lived in the same ward as they do.

The boys brought along their paintball gear also. So, the two dads and the two young men headed out for a paintball war. I guess the boys beat the dads out by a long shot. Oh, to be young again. Go Lance and Aspen!!! (l to r: Todd, Aspen, Lance, and Matt)

The little boys (l to r: Colton, Wes, and Zane) spent a long time playing with golf balls. Yes, golf balls. Don't ask me why there were golf balls up there, but there were. And, there were a lot of them. The kids rounded them up and started playing with them.

Then, they would roll all the balls down the trailer at one time. They would get so excited to try and catch the balls as they rolled down. It was pretty cute to watch.

When the men came back from paintballing, Todd was covered in cockaburros (?) from crawling on the ground through bushes (trying not to get shot). Pretty soon, a new war started....of throwing these cockaburros at each other. The kids had fun joining in on the battle. They would just throw them at each other and the cockaburros would stick to everyone's clothes. Zane decided to get artsy with his cockaburros on his shirt.

At the end of the day, we had the older kids babysit so that the couples could go out and do a quick couples ride. I haven't ridden a quad on that kind of terrain for a while. Todd was leading the way on some pretty steep, uneven hills. I told Sonya, "Either it's a compliment and our guys think we are such great riders that we can handle this crazy terrain....OR... they are trying to kill us cause they both just took a out great life insurance policy on their wives." Some of the hills were scary. The last one had both Sonya and I sliding down sideways. I was starting to think it might have been the latter choice! :) We had a great time trying to keep up with our men.

Well, we had a fabulous day with one of our FAVORITE families. We don't get to see them often enough. Somehow, we need to convince them to move across the street from us again. What do you think, Matt and Sonya? Give up that nice custom home just to be with us:).