This picture of Luke makes me laugh every time I look at it. Plus, it sums up our month pretty perfectly. For the most part we had a super fun month - plenty of activities and adventures - exactly what summer should be.
We started off the month at the Utah Lake Festival. It was especially fun since it was basically in our backyard and a location where we spend so much time. The entire event was geared towards education and kids events to celebrate water and the lake. The babies had a fantastic time and I enjoyed my newest favorite past time - watching the kids discover and explore the world.
Rubber duckie races
Fish hats
The highlight was definitely the face painting
A wagon ride through the parking lots
Cousin time is always the best
Another rainy day at Lagoon
The kids didn't seem to mind
Just a normal day, ready for anything
They have done face painting at the gym daycare,
Luke was more than a little excited
We were honored to be invited to be a part of
Joshua's Eagle Court of Honor
Congratulations!
Luke had been counting down the days until
It was warm enough to go to the splish splash park
Now that says summertime
Oh and swings, another summer time favorite.
Tim and Erika spent an afternoon exploring Ogden Canyon
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| How does your garden grow??? |
Nothing better than having Jenny Chan and her family in town, especially because we were all able to meet up and have ice cream and let the kids run wild. I love that we get to watch each other's life and family adventures via social media so that when we are able to spend time together, it feels like we are already caught up, and can just pick back up on our friendship.
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| For some reason the husbands didn't want to be in the picture |
Jenny;s girls taught Luke some pretty impressive tricks
Along with the fun, June also brought us one of the saddest moments that our family has had for a very long time - our poor puppy Everest got too old and left us and went to heaven. I have known that he was getting old and slowing down for quite awhile. At 14 years old, he had already outlived the life expectancy of a husky. He has been struggling with arthritis and various other small illnesses and when we last had him at the vet about 9 months ago, he told us that he probably wouldn't live a lot longer. I have been dreading that time and just hoping that he would live on indefinitely.
During the week of June 20th, we heard her outside moaning one night and we went out to find him quite sick. He was awake but wouldn't move on her own and just whined - he was obviously hurting because he would nip at Tim if he tried to move him. He had a bunch of open sores that were clearly infected and attracting bugs and flies. Tim spent a lot of time cleaning and taking care of him, but we really didn't expect him to last through the night. After a lot of tears, I spent some time saying goodbye, thanking him for 14 years of adventures, plenty of runs, and for being my loyal buddy. The next morning we checked on him and he was awake, but his breathing was labored and he was clearly still in pain. I called and talked to our vet who said that we would likely need to put him to sleep to relieve his pain, but said he would really need to examine him to give us a valid recommendation. We weren't able to get an appointment until the next day, Friday afternoon, so Tim spent the day taking care of him and keeping him out of the sun. We knew he was really sick though because he still wouldn't eat or drink. Thursday night I spent some time with him and then Tim spent over half the night outside sitting and comforting him because Everest kept moaning and howling. We both went out early Friday morning and were surprised to see him get up and wander around - he even drank some water and ate a hot dog. This actually made me more concerned for the visit to the vet as I didn't not want to make a decision on his life without being able to be sure. After making sure he was comfortable, we went to the pool for awhile and let the kids play. When I told them that we needed to leave to take Everest to the doctor, Ruby corrected me and told me that he was going to the vet. She then said that he was really sick and that we probably needed to give him a vitamin.
Tim and I drove home from the pool in separate cars and when I went out to check on Everest before getting ready to go to the vet, I could see that he had already passed. He was lying peacefully in the backyard and looked like he had just gone to sleep. I immediately called to let Tim know so that the kids would not come out, and then I had a moment to think about the friend that I had lost. It was so sad to know that he was gone, but I was so relieved to know that it really was time for him to go - no second guessing. Tim came home and began to take care of getting him buried. I was a little surprised at how affected he was by the death. Everest had really become as much his dog as he was mine - he had been with him for 8 years and over the last several years had become his main caretaker. Once we got ourselves settled, we sat down and told the babies that Everest had died and gone to heaven. They were sad, but immediately talked about him being in heaven with Nibs and that the two dogs were so happy to be playing together. Luke wanted to know how Everest had gotten to heaven, but then answered his own question and said that he thought Nibs came to get him. Since then they will bring him up often, and tell other people that our dog died. It is a rough lesson to learn as a kid - I remember the first dog that died when we were kids - but I'm glad they only had to learn the lesson with a pet
We have been asked if we are going to get a new dog - one day, but not anytime soon. The more I have thought about it I realize that I'm not so much of a "dog person" as I was an "Everest person". It will be quite awhile before I think we are ready to commit to loving and caring for another dog.
It was the sweetest thing, Ruby wanted to sit and read the story that we brought to Paige. She sat and showed her the pictures, and told her all about the sheep. When she was done she asked if she could tough the baby and then gently patted her arm.
On a hot summer day, we were thrilled to find an indoor "park"
(especially since it was not connected to a fast food restaurant)
Luke isn't old enough to play organized t-ball yet, but he loves playing baseball so we signed him up for Provo City's smart start baseball program. Basically you sign up the toddler with a parent and then they practice and learn the skills and rules together. They have the same program for several sports which I really like. They provided all of the equipment and it was the perfect opportunity to figure out how much a kid likes the sport. Not that I expected any different, but Luke loved it. He is such a natural competitor (Broadbent). There is not any type of competition involved, but I would periodically hear him yelling out "hooray, my team is winning". He and Tim have spent a lot of additional time in the yard practicing and by the time the the month long class ended, he had improved quite a bit. He will be really excited next year when he gets to play t-ball and be a part of a team.
Ruby wasn't old enough to sign up for the class, but that didn't stop her from thinking she was as much a part of it as Luke. She and I spent most of class playing our own game. As soon as we got to the field she would claim the pink mitt and pink bat. The coaches were very sweet and let her run wild without seeming to be bothered.
After the final "practice and game", each player got a certificate and a medal, then they took a team photo. Luke was pretty convinced that he is now completely legit.
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