July Miscellaneous 2019

July was hot, and sweaty, and busy, and filled with so many fun holidays and activities.  We played hard all day and went to bed way too late because we were too busy having fun.  This summer may be one of my all time favorites with my little family.

Hiking to Stewart Falls has been on our summer bucket list for the past two years and we finally made it during the heat of summer.  The trail is about four miles round trip and I was so proud of all of the kids - they are all becoming such great hikers and made the trek so much fun.  The views were incredible along the trail, and the waterfall was stunning with a huge runoff this year.  There was so much mist that it actually made it quite cool when we were sitting at the base.  This was definitely one of those experiences where I just felt so grateful to live in such a beautiful place. 

 

Ruby made a friend on the trail.  Oakley was the perfect motivation to keep Ruby moving when she started to get tired.  A dog on a leash is the perfect hiking companion. 

 Visiting their friend Oakley

7-11 Day

Luke finished his summer workbook and thought it deserved a celebration.  We went to Pizza Pie Cafe, his choice.  We had a great time...until I realized I had eaten something I should not have and was super sick the rest of the night.  Luckily, it didn't affect our dinner and the kids had a great time.

Tim's dad turned 80 and we were so grateful to be able to celebrate such an amazing occasion with him.  Gayle planned a big party with lots of family, friends, and colleagues that he has known for years.  So many people came to wish him well and I know he loved the chance to spend time and reminisce with so many people that care for him.  There were so many great photo opportunities that night, but we were all too busy talking and eating ice cream, and ended up not taking many shots.

We missed getting a complete cousin picture,

But took a few with various groups.

This was most of the kids

And they did get one with all of the siblings

We did get plenty of pictures of Paxton, the kids' favorite!

We were all happy that Erika came home from Canada early

And was able to be at the party

We finally used Tim's fire pit from Father's Day

The smores were deliciously messy

Another outing to the reservoir

This time with neighbors and friends to celebrate a birthday

Luke and Ruby are begging for kayaks of their own

Luke and Tim spent an afternoon building Charizard

Pioneer Day 2019

Pioneer Day arrived and the kids were ready for a parade!  We made it to Spanish Fork early and the kids got ready with their candy bags.  There was plenty of candy thrown and Ruby and Juniper even caught free t-shirts.  The weather was perfect and we all had a great time watching the parade.

After the parade, we headed to the park where the real fun began.  The kids look forward to the water fight in the water park all year - seriously.  As soon as I mention any parade, they want to know if it is the one with the free squirt guns.  We try to establish a "safe zone", but this year no one seemed to care.  If you were there, you were a target, and everyone ended up playing.  There was a lot of laughter, wet clothes, and surprisingly, no tears. 

We got lucky and had good cloud cover during the parade, but by the time the water fight was over, the sun was out and it was HOT!  We went to lunch then decided to get out of the heat and go to the movie.  I don't think any of the kids had seen the original animated Lion King, but did know most of the music.  This new version was live action, so there were a few parts that were kind of scary, but the kids seemed to love it and we have been listening to the soundtrack on repeat ever since!