Summer 2018, the Finale

And just when I think we can't handle ONE more single, solitary day of summer, it's over and the kids head back to school. The summer wrapped up perfectly and just like last year, and the year before that, I was ready for schedules, lunch at school and a little sanity. We really, REALLY had a great summer. I was a little sad that we didn't get to travel much due to my new calling at church but we still made the most of it. I will miss the $2 Mondays at the pool and being able to run off and grab ice cream whenever we want. I will miss summer nights and weekends that don't end with, "Hurry and shower! Because you have school tomorrow." There's always next summer!

BYE BYE SUMMER 2018!

Me and the Jones girls at Erasure. My ALL TIME favorite performer, Andy Bell, brought it down again. We had a delicious dinner at the Rio and danced the night away. Love the Joneses. 

 It was Enzo's turn for swimming lessons and he couldn't have been more happy to spend an hour every day for a week with his bestie, Tate. We made HUGE improvements since he would put his face in the water. Still a little shy to jump in and wasn't super thrilled about having to "fwoat" but he did it.

real life "Hot Wheels" in my mom's neighborhood

doing some veggie picking at Mimi's

 Ended the summer at Abby & Spencer's wedding. Mc was in AWE of everything! She loved packing Harper around, watching them dance, cut the cake and wearing her apron to clean up tables.

Peaches & Cream

And one last hurrah on the Monday-Tuesday before school started on Wednesday. Mimi and Papa took the kids to their property in Fairview for a cousins sleepover. The weather wasn't super great so the kids didn't get to swim but they did get to go bowling, eat Mexican food, stay up late, and play "cover ourselves from head to toe in mud" on Mimi's watch. They got home late in the afternoon on Tuesday with just enough time to shower and get ready for school the next day.

Enzo said, "that's me in a muddy suit"

Muddy boys,

Summer Prt 2

More summer fun to document! We are at the homestretch! Two weeks until school starts for the big kids. I've said it once, I have said it again- summer goes so fast and so slow at the same time. I try to have fun things planned for the kids almost every day but, I think the kiddos think this is just "normal" life and EVERYONE does fun stuff EVERY DAY. They have cooking camp this week. We went yet again to $2 Monday at the pool and have had lots of late nights riding bikes, playing in the yard and going to the park. We have just barely started pushing earlier bedtime (8:00) so that we don't all go into shock when school actually starts. Bree constantly reminds me how few summers we have with our kids but, I think we are doing pretty well cramming all that we can in.

Bet you can't guess which one is Mc

This summer has been full of cousin sleepovers. We are SO glad that the Thomases live so close. Notice their bead headpiece- they both went to Jeremiah Johnson activity camp and made them.

Baby goats

For family night one Monday we went to Petersen Farms to see the new baby goats and farm kitties. The best was the baby goats just wriggle out of their pen and roam the farm (but not too far from their momma because she yells at them). I had to help the worker chase them and stuff them back in so they could eat dinner. 

Farm Kitty and a City Kitty

On July 31st, as all good Harry Potter fans do, we celebrated Harry Potter's birthday at the library. We made wands, picked out a pet, made slime, had cookies, did a maze (with free Sodalicious coupons at the end), and searched for the Snitch for a prize. 

Some of my favorite Muggles

 Another week, another trip to Thanksgiving Point & some ice cream. This time we did the Curiosity Museum. We are definitely getting a lot of use out of our pass this year.

This door is a little too heavy for him to open himself but he sure is cute "trapped" in there. 

 Lindsy and I went and saw Weezer in concert. We had $20 Groupon lawn seats. While we were setting up a security guard came to stop some teenage girls from vaping and gave them SEAT tickets. I was like, "What the heck? I will break the rules for some tickets!" and he actually gave us some! We had VIP parking passes (from Alex) and excellent seats. The show was SO great! Weezer was the first cassette tape I bought with my own money. They put on a great show and any night with Lindsy is a good one.

Another Monday, another trip to the pool. We were lucky enough to have dad with us this time. He did some pretty awesome diving board tricks too. 

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.