A Picnic, A Hike and A Splash

   Summer Sand Bucket List accomplishments 2 and 3 complete!
 We headed up Provo Canyon with our friends Christine and Lilly for a picnic and a hike to the falls!

{Tanner, Lily, Shaylee, Hunter & Paker playing in the falls}

 Okay... so I admit we cheated a bit with our picnic, but who doesn't love pizza right! And it was in the park and we did sit at a picnic table!  We all agreed it totally counts.

Our kiddos must have been famished cuz we ate all but 2 pieces of our 2 pizzas and only half a bag of crazy bread was left out of two.

{Left: Tanner & Hunter... Right: Lilly, Shaylee & Parker}

Then came time for our hike.  With two 3 year olds we knew it had to be a short and easy little walk with so we "hiked" up the Bridal Veil Trail to the falls.

{Lilly, Shaylee, Parker, Tanner & Hunter waiting to "hike"}

{Lily & Shaylee - growing up so fast... being so independent}

{Shaylee & Lily - Cutest little Besties ever!!!}

When we arrived at the falls we all waded in. My munchkins and Lilly played for several hours, until suddenly the sun began to disappear over the mountains.

{Tanner felt all grown up cuz he was allowed to wade to the deep end!}

{Tanner, Hunter & Parker building a pool for the girls to splash in}

{Dancing Shaylee}

We hurried back to our van, divided up the rest of the food for our hungry kiddos and took off for home all worn out from the days adventures.  All in all it was a marvelous day and my kids felt so accomplished when they dropped two more clothespins into the sand bucket.

Bamboo Hut... A Little Taste Of Heaven!

Bamboo Hut was totally a PHS thing... absolutely a BYU (football team) thing... without a doubt it was a Provo thing... And the thing is it was the bestest place ever to go for awesome food.

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In my teen years I'd leave school grounds to run across State Street with a group of friends and stand in the longest line imaginable for someone wanting to buy lunch. It stretched out past the tiny box of a building, past Sounds Easy Video and often times wound it's way around Hardie's. Sun, rain, wind and snow... I stood in line through it all. Think I'm crazy? Yup, 100% crazy, but not alone. I stood in that line with friends and teachers, college football players and men in high dollar suits discussing multimillion dollar deals... no one was immune from the insanely addictive food in that tiny little shack.

The line moved fast, but not always fast enough. I can't count the times I walked into class late and it was so so worth it to be handed that paper plate piled high with noodles and rib sauce, rice, chicken, ribs and the occasional bag of seafood wantons if I had enough in my pocket.  We'd look around for a seat... if you were lucky you might just find one, but odds were slim - so out the back door we'd go to sit on the curb or Provo High's grass.  All was right in the world.

Then suddenly the horribly mean people that owned the building tore it down! Or at least that's how the rumors told it.  They reopened in a crazy out of the way place.  Loyal customers followed... Bamboo's magic noodles and rib sauce were all I could keep down with my first pregnancy... nothing else not even water! 

And then the unthinkable happened... they disappeared!!! While pregnant with Hunter I craved Bamboo's seafood wontons.  I tried all sorts of restaurants in search of something that would satisfy- no luck, not even close. It was agony! Sadly I quit searching.

{This is a seafood wonton... and no one makes them like Roxie}

Then a friend tipped me off to the Original Bamboo Hut Facebook Page. I messaged them before I got my hopes up... It was them! Who gets this excited over food right? You go 9 years craving something you can't have and get back to me.

So it turns out they're at Orem Summerfest yesterday and today! I packed my kids in the car and told them my sad sad tale while on our way to putting an end to my 9 year craving and giving them their first bite of island food.

I made it known that Hawaiian/Poly food is my absolute fav and just a little taste of what I imagine heaven to be.  They looked at each other and roared in laughter as I continued my speech and officially declared they would no longer be deprived of all it's awesomeness.

{It's Roxane!!! See! Proof I found the 'real' Bamboo Hut!}

 Wanna know how good it was?  Well I'll tell you. My kiddos are begging to go again today they'll even empty their piggy banks to pay for it!  I know right! How awesome are they? Should I introduce them to kalua pork?...  

Yup! I think I shall! 

{Parker inhaled his... I had to tell him to slow down}

{Hunter chewed on his ribs til the bones were clean - then asked to keep them - a reminder of his first 'bite of heaven'. LOL!}

{Tanner doesn't eat much these days, but did enjoy his snowie}

{I shared with Shaylee - She ate so much she shoulda had her own!}