July 2018

The Coeur d'Alene trip was a fantastic way to start July. We were so busy this month, it took a long time to sort through all the pictures and memories. After returning home from camping Daddy got to open his birthday presents. He got a soccer goal, a new ball, and some books to read. We immediately put together the goal and played.

After a fun family game, we were invited to a fashion show. All the kids put on a talent/fashion show for us. Lily did Annie's make up and the boys did funny dances while Annie changed into her next outfit. The invitation was posted on the living room wall. It is a fun read.

After the show, everyone took a bow. We clapped so much that we got an encore performance from Iron Man.

The heat really turned up this month. We spent most of our days swimming or playing soccer. The girls helped me make watermelon popsicles for the family to enjoy after Annie's soccer game. They were yummy.

Tommy loved his soccer games, but he never really got contact with the ball after his first game. He loved running to the ball but just when he'd get close to it, he would back off and let someone else take it.

Maybe he will be a track start rather than a contact sport kind of guy.  Joey is hovering between taking and skipping an afternoon nap. Some days a nap is necessary and other days he can do just fine without it. Other days, it can be hard to tell and we will find him passed out. One afternoon, after playing at his friend's house all day, he came home, took off his wet swimming suit and fell asleep while Mommy was making dinner.

The summer reading program prizes are always so fun. The kids love to get a free sno-cone at the shaved ice hut in Rigby - courtesy of the library. Lily loves mango, Tommy has discovered sour green apple, Annie and Joey couldn't make up their minds on a flavor so they shared coconut and rootbeer.

We checked out the cutest activity bag from the library full of books, games, and puzzles about bugs. Plus a huge magnifying glass and lots of little plastic bugs. Tommy played with it every day. But all the small pieces were a cause of anxiety for Mommy. No matter how hard I tried to contain all the pieces and keep the boys from spreading everything out, we ended up having to hunt down a bug or two at bed time. We decided to not check out any of the activity bags again - until the boys are a little older. Returning a bag with just one piece missing means we have to replace the entire bag for $50-$100!

One of the best parts of spring and summer is trampoline time with Daddy. He comes home and sweeps the kids away for some wrestling and jumping. I'm so glad when Daddy comes home!

Annie came a long way this season. She worked hard at her practices and learned to be braver about getting after the ball.

The nights were so hot we started packing ice to help the team cool off.  Annie's favorite game was the one she got to play goalie. She made 4 great saves and grew in confidence after that experience.

The one toy we all like playing with is the train set.  It is so fun to see the kids create elaborate track systems and play nicely together. I wonder if they will remember the hours spent together creating and laughing.

Joey has started putting himself in time out when he knows he has done something wrong. It saves us some time, but often we will find him in bed crying without knowing why he is there. Poor Joey. Hopefully one day he will learn to stop hitting and throwing things. I've heard about the terrible twos, but as our little ones near three years old, we really see the temper emerge.

The good news is, he bounces back really fast and is back to his jolly self in no time. This picture was just minutes after we found him crying in bed.

Annie got tired of her long hair and asked for a chin length cut and some bangs. She looks cute, but is regretting the shorter length, no more braids, buns, or pony tails for a little while.

A friend invited me and the kids to Rexburg Rapids on a day nearing 100 degrees. It was a little scary going to a water park all alone with four kids. But the kids were great about wearing their life jackets and staying together. It was a great afternoon. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend a hot afternoon.

The kids were so good that I took them to Karie Anne's for Italian ice and custard after the water park. Best treat ever!

The girls are still slowly working their way through Harry Potter. We will only let them read through the 3rd book of the series for the time being. Once they finish it, they want to start over again with book one. It is so rewarding to see them love reading - and love reading together.

All the summertime togetherness has us feeling a little cranky with each other from time to time. Daddy decided we needed a get-along shirt. When the kids are fighting, they have to get in the shirt together for 5 minutes. Joey thinks it is awesome. I think he is starting to pick fights just so he can get in the shirt with Tommy.

Clearly we need to come up with another solution if they view the punishment as a reward. But it is darling to watch the way Joey looks adoringly at Tommy while they hug and sing. And the wrestling match gets everyone laughing and helps them forget why they were fighting in the first place. Maybe it is working after all.

Tommy loves the Lego Ninjago movie. The villain is named Lord Garmadon and he wears a funny helmet with antler things coming off the front. Tommy made himself a headpiece with the train tracks and wanted us to take a picture of his Garmadon helmet.

One Sunday night Uncle Brady came over with a USA shirt. Tommy got excited because he also has a USA shirt. He ran to change so he could be like his uncle. And then we built another train track.

We devoted two weeks to clogging camps. The girls were trying to move up a level and had to work hard to prove themselves at camp. Good news, they both were able to advance and they are excited about the coming year.

When I started working on the blog I found a series of pictures on the camera. The girls gave Annie a make over and then staged a bunch of cute and dreamy poses. These are my favorites.

It is hard to see them grow up and want to be grown up. They already want secret diaries, make up, and big jewelry. And they would rather be with friends than at home with family.

At least the friends always want to hang out at our house.

We earned free laser tag with our library reading minutes. It was just as fun as last year. We even brought Uncle Brady along for a family night. Joey was really excited to try laser tag but got scared in the darkness.  We let him take turns shooting our guns and that helped for a little while. But it left Mommy and Daddy as sitting ducks during the game - which the big kids loved.

From the looks of these pictures, Annie is the only one excited to be here. Trust me, everybody was excited.

After two rounds of laser tag, we were ready for a big drink of water and some ice cream!

I think my best purchase this summer was goggles from the dollar store. Each kid chose their favorite color. I've hesitated to buy goggles in the past - just one more thing to keep track of. But these were only a buck and the kids loved them so much. Definitely worth it. The kids were so protective of their goggles and we made it the rest of the summer without losing them.

To give the goggles a test run Mommy braved the lake with all four kids for an entire afternoon. We planned to stay only an hour and before we knew it, over four hours passed.

We just kept swimming and swimming and swimming - until the lake water chilled us to our bones.

Then we played on the beach and in the sand - until our feet and shoulders got too hot.

Then of course we put on more sunscreen, had a snack, and went right back to the water.

Look at those little fishes! The only thing that would have made this afternoon perfect was if Daddy could have been with us. It was one of Mommy's most favorite days this summer.

Since Daddy missed the lake, and we still wanted more swimming, we packed up for Green Canyon Hot Springs on a Saturday. One of the older ladies in our ward gave us six free passes for Green Canyon months ago and kept forgetting to use them. I am so glad we finally made time to go.

We tried taking underwater pictures with Mommy's new camera. It takes some practice to get it right.

We were having so much fun that we didn't check the clock and it was nap time once we finished. Everybody was tired, hungry, and grumpy. It is so hard to take the kids out to do fun things just to have everyone completely melt down on the way home. This too shall pass.....right?

Joey has been in a bandit phase. He likes to wear a bandana over his face and say Yee-Haw. I will miss this little cowboy when he grows up.

Daddy volunteered to coach one of Annie's games while the regular coach was out of town. We had fun trying to learn all the rules, all the kids' names, and remember to watch the clock. It meant so much to Annie to have her Daddy there coaching. She kept hugging him every chance she got.

Our raspberries gave a bountiful first harvest. We got enough to make an amazing raspberry cream trifle. It was heavenly. But our canes aren't flowering much and they are looking poorly. This will be a small yield year. That might be a good thing. It will keep me from making more of this fabulous dessert.

The moms on our street organized a trip to the splash park. We loved spending the day with all of our friends in the neighborhood.

We all shared snacks and shade and played the day away.

It was awesome to see Tommy so unphased by the splashing water. He used to just wander the edges of the splash park, but thanks to his goggles, he gets right in the water and happily climbs all the toys.

The girls got wet but decided the splash park is for "babies" and  ended up playing pretend under the shade trees instead.

Once everyone was dry we rode the carousel together.

We need to make neighborhood splash park day an annual tradition.

I make the kids read, practice piano, do chores and so something creative before they can have screen time. One day Annie drew these fantastic pictures of herself dancing ballet and clogging. She wants to do more dance in addition to clogging, but we just don't have the time or money for another activity. So instead we turn on the music at home and let her dance her heart out.

For the last week of summer reading, we earned family passes for two games of laser tag and indoor black light mini golf. Each child had a family pass - so we invited the Bezzants along to help us use up our passes. It was a fun night and the kids enjoyed sharing their prizes with their best friends. Tommy invited his best friend's family to come along but they were sick and couldn't join us.

After all that running around, we had to get ice cream again. We should have just bought soft drinks. That ice cold drink was the thing everyone fought over.

Our credit union hosted a free family night at Rexburg Rapids. They even provided pizza for dinner. We called Daddy and told him to meet us at the water park rather than come home. What's better than free dinner and free swimming on a summer night? Nothing we can think of.

Joey can jump into the pool for hours. He loves the thrill of the big splash.

Joey's nursery teacher at church brought cute pioneer clothes for all the nursery kids. She said Joey had to have the hat. It's all about the hat, right? She promised me they weren't in trouble in this picture. She just tried to line them up and everyone stared at the floor and refused to smile. Silly little pioneer children.

Daddy got the day off for Pioneer Day so we tried biking part of the Ashton-Tetonia trail. This was Lily's first time riding on an unpaved surface. She struggled with navigating the gravel and dirt, but had a pretty good time.

We loved seeing the river way down below us. The boys ran all around the bridge.

We even found a bat on the bridge - which after about an hour disappeared. We thought it was dead at first but once we got closer we could see evidence of breathing and a heartbeat. We're not sure if it woke up and flew away or if someone (or something) came along and picked it up.

The river looked so inviting on this scorching hot day. We saw a trail leading down the mountainside to the water. We figured we could try making our way down there. The trail was so steep we ended up sliding down most of the way on our backsides.

We were dirty and covered in stickers, but that water felt so good. All of us took our shoes off and enjoyed the river.

The way back up felt like we were clawing our way out of the little canyon. Lesson learned, don't keep going down a trail that is so steep you have to slide on your bottom - because then you have to try and get back up on the way out. The kids were nervous and needed a lot of pushing and pulling from Mom and Dad to make it back up. But they felt so proud of themselves once we were back on the bridge.

We were ready for lunch and a rest in the shade. Everyone took turns cooling off with the ice pack. Tommy thought it was funny and took pictures of us with the ice pack on our heads.

We love our little adventurers!

We want to try this ride again - on a cooler day - so we can go farther on the trail and see more of the trestles and bridges. We can only go as far as the little legs can go, so maybe it will just be a Mommy and Daddy ride next time.

Near the end of July we had a chance to go to Utah. One of Mommy's roommates from college was in town from Florida, Lily's cousin closest in age was in town visiting both sets of grandparents, and our friend Cassandra and her husband had just moved to the area to start a new job.  It was a perfect chance to see a few of our favorite people in one trip.

We met Grammy and Grampy and cousins at Thanksgiving Point. I was hoping the boys would play together with their cousins, but Joey just took off the second we walked through the doors, and Tommy tried to keep up with the girls - who were constantly trying to dodge him.

Lily and Madilyn loved having some time together. The girls had so much fun that we hardly saw them most of the afternoon.

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Tommy loved this interactive floor game. He tried every game available and stayed here for over an hour.

Thank goodness I had Grammy and Grampy to help keep track of Joey. JoJo dragged Grampy all over the museum.

Tommy attempted this rope bridge. Things like this are way out of his comfort zone. He got half way across the bridge and decided to turn back. Way to go Tommy! Maybe next time we can go across together.

Tommy wouldn't leave this floating head exhibit. It looked better in real life - something about the camera didn't capture the effect in the right way.

Before leaving for our next adventure, we played in the gardens outside.

So much fun. The kids ask to come back here all the time. Thank you Grammy and Grampy for a special day with cousins.

We left Thanksgiving Point and stopped for slurpees at a 7-Eleven. Tommy was being careless in the store and dropped his slurpee on the floor right after we bought it. Mommy refused to buy him another one and offered to share hers. As we climbed into the car, Tommy was crying about how hot he was. Mommy offered her slurpee again. Tommy accepted it but as Mommy walked around the car to strap in Joey, Tommy chucked the slurpee at the dashboard and it spilled everywhere. That was it. Mommy was tired, the kids were tired, and Tommy did something he knew was wrong. Mommy yelled. It was one of those moments you pray no one with a cell phone camera is around to capture. Mommy was crying, Tommy was crying. It was not our finest moment.
We were due in Salt Lake in one hour to tour Temple Square with Cassandra and Gabe. So we pressed on in a very subdued car and made our way to downtown.  By the time we arrived on Temple Square we were ready to apologize to each other and try again.

Something about being on Temple Square just lifts you. The kids have been here before but were too young to remember much of it. The girls kept talking about how good they felt and how they wanted to come here more often. I am glad after such an explosion of emotions that we could come to this beautiful place to remember what it most important in life.

Gabe and Cassandra met us at the Christus. This was the one month anniversary of the day their little Spencer drowned and they were happy to have friends with them on such a hard day.

The kids loved the exhibits and wanted to see more, but their hungry tummies and tired legs only got us so far.

Joey was less than impressed with the Tabernacle.

We wandered across the street to City Creek. A little splash in the fountains felt so good.

We ate at Johnny Rockets. The kids loved their grilled cheese, french fries, and milkshakes.  After dinner with Gabe and Cassandra we wandered the City Creek Mall. The kids had never been in a Disney store....oh boy was that a treat! They wanted everything in the store. There was so much to see and play with. Annie spent some of her money on a new doll. Lily bought a journal. And the boys kept begging for Halloween costumes - which they didn't get.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Cassandra. There were lots of hugs and tears. We are so glad we could see her and talk about our favorite memories of baby Spencer.

The next morning we hit Grammy and Grampy's hot tub right after breakfast. The kids played and screamed for almost two hours.

Then it was time to drive to Kaysville to see Erica and her kids. We met at a splash park and just let the kids play while Mommy and her friend caught up.

It wasn't until after we left that Mommy realized she didn't get a picture with her friend. Oops. We had to hit the road on time to make it back for Annie's last soccer game.

She was so proud of her medal. We were so proud of how hard she tried and how much of herself she gave in each game.
Tommy loved his soccer medal so much that he broke it. Annie was sad to see Tommy upset about his broken soccer medal - so she gave him hers. Moments like that make all the crazy parenting days worth it.
We had just a couple of days at home before it was time to leave for the Hall Family Reunion - which is how we finished out the month of July. With so much traveling and swimming and soccer July just flew by.