We love summer. It is so wonderful to have less of a strict schedule and lots of lovely weather. I love not having to get up early in the morning! At the end of July we were gearing up for Asher's birthday which included a dinner out at his choice of restaurant. He chose to go to Brick Oven. We went to the one in South Jordan and stopped at a park nearby on the way home so I could scout out potential photo shoot locations.
Double fisted dessert pizza- Yum! Asher was SUPER excited for his 9th birthday to come.
I went and got my hair did. I have so much grey now it really has to be just another color in my hair otherwise I look like an old woman.
One of the things that the kids love most in the summer is having a fire in the back yard and making smores. It is all about making happy memories! As we have mentioned before Jax is a moron - as this video illustrates.
The simplest things will entertain these kids. All you need is a big box and your imagination can take you all sorts of places.
RegAnn slept over a couple of nights this month. We loved having her - she is like one of the family!
We had a night time glow in the dark pool party with the Zellers!
Rainbows are the best!
Hannah and Asher wanted to go to the outdoor pool. Asher talked himself into jumping off the diving board. I have learned my lesson with JJ- I don't push Asher to try new stuff - he just decides he wants to and does it. JJ won't do anything like jumping off diving boards or going down water slides, especially if I try and argue him into it. Hannah on the other had is not afraid and gets right to it. She is a good example for Asher for trying new things. She really encourages him to conquer his fears.
Another fear that Asher is still working on is climbing the rock wall at Trafalga. It is super easy for Hannah now and she encourages him to keep trying!
JJ went on a back packing trip with his scout troop to Strawberry Reservoir this month. He really had a great time!
Hannah wanted to learn how to mow the lawn so she could earn money doing it this summer. Lance taught her how and she has been doing it. She still doesn't have all the upper body strength she needs but she keeps trying.
Our blackberries and raspberries bushes are often forgotten along the side of our house where no one ever really goes but Asher noticed we had some yummy berries and helped me pick some.
Summer is the time for sudden bursts of rain, wind and hail. It wouldn't be Utah summer weather without the sudden downpours!
Brandon got a new weimeramer (spelling?) puppy named Murphy! He is so cute and of course the kids all fell instantly in love.
We had a fun summer get together at Charlie's house while some of his kids and step kids and grandkids were visiting. It was great fun for our kids to have some time getting to know their step cousins!
Fourth of July this year was a lot less eventful than last year. We met up with Jake and Carolyn, Michelle and Jace at the Thanksgiving Point fireworks. The kids had a great time playing on the grass and the fireworks display this year was amazing!
Despite record breaking hot days this month this rose still bloomed. I am sure there is a deep meaning in that somewhere - especially when you factor in the name of this rose is "Mother's Rose". I know I am trying to endure the hot days with grumpy bored children. We are doing our best to stay busy and positive but sibling rivalry is a real thing at our house. Here are some of the things that filled our days this month.
The best purchase Lance and I have ever made for our backyard has to be this above ground pool. It isn't huge or really tall but it has lasted us three years now and the kids spend A LOT of time in it with and without their friends. We have figured out how to do the chemicals and keep it clean and it is so worth all the work.
One of my Christmas gifts this past year was tickets to this year's Roundup Rodeo. I like to fantasize about being a cowgirl/farmgirl. Lance is about as city as they come but he is nice enough to let me pretend he is a cowboy this one day a year. We had really high up seats this year and the bleachers are the "no back" kind that if you put your purse by your feet it is pretty likely to end up on the ground below the bleachers. We didn't loose anything but apparently Asher is super afraid of heights because he had a little melt down climbing up there and again when everyone was standing up stomping on the bleachers right before they started the bull riding part of the competition. He was fine as long as his butt was stuck to the seat.
We all got real cowboy hats this year. Don't we look hunky dory?
One of our ward members has a mini ranch with horses, cows, ducks, chickens, turkeys, goats, bunnies and dogs. They invited people to come over for a horsemanship class taught by their oldest daughter. It was great fun for the kids and me. I loved their 2 day old baby goats the best though! This is me and Rocky Road doing our ducky lips selfie.
I took the Hannah and Asher to the Roundup Stock parade too. It was stinking hot but we always love the horses.
Tis the time of year for marathon LEGO sessions. Be careful where you step!
I took the kids to the Legacy Center pool one afternoon when it was super hot. They had fun. Only Hannah will go down the BIG water slide. But Asher likes this little one a lot.
In conjunction with Roundup the Hutchings Museum did free outdoor animal shows. We went to the bird one and the reptile show. It was, again, super hot but we survived.
Hannah and Asher gave camping in the back yard a try one night. It was really hot and Hannah's blow up mattress had a slow leak so they both came in about midnight.
Happy Father's day to the best dad ever! He is such a good provider and works so hard around the house too. We truly appreciate what he does to make our home better.
This cat is NOT amused.
JJ went on another scout backpacking trip. This one was a multi day hike around the Strawberry Reservoir area. I wish I had more pictures but this is the only one his scout leaders texted me while they were on the trip. He loved it and had a great experience with the other boys. He did really well with the hiking with his back pack this time. His leaders remarked that 1 year really made a big difference for him. I have a sneaking suspicsion that it was better this time because he didn't have his dad along to complain to. But he has had a growth spurt and has shot up taller than me.
JJ and his buddy Josh getting ready to leave for the back packing trip.
This dog loves his boy so much. He stood like this for a long time. He knew something was up with all the camping gear out.
While JJ was gone I heard about a free day at Tracy Aviary and so me and the other two kids went up and enjoyed our favorite "zoo".
Hannah took these pictures at the Aviary!
Because we got in for free I decided to splurge and pay for the kids to interact with the Sun Conures. It was really an awesome experience for them to hold the birds and see them up close. It is a memory that we will always treasure.
Lunch at Zupas is always fun. I am not sure why they kids wanted soup on such a hot day but we rolled with it.
It's not really summer until we break out the s'more supplies and do a fire in the back yard. Yum!
Hannah took random parts of her LEGOs and made this candy dispenser!
This kitty loves to snuggle. He can get into so much mischief but he is a really sweet kitty.
Hannah and I had the awesome opportunity to go see Princess Academy - the play at BYU with the Zeller girls. The play was very true to the book and we really enjoyed our fun day out.
Hannah went to Activity Day camp at the Stake Center and had a great time learning and making fun crafts.
While at the church having scouts, JJ helped rescue this cute kitten from getting hit. No one claimed it so we took care of it for a bit until we found a forever home for her with the Young family. It was just in time too because me and kids were starting to get attached. I didn't let the kids give her a name or anything because I knew we couldn't keep her. He had one green eye and one blue eye. She was pretty skittish but was warming up to us really well.
This month Asher got to go to Jeremiah Johnson Cub Scout Day camp. He LOVES going and always comes home bubbling over with all the activities he got to participate in. I went this year as one of the leaders.
Lance's parent's golden wedding anniversary was in June. He and his brother planned a surprise party on their behalf. I did the decorations and the invite. It took a lot of work and we were frustrated that we couldn't have it in our church building because of construction (which by the way didn't get started until after this party). There was also road construction which made it difficult for some people to find the church we ended up at. But all in all it was a good experience and Jake and Carolyn were surprised.
It was a really busy month for Hannah in particular as she had Clear Creek camp for the first week of June. She had a great time and made lots of new friends. She participated in everything and made the most of the experience.
This was her group that she was assigned to during the camp. Her friends Wilson and Annabelle were in her group.
Here are some pictures she took with our point and shoot camera before she broke the LDC screen.
This year we got daily emails with photos attached which I LOVED!
This is the group of kids from our school who went that first week. It was awesome because they really are all such good friends.L to R top row: Brandon S., Wilson Y., RegAnn Z., Olivia H., Rena G., L to R bottom row: Abbie P., Erin R., Annabelle M., Hannah
The boys and I took Libby and Kynlee to Cabelas one day while Hannah and RegAnn were gone to Clear Creek. Libby loved the fish and the animals!
Asher's latest obsession is wilderness survival. He likes to practice in the back yard and watch Man vs Wild on YouTube. Here he is being a mountain man!
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