Basketball no more

We had high hopes, but no one really played basketball in our driveway with the hoop that's been there for almost 30 years.  A few years ago, I spray-painted it to make it look nice, but the slant of the driveway make it annoying to play.  

Everyday while backing up out of the garage, I avoided hitting it, then one day I begged Greg to tear it out.  We finally did it!  

Before...

First we dug around the base. 

 Then, using a sledge hammer, we loosened the cement from the ground. 

Then we wiggled it a little and... 

boom, it tipped right over.  

Although there was a wide swath of cement, thankfully it didn't go deeper then 12 inches.  Yoda measured with his hand.  

We hoped it would just have a little cement up the pole, nope.  It was completely full of cement.  We tried cutting the pole with the saw, no dice... After cutting and swinging with the sledgehammer, we got the pole free from the cement.  (We borrowed and then broke the first sledge hammer and had to buy a new one.)

The backboard was taken away by the city's bulk trash, but now we have a pile of cement and a cement filled pole that we don't know what to do with.  But at least I'm not going to hit the pole as I back up anymore! 

Now to grow some grass...

Hammock Camping

Greg really wanted to take the kiddos camping, but something always comes up.  So we camped in the back yard.  Super convenient and easy to get to!

 Parker took charge and set up the hammocks for him and Mimi.

 I got hot dogs and s'mores for everyone to eat. 

Yoda wasn't interested in actually sleeping in the tent, but before bedtime he tried it out just for fun.  He and Greg slept in a normal tent on the ground.  (um, I slept in the house)

The long trip home...

On our way home we stopped in on our friends in Iowa!

 Lots of movies! 

 And we stopped in Little America, first an ice cream cone, THEN lunch! 

 We even saw some friends from OHIO!  Weird! 

 Swimming at the hotel

 A quilt themed rest stop deserved a few photos.

We got in LATE!  But it was all worth it. 

At Grandma's in Utah...

After we left Moab we headed north to see Greg' Grandma and a few more cousins in SLC!

  Lots of good food and lots of fun :)
Someone suggested that Yoda was small enough to fit through the laundry shoot, but he was too scared.  Mimi was on it!  

video

 Playing in the Grandma's basement! 

 Parker helped out by filling the bird feeder.

So much fun! 

Moab Giants

Another day at another lake, and a little fishing.  

 Silly parents!

 

 He did it! 

Most of vending machines were out of order.
Water? Nope!  Corn nuts, beef jerky or Doritos?  Sure!

Selfie with the dinos!

 She's still very interested in Dinosaurs.

 Souvenirs?  

 One day Mimi chose not to go shooting and we had a little visitor! 

 

 

Hanging with cousin A and the Rifle shooting merit badge

While in Utah my dad helped Parker earn the rifle shooting merit badge.  They worked for days!  Yoda and Mimi came along too. 

 Mimi always finds the perfect spot to play with dirt. 

Dad would watch Parker's shots through the binoculars to see how Parker was doing.  He had to score a certain amount on the target to be able to earn the merit badge.  

 Later grilled cheese at the Branding Iron...

It worked out that we got a couple days in Moab while my sister and her family were there.  That meant quality cousin A time.  He's such a little character! 

 Selfies with Cousin A. 

We celebrated my mom's bday a little early while we were there.  Ice cream cake!  

 A little chess. 

 And a day at the lake!