The McGraths: 2nd Week of August

We had a fun, eventful 2nd week of August. Here are some highlights:

The boys helped pick the pears off our pear tree.

Lots of pears! The boys hair has definitely lightened up over the Summer.

Their hair color actually look the same.

Carter lost his 1st tooth, though technically it was pulled out by the Dentist. He hit his 2 front teeth on our bench last October while running around the kitchen w/ his socks on. We had them looked at by the Dentist right after it happened, and he said we'll keep them in there as long as we can. When he looked at the x-ray this time though, all the roots were gone and he was worried about infection if we left it in. So we decided to get it pulled. Though Carter wasn't too happy about getting it pulled, he was happy to hear the Tooth Fairy would be coming that night.

Cute Carter w/ his missing tooth.

Carter fell asleep on the way home from the store w/ a Lego set they bought. Cute baby Hudson asleep in his crib. He sleeps in the funniest positions. Nyles giving baby Hudson a ride and Hudson playing w/ Steve's sunglasses.

Nyles letting baby Hudson try his slushy I made. He kept wanting more, imagine that :)

Thursday, August 12th we went up to Bear Lake again, this time for Nyles' 9th Birthday! All year Nyles has been asking to go up to Bear Lake for his birthday. So, we put it on the calendar and went for it. We woke up that morning at 7am, and were out the door before 8am. Rob took time off work as well and came with us. Rob sat in the front and I got in the back by baby and Carter and Nyles got in the far back of the Honda.

Things started out pretty good until Carter said he needed to go to the bathroom. So we stopped at a gas station and he went. A little while later he said his stomach was hurting. He also said he was a little cold from the A/C on him, so I gave him Steve's shirt that was close by to wrap up in. A little while later he didn't look too good and he starting throwing up. Luckily he caught it in Steve's shirt. I then leaned over and found a throw up bag, gave it to him, where he then threw up some more. Steve then pulled over as soon as we could get to an exit. We then cleaned him up and took the throw up bag to the trash. Steve left his shirt outside on the trailer.

I grabbed a Ziploc bag as a backup as we started going again. He seemed to be doing ok, then all of a sudden he had that "look" again, so I grabbed the bag and gave it to him. Thankfully he was able to get it all in the bag, then I was able to close it when he was done. We made it the rest of the way after only having to stop 2 more times at the boat checks. We got to Bear Lake at 11am. Dave and Joann also came. We went through Evanston, WY, but they went through Logan in order to pick up Carrie and Lynsie first and put their kayaks in Dave's truck. They made it just before 1pm.

After setting up, we had lunch and started playing in the sand and water. The weather was perfect! The smoke had cleared out, there were hardly any clouds in the sky, it was warm and here wasn't much wind. It was absolutely wonderful. We had a great time. And before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head home. Hopefully next year we can stay overnight and have even more time to spend up at Bear Lake.

Cute Hudson playing w/ a squirt gun and trying out the sand, including eating it ;) Nyles and Carter couldn't wait and had to get in the water right after changing in their swimsuits. They then tried out the kayaks. It was crazy to see that the water receded even further since we were there 2 weeks earlier.

Lynsie and Nyles on their kayaks. We brought a rope this time so we could hook up the kids' kayaks in case they got tired (aka Carter). Lynsie thought it sounded fun, so she got pulled by Steve as well. The kids then had fun playing on the kayak, rolling around and putting sand on each other.

Lynsie getting pulled by Steve, Nyles playing on his kayak, Joann holding baby Hudson (he's learned to make such funny faces at everyone), and Steve taking Hudson out on the kayak while Carter swims next to him. Another thing we love about Bear Lake is you can go out for a long time and not get too deep. The kids had so much fun just splashing around. The water was great!

Aunt Diane couldn't make it, so she sent up some sand buckets and candy for Nyles. Thanks Aunt Diane! I also made indoor s'mores as his birthday dessert, and we sang Happy Birthday to him. Hudson had fun playing in the sand and w/ the toys as well.

More fun playing, and kayaking. We got Dave out on the kayak for a little while until his back started to hurt unfortunately. Baby Hudson even took a little nap thankfully.

Hudson eating some Pirates Booty. The kids swimming in the lake. Dave and Joann enjoying the nice weather and view. Carrie put her phone in her kayak and so Dave and I helped her get it out.

Steve w/ Hudson and Carter. Playing on the kayaks. Rob giving it a try w/ Lynsie on the back.

The water is so clear and beautiful, there isn't even algae on the buoys at Bear Lake!

Family picture. The kids playing in the sand a little more while we clean up and packed everything up. Silly Hudson w/ his silly faces.

Dave and Joann gave Nyles his birthday present, a Boogie Board (doodle pad). He played w/ it most of the way home. We gave Carter some Benadryl before heading out to help w/ his carsickness, and it definitely helped. We picked up an ice cream shake again before going home, then he was out pretty much the rest of the way. Thanks everyone for coming up. It meant a lot to Nyles and us as well.

I took Friday off as well, so that morning we had Nyles open his birthday presents. At Nyles' request, we had crepes for breakfast. He got a new Lego set, and immediately went to put it together. Thanks everyone for the birthday cards and wishes; much appreciated!

That afternoon we had some of the neighborhood boys come over to celebrate his birthday as well.

They played water games w/ water balloons, water guns and water buckets.

Nyles then opened his presents, we sang him Happy Birthday, and had cake and ice cream.

I let the boys take their water guns home, along w/ a jar of bubble gum.

That night we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner (at Nyles' request also). He and Steve shared a slab of ribs. They then had him saddle up and give him a "yeehaw" happy birthday shout out. Nyles was a little embarrassed, but he mostly enjoyed it, and got some ice cream out of it. We have more beautiful wild flowers in bloom in the back yard, which I love.

On Sunday we took dinner over to LuDean since Diane was out of town, along w/ Dave and Joann. Diane had decorated the place though before going, so Nyles was pretty excited. She also had some cupcakes, so we sang him Happy Birthday again. She even had a fun game for us to play. Thanks so much Diane for all your thoughtfulness!