June 2016

Ahh the bliss of summertime. Sleeping in, no homework, warm weather, lots of outside activities . . .. and boredom and fighting and whining . . . oh wait?  I really do love summertime.  It is so nice to have a break for the schedule.  I (most of the time) enjoying being with my kids. Here are some of the things that we did during the month of June. . . 

Arts in the Park

The Lehi Arts Council (Lance volunteers as the PR person for the council) hosts Arts in the Park every Sunday in the summer at Wines Park.  There are various musical acts that perform.  This night we were there for the LAC summer party and stayed for the show.  Lance doesn't always love being on the council mainly due to the inefficiency and the nepotism but he has stuck with it so that we get a discount when our kids want to take classes there.  We have some good friends, the McKinnons who are involved too so it was fun to hang out with them.  They have kids Hannah and Asher's ages so the kids had a blast playing in the park.   Not a bad way to spend a summer Sunday evening.

Asher, Hannah, Annabelle and Desi

Annabelle, Asher, JJ and Hannah

Asher

One of Asher's favorite things to do is get out his bow and arrows and practice archery.  He's getting better at it every time.

Backyard Pool

A couple of years ago we got this above ground pool and it has been such a worthwhile purchase.  It has lasted pretty well and they kids really play in it a lot in the summer.  It's just big enough for our kids and their friends and no worries about anybody drowning. 

Summer Rules

In order for me to stay sane during the summer I need a little structure.  This was this year's attempt at having a schedule.  It worked out pretty well.  JJ did the stuff too but was too cool to mark it off on my nifty poster. 

Here are a few of the creative activities that the kids came up with this month:

Father's Day

This month we honor the fathers in our lives.  We are so grateful for Lance and all he does for us.  

Dinner at Mimi's

 Lance got a new recliner. It is even motorized. It's pretty sweet!

 We are grateful for Lance's dad Jake as well.  He helps us so much and is so supportive of anything the kids are participating in.

Jeremiah Johnson Day Camp

Asher really loves the cub scout program.  He looks forward to the cub day camp all year.  We had a fairly small group this year so Karen Smith and I split up the boys and took them in our cars. Of course when I went to start the van up the battery was dead.  So I had to drive Lance's car - which I hate to drive.  But all in all it was really fun!

Josh Smith, Asher, Ben Smith, JD Brown, Cayden Isaksen, Ryker West, Jackson Powell, Ashton Braley

Outdoor Pool

The kids have been begging to go to the outdoor pool so we made time to go there this month.  I love it when my kids try new things that are a little bit scary for them.  I love to see them conquer their fears.

Pets

Just what we needed . . . another photo of this weird cat sleeping in a strange position.

Somebody got pushed out.  Mouse knows he is the king of the castle.

Lest you think that Jax isn't loved.

Rock Hounding

Asher has been pestering Lance about going rock hounding so Lance found a place up Spanish Fork Canyon that had some fossils that were easy to access.  Hannah, Asher and Lance spent  a few hours exploring.

Lehi Roundup Days!

In Lehi Round up days are a BIG deal.  We like to go to one or all three parades.  We didn't attend the rodeo this year.  I can only get Lance to go about once every 10 years.  

 This year Hannah walked in the Friday night parade with the cast of Beauty and the Beast!

 The Saturday morning parade we ended up sitting with Scott's brother Dustin's family.  It was fun to hang out with them during the very hot parade.

Random Happenings

Lance has worked for Intermountain Healthcare for 1 year!  We are grateful for his job and that he is so happy there.

 Hannah and I love to get pedicures together.  It is so fun to have a spa day once in a while.

Summer toes!

I love getting my hair done. It is fabulous to loose the grey hair.

We also had an amazing vacation to Palisades State Park with the Zellers this month but that needs it's own post so stay tuned!

June 2015

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!