S&S INC. + B.: Fall Break in Park City...

About 3 weeks ago, Spencer and the boys had Thursday and Friday off from school since it was UHEA, otherwise known as Fall Break here in Utah My in laws used their time shares and reserved condos for our family and Spencer's siblings in Park City. We drove up Wednesday evening, immediately after Spencer got off of work, spent the night, stayed all day Thursday, spent another night and we were home by Friday mid-afternoon. The trip was short, but we sure enjoyed the "quick get away" and time to relax.

Our boys were thrilled they got to spend time with their cousins--- especially their boy cousins, Ike and Eli... with busy schedules between both our family and Spencer's brother, Aaron's family, we don't get to see them too often- hence the purpose of a reunion. Our older boys LOVED the freedom they had there to explore! I'm sure they probably found themselves in trouble at times, but if they did, I was never made aware of it--- so in that case, they behaved like ANGELS for once! Yay!!! Our younger boys, that would be Cohen, Bentley and the babe, Atticus, enjoyed all the extra luving and cuddling from Grandma, their aunts Laura, Megan and Emily and even their much older girl cousins, Maddie, Tori and Emma. It's too bad we don't live closer to these girls- we'd hire them as babysitters in a heart beat!

I squeezed in time to take a nap or two and go to bed early--- 4 of the 5 boys were sick, so after dinner on Thursday night, I took the 2 babies back to our condo early to put them down to sleep and then I hit the sack early too. It felt SO nice Friday morning to wake up with a couple extra hours of rest!

We didn't find ourselves doing a whole lot in Park City--- the only real outing we made away from the condo was when we took the boys to a neighborhood park to play for about 2 hours. They LOVED that. Other than that, we just lounged around. Spencer took the older boys swimming and hot tubbing--- Thursday night after I'd gone to bed he and his family hung out and played games (games are SO NOT my thing--- I don't have the patience or attention span to learn new rules +with 5 kids I don't usually have TIME for games--- unless of course it's Rummikub- LOVE THAT GAME! Oh and Scrabble too!).

Fall in Park City is GORGEOUS!

Atticus is getting to be so BIG!

I couldn't believe that I had to pack 12 month old clothing for this trip

when the boy is only 6 months old!!!

I need to find out WHERE I can buy one of these sand digging contraptions

the boys were using in the sand box.

They absolutely LOVED it!

Noah made it to the top of this rope pyramid below!

He was SO proud of himself

and to be completely honest,

I was practically in tears!

Climbing ISN'T his forte-

it takes body strength and coordination he just has never had either of until now- all due to his HYPOTONIA.

It's taken him 6 years to figure out how to do something most kids half his age have accomplished-

it wasn't easy for him but once he saw that he could do it,

I KNOW it boosted his self esteem!!!

He can DO ANYTHING!

He may have to try harder than most kids his age,

but the happy fact is,

he can do it!!!

On our way home from Park City, we stopped off to eat in Heber at Dairy Keen. Our boys LOVE that place--- the food's good, but they're captivated by the trains there. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they now offer a gluten free menu!!! Actually, truth is, the discovery brought tears to my eyes! Seriously. I can't even begin to explain the frustration I've experienced when we're traveling or just simply running errands and I need to feed my boys- or better yet, myself- and I can't find anything at restaurants or fast food joints to order that is gluten free. It feels as though our only choice ever is a cheeseburger, with out the bun- that, or a salad- but of course my boys won't EAT a salad (what kid do you know would?!). Cheeseburgers get old after some time... Dairy Keen in Heber made all of their hamburgers to order with a gluten free bun- they also offered all of their sandwiches with a gluten free bread option- they had 10 or 12 soups on their menu that were gluten free and as it turns out, they also had g.f. fries (I LOVE french fries, but I NEVER trust fries from restaurants or fast food places because they're always cooked in the same oil that breaded products, like oh say, chicken nuggets, are fried in too--- the cross contamination with floured food makes me SICK and I've had to go to the E.R. 3 or 4 times because of it) - Dairy Keen frys their fries in a vat of oil used only specifically for gluten free fries. All of their sauces, salads, most of their toppings for desserts and dressings are also gluten free!!! I was so overwhelmed, but yet so excited, to read all of the options on their menu!!! As it turns out, the owner of Dairy Keen discovered recently that she has Celiacs Disease so she had to go onto a gluten free diet. Since she owned the joint, she decided that she wanted to cater to people with the same problem she has, hence the reason Dairy Keen offers so many gluten free foods. I had an opportunity to chat with her for a little bit and she was so extremely kind, she gave me 8 of her gluten free hamburger buns to take home free of charge!!! This was EXTREMELY GENEROUS on her part- gluten free buns are not cheap- it probably cost her somewhere between $16-$18 alone just for the bag of 8 buns. B.T.W. she said the buns and bread she uses at her restaurants are Udi's (click here to visit their website). They're delicious!!! Hands down, they are THE.BEST.GLUTEN.FREE.BREAD.PRODUCTS I've EVER tasted!!! Anyhow, I wish we lived closer to Heber--- I'd eat at Dairy Keen all the time! Well, not ALL the time- but you know what I mean... I'll certainly be sure to spread the word about their fabulous gluten free menu and anytime we pass through Heber- we'll ALWAYS make it a point to stop in and eat there. Hopefully other food chains and restaurants across the county will begin to offer more gluten free foods on their menus too. It sure is convenient and it helps those of us with food allergies/sensitivities/diseases feel included.