School is back in session!

This was the week the older boys have been dreading....school started! Can you believe Danny is in his last year of elementary school and Dallin is in his first year of high school?! Where did the time go?! Both boys had a good first week. They aren't really excited about the prospect of homework, but they have enjoyed being with friends again. They seem to like their teachers and classes. I especially like Danny's teacher! She is teaching her class more than just math and English. She is preparing them with habits to be successful in the future academic careers. I think it's going to be a good year for both of them!

The 3 Stooges - Tyler, Dallin and Tanner

I'm not sure Jonas knew quite what to do without his brothers around. The first day, we walked Danny out to the school bus and Jonas cried when Danny got on. The only thing that would console him was biting into a fresh peach from our orchard. Yup...he has discovered how to pick and eat the fruit. He just hasn't quite figured out how to manage all the juices. Each day I tried to do a little something fun with him...even if we were at home doing chores. He liked picking fruit and climbing on Grumpy's lawnmower on Tuesday (8/23).

Wednesday (8/24) I decided to take him to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. He is getting better with the animals. He finds them fascinating...but only from a distance. Each time I would get close enough to pet them, he would start to pull away. He loved the tractor ride though. I guess I should have expected that.

Thursday (8/25) we made some oatmeal peach muffins and some chocolate chip cookies. He's still working on being helpful in the baking process, but he has mastered licking the spatula! We then delivered some muffins to Katie, Gma Penny and Grandma Thompson. After our visits, we stopped by Payson's Main Street park to play for a little while.

Friday (8/26) is another chore day for me. After cleaning the house, I go grocery shopping, which has quickly become Jonas's favorite chore. He LOVES being in the "car" cart. While I'm not particularly fond of the extra cart size, I love that he enjoys the shopping experience.

I know this may have not been the older boys' favorite week, but I like the routine we're back in. I miss having them around, but with the start of school also comes the start of fall...and the holidays are just around the corner. Life is good. The family is great. The home is full of love. What more can we ask for?

Amber's birthday celebration!

Like I mentioned before, Amber's birthday was on Wednesday (8/17), but because she already had plans, we waited to really celebrate on Sunday. She had her traditional tortellini dinner with breadsticks and Olive Garden salad. For dessert, she opted for what we call Crispy Cream - it's basically two Rice Krispies layers smothered in butter and brown sugar that sandwich vanilla ice cream. She loves ice cream so it was an easy dessert choice for her. We are so grateful for Amber. We are grateful for the example she is setting for her younger brothers. We are thankful for her unconditional love for her family. We love her determination and diligence in her life goals. She is a true blessing for all of us. There is never a dull moment when her bubbly, fun-loving personality is around. She helps all of us see the good in the world around us. We are going to miss her terribly when she leaves on her mission, but we are so excited for the adventures that await her in the next year of life! Happy birthday Amber!

Summer is over!

That's it! Summer is over! I can't believe it. The boys will start school on Tuesday. Like the previous couple weeks, this week was a little slower paced, but still fun. Monday (8/15) was spent at home doing chores and laundry. Tuesday (8/16) the boys went to work with Jeff (who needed their help on a big job). Wednesday (8/17) was Amber's birthday. We treated everyone to lunch at Sizzlers (a Southwick staple) to celebrate. She already had plans that evening so we are going to do candles and cards (because at this point in her life she'd rather have cash than actual gifts) on Sunday. Still, we wanted to have lunch and wish her a happy birthday on her actual day.

After lunch, I dropped the boys off at Payson Pool for probably their last swim of the year there. Thursday (8/18) I took Jonas to his first playgroup. A few moms in the neighborhood have organized a playgroup once every other week. This was the first. I was a little apprehensive as to how he would interact with kids his age, but he did fine. He still needs to work on sharing, but that's normal. We had the playgroup at the Healey's home. Kate Healey runs an equestrian school. We took the kids out to see some of the horses, including a mini-pony. Jonas wanted nothing to do with any of them. He was ok to look at them, but as soon as I would get him close enough to pet or even ride (the mini), he would look away and try to crawl over my shoulder. I guess I need to expose him to more animals. Still, he had fun following the girls around (yup...it was just Jonas and the ladies this time) and playing with the balls and broken big wheel jeep.

Jonas and Andie Healey

Daisy Hansen, Andie Healey, and Jonas

That afternoon, I had errands and other chores to do so the boys invited a couple friends over. I got them some water balloons and popsicles and the rest was up to them. They had a blast. They had their water balloon war then dowsed each other with buckets of water before deciding to clean out the cows' water trough and creating a redneck pool. I had to laugh! Only on the "farm"! Jonas was able to enjoy a little "pool" time too.

Friday (8/19) Jeff hosted a customer appreciation party at Miracle Bowl in Orem. We have one management business that sends a lot of business our way so we wanted to treat them to an afternoon off. We had a raffle, bowling, and food. Dallin and Daniel invited a couple friends and enjoyed the afternoon as well. (We left Jonas with Gma Penny. I'm not sure who had more fun - Gma or Jonas!)

Saturday (8/20) wrapped up our last full week of summer. The boys decided they wanted to go to Seven Peaks one last time too. After we helped Amber move out of her apartment into a friend's basement for her last month before her mission, I dropped the boys off at the pool for the day. All in all, I would say it has been a very successful and fun summer. So many fun activities. So much time with family. You couldn't ask for a better way to spend the summer!

Salem Days

As I mentioned in the last post, summer has come to a screeching halt. Even though the boys haven't started school just yet, all the fast-paced fun has dissipated. Still, we tried to make some time for fun this week. On Monday (8/8), I took the boys school shopping. I don't know that they like the shopping part as much as the "getting-new-things part", but we still had fun looking for new clothes and eating lunch out. Tuesday (8/9) I dropped Dallin and Daniel off at the movies to see the new movie, Jason Bourne. Thursday (8/11) we all went to the Payson pool (no pictures; I figured there were sufficient pictures of us at the pool from earlier in the summer). Saturday (8/13) was Salem Days. One thing I really enjoy about Utah summers is all the small (and not so small) town festivals. In years past, I have gone to a few more festivals, but this year flew by so quickly I didn't even have time to think about them. However, Salem Days is a must for our family. It is probably our favorite because it's still so small. Plus, we love that Scott lives right on the parade route. He and his family make sure the party goes all day long! We love munching on fruits and pastries in the morning as we watch the parade then enjoying a yummy lunch and swimming afterwards. This year was no different. Dallin and Daniel thoroughly enjoyed squirting the parade participants with squirt guns. They have kind of moved beyond the "scrambling for candy" stage of the parade. Now they look forward to utilizing their water gun skills. Jonas seemed mostly uninterested in the parade. He seemed more excited about the two small dogs my brother and his sister-in-law have than the parade. However, his brothers made sure to get him an otter pop. Even with the extra dose of sugar, Jonas just took a nap through the parade. After the parade was over, we wandered down to the car show before jumping in Scott's pool and having lunch. It was a nice day, a fun tradition, and memorable moments with family.

One last hurrah!

Summer is quickly coming to an end, but not before the boys got to go spend a week with their cousins in Idaho. It has been one party after another for these boys! They have had a blast spending so much time with cousins. This week was no different. It was full of street hockey, paintball wars, late nights, and blue darts. Yup...I guess that's what I get for being a "boymom". While I am trying to re-civilize my boys, I am glad that they were able to make so many fun memories. Family is the most important thing to us. I am grateful for the amazing family I have and the wonderful family I married into.

Before...

After.

The boys were worn out by the end of the week!

Life back at home was much less exciting. Jeff had several emergency jobs to take care of all week so Jonas and I had to entertain each other. Jonas did discover the excitement that a simple hose with water can have. We played outside a lot and would take Jeff lunch on most days (that was about the only time we got to see him).

Jonas's first "selfie"...not too bad.

Jonas helping Dad mow the yard.

Friday (8/5) the boys came home. Jonas was super excited to see his brothers! He laughed and squealed all the way home. Once I got them home, I was able to attend my niece's, Kaia, showcase performance. She made the show choir at her school (ALA). I'm super proud of her! She did a great job. I can't wait to go to more performances.

My beautiful niece and my dorky brother. 

That evening was the Olympics opening ceremonies. I put up a few decorations and prepared various international food items (at least the ones I knew my kids would eat) and we enjoyed the evening together as a family. I can't believe in two weeks the boys will be back at school. This summer has flown by, mostly because it was so fun and family filled. Thanks to everyone who made it such a great summer!

Our Sunday evening walk. I really love my family!