Granted this post is a few weeks late, but given how much I’ve blogged this summer, a few weeks is actually pretty darn timely.

Anyway, Jack and Annie are now 4 years old! It’s crazy to think that its already been 4 years, but they’re growing fast. They’ll even be starting preschool in the next week or so. It’s interesting to watch their personalities as they grow though. Under identical learning conditions, they’ve developed into their very own little people.

Jack has become the little jokester. He’s always trying to be funny and loves to tease his sisters. He’s also become quite addicted to playing the Wii. He loves Batman and Spiderman and enjoys playing with Owen and Cutwer (Cutler).

Annie is definitely the boss. She loves to have things her way and is quite vocal about it when things don’t go her way. She loves ponies and would happily own every single one if she could. She’s also becoming quite the artist and has developed her own unique style.

We celebrated in the back yard on the 21st and had family over for cake and ice cream. As you can see, Emily made them fun cakes. Jack got Batman with a sweet Bat symbol and cityscape on the side and Annie got a cool pony cake (and she got to keep the pony). They gots lots of fun presents from their cousins and grandparents and we all had a good time.

Happy birthday Jack & Annie!

About mid-August Jack and I got to head up to go camping with our ward for the fathers and sons campout. After working all day on Friday we threw our stuff in the Jeep and drove up Parleys canyon to the same camp site our ward has been to for the last several years. We stayed in Wanship at the base of the Rockport dam. It’s a fairly small campground, but there are lots of good size trees and the dam runoff river runs along the border.

As we got a bit of a late start we stopped off in Park City for some Wendy’s (and to let the Jeep cool off a bit). After finishing our Frostys, we arrived at the campground and setup our tent. Jack played with Cutwer and the rest of the boys while I got things set up and then we sat around the fire and roasted some marshmallows. After a short fireside we went to lay down in our tent. Luckily I had good coverage on my phone and we got to watch a few episodes of the old 1960′s Spiderman series on Netflix.

The next morning we woke up and had an excellent breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon. After taking the tent down Jack and I went on a walk around the campground and spent some time throwing rocks in the river. We then proceeded to wade into the river and Jack ended up on his can in the water after trying to stand on a rather mossy rock. Once Jack was in some dry clothes we played some frisbee with the Tomers and threw his football around for a bit. Even though it was a short outing, we had fun sleeping in the tent and sitting around the fire.

A few weeks back I went with my Dad and my brother to go Jeepin’ up American Fork canyon. I had recently repaired the radiator fan in the Jeep so I was hoping it would hold out and stay cool for the whole day. It did well for most of the day, but the ride home was a long one.

Regardless of the overheating issues though we had some good times putting the Jeeps through their paces and using them for the purpose the great creator intended. We forged rivers, played in dirt holes and climbed the lower portion of The Rock Garden. It was a great outing and one which I wish I had time to enjoy more often.

Bright and early on Labor Day I drove out to my Dad’s house to get his new Jeep hauling trailer to haul my Jeep home from the base of Little Cottonwood canyon. Two days earlier Ben and I had driven to Snowbird to go mountain biking and in the process had blown a rather large hole in my radiator (it had been having some cooling issues for a few weeks prior). After coasting down the canyon in neutral, I had to leave the Jeep to be rescued later so Monday morning, we went to rescue it.

After spending the entire morning retrieving the Jeep, we all piled in the Yukon and headed down to Spanish Fork canyon with my folks and siblings to do some shooting and have a BBQ. It was good times. We took the shotguns and .22′s and everyone had fun shooting. Even Jack and Annie got into the rotation and took a few shots with my sisters 20 gauge. After turning half a box of clay pigeons into powder we pulled out the hibachi’s and had fun BBQing in the drizzle and wind. It only threatened to storm for about 30 minutes and then blew over and was actually quite pleasant weather. We all had fun.

So the Saturday before Labor Day morning, Ben and I decided to head up to Snowbird with our bikes and ride the tram a few times. It’s been a long time since my last lift assisted bike day, but Deer Valley is nothing like Snowbird. The first run down was pretty intense coming down the loose and rocky cat tracks in the Peruvian bowl. But once we were warmed up, the speed and confidence increased and it was much more fun. We made a total of 3 runs which took us about an hour each and traveled a total of about 35 miles (thanks endomondo). We didn’t get many pictures because we were riding (and I don’t have a helmet mounted camera), but we did get a few shots when we stopped for water and flat tire breaks. We found some excellent single track near the bottom of Big Emma and had an all around great day. And to top it off, neither of us crashed.