Got Fish?

We had our annual campout at Trial Lake this month.  We had a big group this year.  Our neighbor's the Frosts came with us.  We met up later with Kev's Mom and cousin Mark.  We decided to stop by the upper Provo river falls on our way to camp. 

Nayla and Addy hanging out on the rocks by our campsites.  There were great places for the kids to build forts.  They moved these rocks to put up perimeters.  It kept them entertained for hours.

 

Hayden and Nayla had fun jumping off all the rocks as well.

 

Addy giving Halle big hugs.  She is such a little sweetheart.  It was nice that she was able to walk around camp this year.  A year ago she wasn't even walking yet.

Ben and Janice hanging out by the lake.  You can see Kev hauling his raft out to the water.  It was the first time we had brought it in years.

McKenna and Emily had a great time taking the raft out whenever they felt like it.  Mckenna and Emily also saved the day.  I forgot the vegetable oil for frying up the donuts.  They volunteered to wander through the campground to find some.  I was willing to pay but some of our nice camp neighbors just gave it to us.  We made sure to deliver some donuts to these nice families that helped us out.

Kev couldn't wait to get out on the water after dinner.  It is a good time to catch some fish.

 

Addy having fun with her Grandma Sue. 

 

Mark came up later in the day with three of his kids.  Ruth was out of town for a family funeral.  We missed not having her there with us!

The next morning Parker was one of the first out on the lake.  You know the saying, "the early bird gets the worm".  He caught an awesome tiger trout! I had never seen one before.  They are a rare catch. 

The kids back at camp had fun making licorice mustaches.  There was plenty of sugar on this trip between all the families.  We all just shared what we had.  One of my favorite things was when we roasted starbursts over the fire.  It is something that I learned at girls camp.

 

Janice and I were happy to have our turn out on the lake.

 

This was her actual expression when she caught her fish.  It was flopping around like crazy.  It got off the line and landed in the fishing boat.  It was flipping around by our feet.  Janice was screaming her head off.  It was quite comical.  I only wish that I would have video recorded it.

 

I caught one too!  I always get so excited when I feel that tug on the line.  The anticipation builds while I am reeling it in.  I can't wait to see what kind of fish it is and how big.

Parker, Simon, and Ryker had a great time running around camp together.

 



This was a fort Ben made out all the dead tree stumps.  I took a pic of Mark and his kids to send to Ruth.  I was really impressed with how well Mark did at being a single Dad for the weekend.  He made it look like a piece of cake.

We did get a big thunderstorm late in the afternoon.  The sun did come back out after a couple hours.

It made for a beautiful sunset on the lake. 

 

We went back out fishing just as soon as the rain let up.  It is thanks to my husband that we go on these camping adventures.  He really does the majority of the work.

The next morning the kids rode scooters while we packed up camp.

 

Addy wants to be one of the big kids.  She loves to stand on the scooter while we push her around.
It was a fun camping trip!  We caught about twenty eight fish in the two days we were there. 

ATK-100 year celebration!!

The company Kev works for, ATK, just had their 100 year celebration!  On Saturday August 10th we were invited to a family day.  This is a big deal since these are locked down and secured buildings.  It had been ten years since the last time it was opened up to families.

 

We were able to take a tour of some of the buildings on the ATK property (this is the rocket case preparation building 'Case Prep').  This is the big bus we drove around in.  It was cool because they drove us right through the buildings. We were not allowed to take pictures on our tour.  These are some that a company photographer took for us.

 



Our tour guide told us some of the details of what goes on in these buildings. 

 

It was nice because he put it in simple terms that we could understand.  Engineers really have their own language.  The green canister is what they put the propellant into.  It starts out as a liquid.  Our guide compared it to making a cake.  The "batter" is first poured in the mixing bowls.

They also use robots to do all the work.  The robot (the blue machine on the right of the picture)  follows a programmed route. It takes the green canister with the propellant into the mixing room.

 

The silver blades are used to mix the propellant with other dry ingredients.  They call this mixer "your mother's kitchen aid on steroids".  They turned on the blades so we could see it in action.  It is amazing to see how these giant curved blades move in and around each other without even touching. Then the propellant is poured into the motors and baked until it becomes a solid.  They said the solid propellant once cured is comparable to rubber on the top of a pencil.

 

We were able to visit one of the buildings were Kev actually works.  There were four live rockets in there.  This meaning they had the propellant and igniter's already installed in them.

Here is a closer up view of the rockets. 

 

We also got to see his office where he spends his time when he is not out on plant.  The girls had a fun time trying on his headset.

They also left him messages on his dry erase board.  Kev said it was fun reading them when he went back to work on Monday, along with all the other guys who stopped by to talk.

We got to visit the cafeteria and have all kinds of snacks and treats.  The kids also got company swag.  Tattoos, stickers, Nerf Rockets, and build your own paper rockets.

We took pictures out in the parking lot with this inert (not live) GEM40 rocket motor that was on display.  Kev told the kids it was a once in a lifetime chance to ride on an actual rocket.

 

ATK also has their own fire department.  They need a crew who are trained to put out chemical fires and that also know the layout of ATK well.  I was surprised to hear that there are 8500 acres of ATK property at the Bacchus location.

 

The girls trying on the firefighter uniforms.  They looked more like sumo suits on them.

 

Halle fell over and could not get back up!  It gave us all a laugh including the firefighters who were nearby.

Mckenna and Parker hanging out with the fire truck.

 

Hayden was so excited to have a turn to try on all the gear.  Kev had to hold onto the hat so he didn't fall over.

It was fun having a glimpse of what it is like to be an Engineer at ATK.  It is nice being able to know where and what my husband does at work everyday.  We also got to meet some of the people he works with.  They had nothing but positive things to say about him.  I am so grateful for how hard he works to provide for our family!  It is cool being married to a "Rocket Scientist"!

Seven Peaks!!

One of our favorite summer pastimes is hanging out at Seven Peaks.  We have a season pass and could come and go whenever we felt like it.

We met up with my brother Mike and his family.  It was fun hanging out with them.  It brought back tons of fun memories of coming here when we were kids.  We also met up with cousin Preston, Melissa and their family.  Melissa and I had fun talking while we waited in line for the water slides.  We both went on the cave in slide while our husbands hung out with the kids.

We spent most of our time hanging out by the kiddie pools.  Hayden loved going down this slide all by himself.

Halle getting ready to go down the slide.  I love that you can see the big Y on the mountain right from the waterpark.

I really liked Halle's expression as she was getting ready for the drop!

 

Addy working on her tan!  She has a really good tan now from all the time we have spent out in the sun.

We planned another Seven peaks day with two of my best friends and their families.  It was fun going on the waterslides together.  Jan and I had fun on the water raceway.  You slide down on blue mats.

We took a picture with all the kids

 

Halle loves playing on this floating crocodile.  Hayden was putting his hands in the mouth.



Halle and Eva had fun trying out the slides together.

 

McKenna, Grant, and Drake were old enough to go off on their own.  They were floating by in the lazy river.

Parker had a fun time hanging out with Drake.  They took off with the double tube to try some of the bigger slides.  They even went on the giant boomerang slide.  It looks like a huge half pipe.  I don't have any pics of the big slides.  It is hard taking pictures at a waterpark.  I didn't want to spend the whole time walking around with the camera.  So I put it away in the locker and joined in on the fun.