Front Porch Fireworks

The 24th of July was a rainy night. We decided to do fireworks anyway- that way it was safer because the kids stayed on the porch and out of the way. Bernie, Bella and Siri all came over to watch.

It was so fun to spend time with Siri while she was here visiting from Arizona- I'm sure she like the cooler temps.

Simeon danced almost the whole time during the fireworks- then he crashed hard.

Summer is so much fun! I love staying up with my kids, swimming a bunch and spending some great time with extended family.

On the porch...

I have figured out how to keep Simeon entertained for longer than 5 minutes! I am so excited about this discovery- he can spend hours at a time playing with playdough on the front porch.

I made some kool-aid playdough and put a table and chairs on the front porch and the little man went to town. He's played like that a bunch since and I'm happy because I don't have to clean up playdough off my floor.

Swimming

The kids and I go swimming a few times a week, but it is a rare treat to have dad come along. He joined us after Draper Days for a fun day of swimming. Simeon is a little fish, he loves to swim and dive and float on his back.

It was a long day in the sun and Simeon crashed hard. It's a special treat to have him fall asleep on me- that hasn't happened since he was a baby.

Jayda was a bit jealous and wanted some snuggle time too.

In the end, she decided to chill on the chair.

Sweet Olivia getting dry in the sun.

We have been doing school through the whole summer but we have decided to take the month of August off. We have a big trip planned to the Pacific Northwest, lots of field trips and outings, and lots of swim days to come.

Draper Days

The week before the 24th of July, Draper has it's annual celebration. We have a tradition of attending the parade at our friend Shauna's house. Her house is right on the parade route, so we have a big breakfast and sit and watch the parade. It's a fun parade because a lot of the time my dad is in the parade and we see a lot of other people we know.

I love watching daddy and Sim walking together.

This year they had a cotton candy machine- the kids were in heaven.

Petter helped man the many waffle irons

I nannied for Shauna for several years- she's like another mama.

Sim loved the parade- they handed out these masks from a bank or something and he ran around calling himself Super Pig.

And Nacho

The kids got some strange hand-outs at the parade. Liv thought this wrist band was pretty awesome.

And of course, more cotton candy.

Raining Gorge

We have had a fun and busy summer. I have been taking lots of pictures but haven't been updating the blog- so this will be many updates in one day. In the beginning of July, we took a fun trip with some of our neighbors to Flaming Gorge. It rained almost the entire time we were there but we still had a great time. We borrowed my parents boat but only spent about a half day boating because of the rain. It was a fun time to get to know our friends better and let the kids explore and play.

Petter got up early in the mornings to do a little fishing.

Our friend Carrie brought a fun game for the kids called "Would you rather" with questions like: would you rather grow an inch every year or shrink an inch every year.

The kids loved thinking of what they would rather do and spent a lot of time hiding out from the rain to discuss their answers.

We visited the dam and floated down the river (although some parts were a bit scary) it was a great trip for the kids and we would definitely do it again.

On our drive home, the sky showed us the most amazing show. It was the perfect end to a lovely trip.

More Tired than Hungry...

Remember what it was like to play so hard, you could fall asleep in any position, at any time? Me neither. Simeon, however, does this on a regular basis- this particular day it was right in the middle of dinner- poor fella. He fell asleep in this position at around 6:00 and slept through the night until 7:30 the next morning.

He missed a meal of Tilapia and sweet potato fries- more for me!

Girls Camp!

What an amazing week! We went to girls camp at Heber Valley Camp and had an amazing, fun, testimony building time. We did so many things and I have so many girls (44) it's hard to fit it all in one post of a blog- so I just included a few highlights.

They have so much to do at camp: hikes, canoeing, challenge course, and more hikes.

We took the girls on a "Virtue Hike" where they learned what virtue is, how it relates to the Temple and the Savior, and we had them make a commitment to live virtuous lives

We all got a sweatshirt, water bottle, and a bag with the theme for camp "Lengthen Your Stride"

Our ward decided to be treasure seekers who live by the water (they wouldn't let us be Pirates), we had some amazing decorations and props to make it feel authentic.

I felt so lucky to be able to spend 5 whole days with these amazing girls and leaders, I learned so much about myself and being a leader to this huge group. I loved watching the girls learn and grow and have their testimonies strengthened. We were blessed with beautiful weather, lots of wildlife (including a bear), and an amazing time.