The Skelt-nielsons Family Vacation

Our annual Skelton/Danielson family party has come to an end :(  We have had a lot of fun the last couple of days...how can you not with 9 kids under one roof???

The older girls watched all the kids (Thanks Carlee & Taylor) so Bryan and I were able to escape to the temple for a couple hours on Tuesday.  It has been a long long time since we have been together.  I actually had gone early in the morning on my own, so this evening excursion was a fun surprise :)

That night after we got home, we hooked up the projector outside and watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  

Yesterday, we went to a park to have lunch together, and then we all went (yep, me and 9 kids) to the county fair. There were diving dogs, baby kangaroos, pony rides, pettable pigs and goats...and a newspaper salesman that wouldn't quit (apparently 9 kids going 9 different directions isn't a big enough clue that I don't have time to listen to the w-h-o-l-e schpeal) :)

Asher was pretty timid about the animals, but right before we left, he got brave and decided to touch the baby goat's tail :)

Aeden begged, BEGGED me to find a way to bring this baby goat home with us.

Liah and Aeden riding the ponies

Last night we watched The Three Amigos on the big screen outside.  That is one funny movie...the kids hadn't seen it yet.  Their parents will thank me for the ballads of "My Little Buttercup" that they will be singing for many days to come :)

This morning we took off for the zoo.  It was perfect weather for the first hour.  We got to see most of the bird show (I had this huge owl graze my head while it was flying back and forth).  The kids really liked it.  We saw tigers, and giraffes, and snakes, and monkeys....and then the rain started to pour...and pour...and then just DUMP!  Most everyone but Asher was laughing, even Belen :)  I think Carlee's arms were numb because she carried Asher and an umbrella (Liah's tummy was hurting again so she was in the stroller), but she was a great sport.  We were all drenched to the bone by the time we made it to the van. 

All the kids in front of the elephants BEFORE the rain :)

Then we drove to a park and stopped and ate our lunch in the van.  I took the long way home, and we drove through the Salt Lake Cemetary.  We found President McKay's, President Taylor's, and President Grant's graves, it was pretty neat.  We even found some of the apostles graves, which the kids all loved.  The best part though was as we were winding our way out of the cemetary, we found President and Sister Hinckley's graves!!!!  It was so neat, and even though I don't particularly like pictures in cemetaries, I couldn't help but get one with the kids in the pouring rain in front of their marker.  They loved it!  If you look closely, you can see the little rocks lined up on their marker that someone else had left for him.  It was sweet.  Aeden and the kids gathered pine cones to leave for them :)

It feels like we have an empty house now that they're gone :(