New Discoveries

Even though we have been to Lagoon a lot this summer, we still manage to find something new every once in awhile, like this:

Did you know there was a model train museum at Lagoon? Neither did we, but guess who was in heaven?

Jameson (and by default Adam) spent so much time there that Britton, Jenna, Korinne and I had plenty of time to explore all of the other buildings in Pioneer Village.  We found a peacock sleeping in one of the buggies on display.

Britton and Jenna got a real kick out of this HUGE miniature model of a circus. (I know it's an oxymoron, but I have no other way to describe it.)  I can't believe someone actually spent years of their life making this.  Why? Why? Why?

We had to divide on conquer Friday and Saturday.  Britton's soccer team made it to the Championship game of the tournament they were playing in.  The final game on Saturday was played at the same time as cousin Elsie's baptism 3 hours away so Adam stayed with Britton and I took the other kids north for the baptism Friday night.

Britton's team lost the championship game, but still received a silver medal for the tournament so they were happy about that.

Elsie had lots of family from both sides support her on her big day.

The kids were excited for the yummy brunch following the baptism. 

The girl cousins loved playing Just Dance on the wii.  They had some moves!

I'm not a fan of traveling alone, but it all worked out and the kids enjoyed their overnight trip to see cousins.

Hot Hot Hot

Having a summer birthday has it's advantages in our ward.  Britton already got to go to Youth Conference since he would be turning 14 by the end of the summer and now he got to go to the Teachers Quorum high adventure camp just 5 days after returning from a week of scout camp.

 

I dropped him off on Wednesday morning and he got home on Saturday morning with a big smile.  They rock climbed, mountain biked, rode horses, and did a ton of other stuff. They even bailed some hay for a farmer!  Britton declared it the best.campout.ever.

 

I took Korinne and Jameson to the swimming pool.  Jameson thought putting Korinne's hat on was hilarious!

 

Jenna and Korinne like to color together.  They each take a side of the book and do their very best coloring. We have a few full books of such works of art.

Ok, that was a brief synopsis of the 4th week of June.  (I didn't blog last Sunday. Oops) Now we are on to this week's adventures which started on Monday when my friend Abby invited us to her parent's private lake.  I spend a lot of time riding my bike with Abby and she was also my gym workout friend this last winter.  Her Dad and a business partner had a great idea a few years back to make their own lake on some property they owned about 30 min. out of town and they actually did it! Now they have this really cool lake that only they and their families can use.  I've heard a lot about the lake but this was our first time going to it and it was a lot bigger than I imagined.  The kids had so much fun swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking and going on the zip line into the water.

It was a blistering hot day and we had been there about 2 hours when I noticed that Jameson wasn't acting like his normal self.  I got him out of the sun and gave him some ice cold water but just as he finished the cup he started throwing up.  I took that as my cue to pack up and head home.  It was time to get Jameson cooled down and hydrated up. 

Upon arriving home he slept on our kitchen bench for about 3 hours then popped up and starting playing like nothing had ever happened.  I learned my lesson, when it gets really hot I need to keep an eye on this little guy.

Oh Jameson, how do you get yourself into these things?

 

My brother Taylor and his family arrived from China this week in time to celebrate the 4th of July in America.

The kids ready for the parade to begin.

 

Taylor and Jen with their sun gear. Taylor borrowed Will's hat for a little extra coverage.

Britton being Britton.

This was Will and June's very first parade ever.

 

It was probably about 100 degrees when the parade started at noon. A little too hot for me, but somehow we all survived.  I was smart this year a brought a small pair of scissors to open all the frozen otter pops that were being thrown out. We also enjoyed the cold water, string cheese, mini banana bread loaves, cookies, and candy.

Love those 4th of July BBQ's at Grandma and Grandpa's! 

A few times every day Jameson comes in soaking wet.  The neighbors keep a sprinkler under their trampoline and even when they aren't home Jameson and whoever he is playing with will go over and turn on the water and start jumping.  It is so fun for them and it has been extremely hot, but going through at least 3 outfits a day is really putting a strain on my laundry system! He prefers to ask for forgiveness instead of  permission so this may be my new summer reality.

Happy Birthday America!

Summerish

Happy Father's Day to this guy!

 

The kids are lucky to call him Dad and we are grateful for all he does for us every day.

 

We had a lot of summerish things going on this week.  Britton left for scout camp bright and early Monday morning.  After staying close to home on Monday and Tuesday I took the kids to Lagoon on Wednesday afternoon.

Jenna took a page out of Britton's book and read if there was ever a moment of waiting.

I like the roller coasters, but I can't do the spin-ee rides so the kids went solo on the teacups.

 

Jenna decided to just read her book while she waited for them.  I think I have a picture of Britton reading in this exact same spot. Sheesh, what is it with my kids and books at Lagoon?!?

 

Jameson is in love with Lagoon and will ride anything he is tall enough to ride.  I hurried and snapped a picture of him on Tidal Wave.

 

He's wearing green and is hard to see in this picture, but when you zoom in and see his arms in the air and the look on his face this picture makes me laugh out loud. It's just so Jameson.

 

 

I was sitting behind him on Bombora, a roller coaster, and all I could see were his two arms straight up in the air during the entire ride.  Yes, Jameson loves him some Lagoon.

Several families in our neighborhood also got season passes to Lagoon and I've learned it's always more fun when you have friends.  Jameson and Ali were cracking me up on the ladybug drop.

While we were at Lagoon Adam went up to Scout Camp with the Bishopric.  They arrived with a case of fat boy seconds and were heroes because of it. Adam was able to get a few pictures of Britton enjoying camp.

 Britton was the Senior Patrol Leader at camp and was recently put in as the Deacon's Quorum President.

We got home around 10 p.m. Wednesday night and Adam rolled in at about 11 p.m.

Thursday night Jenna's orthodontist hosted pool party at the Aquatic Center.  His last name just happens to be Poole so we don't just call it a pool party we call it the "Poole Pool Party."  For the 2nd year in a row we were 2 numbers off from winning the Grand Prize big TV in the drawing. Darn.

 

Once again Jenna passed the time by reading a book.

 

Britton came home from camp while we were Poole Pool Partying and went to sleep early so he could get up bright and early for Youth Conference on Friday morning.  They met at the church at 7 a.m. for a youth conference at Temple Square.

 

They have everything planned for them and Britton really enjoyed it. It was for youth 14 years and up, but since Britton is the only 13 yr old boy with a summer birthday they let him come, too.

 

On Friday afternoon I met up with my K-1 friends. Malin, Cyd and Ker-dog.

 

 

Jenna and Korinne opted to stay home so Jameson was the only child I brought with me.  He was whimpering and wanting to go home until Malin's husband Nate broke out their awesome train tracks.  After that I couldn't get the kid to go home! 

 

It's always nice to be with the crew.  I've lived long enough to know that to find a group of friends like the crew is a once in a lifetime thing. 

Saturday night we pulled out the firepit and marshmallows.

 

We had a few neighbors come out and we all enjoyed a lovely summer evening.

 

Phew. That's a lot of summer in just one week! Tis the season. :-)

Splash!

We started the week out with a trip to the splash pad.  Splash pads are the new thing now and every small city in the area has been putting one in. The one closest to our home was finished last summer and is one of the better ones I've seen.

Korinne and Jameson had so much fun with all of the neighbors that came along with us.

Britton and Jenna opted out of the splash pad experience.  I have an age gap this summer that makes it hard to please everyone at the same time with one activity.

We broke in our season pass to the Aquatic center on Tuesday, but were only able to stay for about an hour or so because it was quite late in the afternoon when we finally made it there.  Jenna came with us, but Britton decided to stay home and read. Go figure.

On Wednesday Adam had a closing in SLC so we met him at Lagoon around 4 p.m. and decided to see how the lines are during the week in the evening.  We learned they aren't too long and they aren't too short. It's very doable and quite pleasant.  Korinne was feeling really brave and went on the Rocket with Jenna and me. The Rocket shoots you into the air several stories high and then lets you free fall back down.  It's pretty intense but only lasts about 30 seconds or so.

For Korinne this was a big deal and while the ride absolutely terrified her, she was proud of herself for doing it. Britton was waiting nearby and got to see Korinne's reaction.  He said just seeing the look on her face made coming to Lagoon worth it. He laughed about a it for a long time but would never actually go on the ride himself, of course.

Britton is the only kid I know who always brings a book with him to Lagoon just in case he actually has time to sit and read for a bit.

On Friday afternoon we left for SL to help my Mom with the annual Flag Day Breakfast Saturday morning.  We don't have any pictures of the event this year, but it turned out well.  We have been doing it for so many years we've worked out all of the problems and are very efficient in setting up and breaking it down.  We were all finished, cleaned up and ready to head back home by noon.  I just love it when a plan comes together. :-)

It was a great week of summer and the kids got all of their practicing, music lessons, and additional summer responsibilities done.  Britton is all packed and ready to head out at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning for scout camp. One thing he won't be taking to scout camp? A bunch of books. :-)  

"Oh, what do you do in the Summertime?"

Has it really only been a week since school got out?  So far Britton and Jenna have been doing a lot of this:

We have our new schedule in place and they've done well in their summer responsibilities thus far, but it seems like the availability of friends to play/hang out with is the deciding factor on if it will be a good day or a looooong boring day.  This last week we had a few of both.  By Thursday night I knew we had to get out of the house so when my neighbor Carrie (and fellow Lagoon season pass holder) threw out the idea of going to Lagoon-a-beach on Friday it didn't take me long to say yes. After a morning of piano and cello lessons for Britton and Jenna we headed out.  It was a little chilly when we got there so we didn't go straight to Lagoon-a-beach, but by the time we did get there around noon is was warm enough and not crowded at all.

 

The water wasn't heated, but you got used to it pretty quickly.  I knew this would be the least crowded it would be all summer so I told my kids to go on everything as many times as they could.  

It was our first time to Lagoon-a-beach. The kids liked it but after a couple of hours they were ready to get dressed again and go back to the rides.  It's nice to know it is an option for long summer days.

Word on the street is that they are going to start building a house on the lot behind us very soon.  This has been our view for almost 7 years, but it's about to change. 

Two houses will be going in. One behind us and one kiddie corner from the one behind us.  It's the end of an era and I'll miss my view, but the good news is that my parents view is even better than mine so I'll still get to experience it when I'm at their house.