Family History

Grandma Irene showed up at the last family party with something wrapped carefully in a towel. With Grandma, it's always a surprise. She gathered us all together and unwrapped a cane. She then proceeded to tell us the story of this cane that used to be Joseph Smith's and was given to our great-great-great-great Grandpa Porter Rockwell. If you don't know about Porter Rockwell, he's worth a look up. (kind of exciting that Mark's bloodline comes from him).  The top is ivory with a stamped picture of a hunter and his dogs. There is a gold wrap at the base of the ivory and the cane is solid wood. Grandma also showed us a "chink" in the wood where the cane was slammed in the door during one of Joseph's jail stays (not Carthage she guessed). We have really been focusing on Family History at church and keeping our ancestors alive by not only completing their ordinance work but also, sharing stories and pictures about their lives and character. It was pretty neat to get to see the cane (that only gets passed around so often) and have my 94 year old grandma there to tell me and my kids about it.

4th of July & Kid's Day

When G & Chris asked if we wanted to spend the 4th at Lagoon to celebrate Kid's Day, I was pretty skeptical that it would be 1) HOT 2) crowded. It was hot but it was SO not crowded. G & Chris reserved a pavilion so we were able to go back and snack, have lunch and we all met for dinner in the evening. The park also has so many HUGE, nice trees so we were in the shade most of the day. The kids had a blast. Our first ride was the Odyssey- a water ride and I got the pleasure of riding with Enzo who was controlling the "up/down" car and the water sprayed me right in the face. Mc ran solo with her cousins for most of the day while us and the boys walked onto every ride we wanted with minimal wait. Kid's Day is the best and I will gladly spend it at Lagoon every year.

The Hulk does Lagoon. 

If you don't have a picture of you and a sibling in a car at Lagoon, have you ever really been?

One of the few pictures of Mc- she got to spend the whole day roaming the park free with her cousins. We pretty much saw her when she was hungry or needed to check in. She had a blast.  

Grandma & Grandpa

After Lagoon, we had to make our way to Mimi's since Tyrone spends $$$ on fireworks. Little did we know my mom's neighbor would have $$$$$$$$ in fireworks and would contribute to the awesome show we got to watch. It's always fun being at Mom's- I blast songs about America on the radio, the kids play, the weather surreal. It's truly what Independence Day memories are made of.

Cousins

Summah Time pt.1

We have already had an overloaded summer! I always feel like I don't have enough planned but looking back, we have packed a lot into a month. Just a few of the things we have done so far-

• Chalk Art Festival with Mimi/Papa, the Thomases, Ty, Jade & the boys, Britt & Garrisan. We had a blast roaming around the deserted Gateway and even let the kids run through the splash pad (much to Mark's chagrin). 

A little chalk art and a little gelato at Capo. 

Had a little hail storm.  

• We discovered the South County Pool has $2 Mondays. 

Cousins (Brynlee & Mc have matching swimming suits)

Swimming Seesters- props to Bree for going off the high dive.  

• We definitely have been putting our Thanksgiving Point pass to use this year too. We hit Farm Country to ride the ponies and see the new babies, then went to the Dino "seeum" and had ice cream (we have already been at least 2 other times since, including just yesterday). 

• On Friday the 13th, I had planned to take the kids to Super Sport Camp at the Rec Center. We invited Porter Moeller, Brynlee Jade, Cash and Azia. Summer camp was a bust because they were supposed to get to swim the last 1.5 hours but, a kid pooped in the pool so they got to hang out outside where it was 100 degrees. I picked them up early and decided to take them to the Lego Day at the Library only see a sign that says, "Lego Play Closed: Due to Illness". L A M E. We hung out at the library for a minute and then went to get an ice cream at the janky Arctic Circle. Kind of a bust for the kids. A true Friday the 13th.

• I LOVE float preview day at the Expo Center! I would love parades if they were air conditioned and I didn't have to sit for hours with my kids as I sweat to death. The kids love to vote on their favorites and all the free stuff. Plus, it's cool to commemorate the Pioneers- those people truly are the original super heroes. I wouldn't have made it. 

• After an exceptionally crazy, summer day, I decided we would wake up early and head to Provo to the Bean Museum. For being free, it was surprisingly entertaining. Also air conditioned and on a 100 degree day, it was ideal. We got to see Shasta the Liger- I remember her being housed at the Hogle Zoo when I was little. I was most impressed by the art gallery from Boyd K Packer. He was an amazingly talented artist (both painting and sculpting). 

Shasta the Liger

The ever observant child. 

My Flamingo Girl

Boyd K Packer original

And since we were already down Utah County way, another trip to Thanksgiving Point. We watched the 3-D Ocean movie (dark & air conditioned so I may/may not have paid $6 to take a nap), played in the sand at the Dino Seeum and then had our traditional ice cream. 

en4zo

Four. F O U R. How did you get so big? My tiny baby boy. My last 4 year old. What a blessing you are in our lives. We love having you as part of our family. At 4 you love Tate LeFevre, Transformers, "diggers", kinetic sand, shrimp, juice boxes, a bath tub full of toys, playing in the sand, Puppy Dog Pals, ice cream (clearly) and playing with the big boys. 

Our sweet, Lorenzo Niels. Our tiny Hulk. You emotion "big" and want what you want, when you want it. I looked at you this morning in your "digger" jammies and realized that you look SO big- that last little bit of toddler is fading away. You are growing and learning so much and some days, I wish I could go back and snuggle you one more time as a tiny baby. 

You head to three days of preschool this year with Miss Amy (one of your favorite people in the whole world) and we can't wait to see what this year brings- just make sure it doesn't go so fast this year, ok?

Sleeping with the crane Mimi & Papa gave you. 

For your birthday, we gave you the option to pick Build a Bear or the Aquarium- aquarium it is (and let's be honest, it cost about the same and I don't have  stuffed animal laying around). We showed up about 1.5 hours before it closed and almost had the place to ourselves.

And for tradition sake, a picture of my boys on their check up day- Enzo 42 lbs and Kingston 51 lbs. I don't think it will be too much longer until these "brudders" are the same size.