Utah and The Ranch

Hanging out with cousins at Christie's house

I feel like we have been gone forever! Well, we almost have, after three fun filled weeks with cousins, grandparents, and aunts and uncles on both sides we are back in San Diego. Our trip started with a great week at my moms house in Salt Lake with my sisters and their kids. We were able to hang out while the kids ran wild, what could be better? Then we headed up to Idaho to the ranch, which is always wonderful. There is no better place for a kid, they are able to roam all day catching frogs and snakes in the stream, fishing in the lake, swimming, jumping into the river, and playing with cousins all day and night. I love it too because I get to run every morning with my siblings, lay at the pool talking to family all day, eat way too much good food, and enjoy time with Brett and the kids. I love reminiscing with my family, laughing at old stories, and remembering my dad. I only wish Dad could be with us, that is the one thing that would make it truly perfect. It is really the best family reunion spot I could imagine. We love going to the ranch so much! Thanks Mom for a wonderful family vacation!

Playing in the stream with Dad

Carter was so proud of the fish he caught, he wanted us all to eat it for dinner. We were having hamburgers that night so we put in on the grill and ate some. Carter ate more of it than anyone, he was so pleased with himself!

We had a hard time getting the kids to bed at a decent hour because we didn't want to make them stop playing with their cousins. Each night at about 11:00 we would go put them to bed and then the adults would go back out to talk. We put Sam in his port a crib right next to Jacob and Carter's bed each night. When Brett and I would come in later to go to bed Sam was always out of his crib and in bed right between Jacob and Carter. We thought it was super funny, apparently Sammy didn't want to be in his crib when he could sleep with his brothers! He must have climbed out after we left and snuck in with them.

Seriously, I can't think of anything my boys would love more than catching frogs and snakes in a stream

My camera battery died after our first day at the ranch, so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked. After the ranch we got to go stay with Eric and Laurie for a day, which we always love. The kids have so much fun playing together, it's so great to watch them. Cameron, Jacob and Carter make a great little threesome, as do Lukie, Adam and Sam. Brett and I had fun playing the Wii with Eric and Laurie, talking, watching baseball (Eric and Brett), and meeting Penny and Sally. They claim Penny is a guinea pig, but we know she's a groundhog, and a retarded one at that. I just love hanging out with them, Laurie is the best sister in law ever, I am super lucky to have her. She's such great friend, and I love talking with her, we stayed up way too late chatting, but it was totally worth it. I just wish we lived closer to them. We also got to have a few days at Brett's dad's house and we were able to see the rest of the Wimmer clan. We had a BBQ with the fam, hung out at Greg and Michelle's, and went up to the cabin to spend some time with Brian, Suzanne, Blue and her puppy Oscar. My kids were very excited to meet their newest dog cousin, child to Blue the fastest dog in the world! Thanks Brian and Suzanne we had a blast!
That about sums up our trip. Now it's back to summer here. We are going to try to take full advantage of the next few weeks by going to the beach and swimming tons! It was sad to say goodbye to our families as always, but we are happy to be home!

The Brooks Visit Us!

This is what happens when you leave Alexa and Sam alone together!

Riding bikes was a favorite activity for the three boys all week

The boys made cupcakes (with our help,) Christie is a nicer mom than me and lets the kids crack the eggs. I don't think I'll ever be able to make anything again without my boys wanting to crack the eggs. Thanks a lot Christie!

We had such a great visit with Christie, Isaac and Alexa. Isaac is the perfect age distance between Jacob and Carter so they make a great threesome. Aside from a little bit of Jacob worship they all get along pretty well. It works out ok because if Jacob wants to do something, they all think it's a great idea! We hit the Zoo, the beach, the pool, the creek, the pet store; the fun for the kids never ended. Christie and I also managed to have fun ourselves going to Golden Spoon every night and even taking a day to go shopping and out to the Cheesecake Factory. We actually got to go to the Cheesecake Factory twice because the first night she got in we got a babysitter and Brett, Christie and I all went out. It was just like old times. When Brett and I were dating Christie was always our very welcome third wheel. Once we were engaged we thought it was a good idea to always have her around, and she hung out at our condo all the time when we were first married. We love you Christie! It was just more fun having someone around all the time to talk to, take the kids places with, do laundry together, make dinner together etc.... I will go through withdrawal all week!

Sam's Buddies

I love these boys! Sam doesn't even realize how lucky he is to have two best buddies at such a young age. Jack, Luke and Sam were born within three months of each other, one coming about every four to six weeks. I like to think they had that planned long ago....to arrive close together. It helps that I love their moms too, but I just love these boys. This age is so cute to me. Every new thing they say is just so darling!
The other day in the car we pulled up next to a big truck and here is the conversation that followed:
Sam: Mom I wanna buy that (pointing to truck)
Me: You want to buy what?
Sam: I wanna buy that truck, stop the car (he often asks me to stop driving, usually when he is mad at me for some reason)
Me: You want to buy that truck?
Sam: Yes I wanna buy that truck, stop the car.
Me: Ok Sam I will stop the car so you can buy that truck
Sam: HA HA! I just teasing Mommy!

What a crack up, I swear! How does a two year old think of that. Maybe it's just me being a mom, but I thought it was cute and clever. My brother in law Eric thinks Sam is going to be the biggest ham of all our boys. I think he's right. He is trouble, but funny too!

Mount Laguna

We love camping at Mount Laguna, or as Jacob used to call it Mountain Galluna. We missed our fair weather campers, not to mention any names, (Birds, Parmleys and Mendenhalls), but the Wimmers and Tylers had a blast! It's amazing how much the kids get out of a night of getting dirty, climbing rocks, shooting the girls with nerf guns, cooking their own dinner, making (not eating) s'mores, and sleeping in a tent. It's a lot of work, but the payoff is totally worth it. Camping is something I never did growing up, and it's something I totally want my kids to grow up doing. Brett's family camped a lot, and I think it's such a great thing to do as a family(and with friends!)


Sam watched closely as Brett and I set up our tent, referring to it as Daddy's boat. When I put the port a crib inside he looked at me and informed me that he would NOT be sleepiong in there. "I not sweeping in ere," he kept telling me. I guess he doesn't remember the last time we camped, it was almost a year ago. We knew we were in for a rough night with Sam. He did fine once we put him in our sleeping bag, and I think he actually liked sleeping in Daddy's "boat".Hiking to the meadow and playing on the rocks is a big hit at Mount Laguna!

Fun at the Paulsons

We had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend at Bret and Steph's in Thousand Oaks. I just love hanging out with my sister and watching our kids play. As an added bonus Brett's college room mate Matt happens to be in my sisters ward. What a small world! They came over on Monday to swim with us, it was great fun! Brett has taken to growing out his scruffy face every once in a while which I actually love. Saturday morning he decided it was time to shave, but stopped when he had a mustache left. It grossed me out and he left it for the whole day just to bug us all. The kids thought it was hilarious and made themselves mustaches to go along with his. He named it Terry and was he was sad to see it go, I threatened him to shave before we went out to dinner Saturday night. Thank goodness Terry is now gone! Stephanie and I seriously couldn't even look at him without busting up laughing!

More St. George Pics

Luke, Adam and Sam spent almost an hour in the bath after a long day of hiking and playing in the sand.

Luke and Sam

Kendall, Sam and Daddy

Running down the sand

Sam gnawing on beef jerky after a hike

Jacob taking it easy at the lake


There is just something I love so much about the way Brett and his brothers interact with each other and all the kids. I love seeing Brett's brothers with my kids, my kids adore them, and think they are so funny and so much fun (which they are!) It makes me so happy that Brett is close with his brothers and that they all enjoy being together so much. I wish this relationship for my boys when they are grown. What a great trip!

St. George

I look forward to the Wimmer St. George vacation all year long. It's a dream trip for my kids filled with climbing, hiking, swimming, going to the lake, sand dunes, and all day long playing with their cousins. Nothing could be better. I absolutely LOVE my in-law family. I love being with them and I always know I am in for a good laugh and a great time. It's always hard to leave, but we know we will see them again in the summer.

Playing at the sand dunes

Sam and Adam in their Wally the Green Monster Red Sox shirts. I wonder if there is a family anywhere that has more Red Sox attire than the Wimmers.

Jacob, Cameron and Sadie

Carter, Jacob and Cam at the lake

The first and last matters of business for me included Neilson's Frozen Custard. As we pulled into town we went straight to Cafe Rio and on to Nielson's and last night we finished off the great trip with another visit to Neilson's. Oh how I love that place!