Summer Fun!

Lest anyone think that we haven't been enjoying our summer, here's the post! I decided to consolidate all our fun activities into one GIANT post! As many of you know, my sister, Nichole, and my niece, Kate, join us for several weeks in July. This year was a little different because we got Kate for an extra week without Nichole. Nichole decided to fly home after the wedding, but Kate just decided to stay with us. The week we had Kate without Nichole, we had my parents still in town too. Basically, we've had someone from my family in town since the wedding/farewell. I love it! I miss my parents, siblings, niece, and nephew that live in AZ. I'm very grateful that we're close enough to make these trips and that we get to see each other as often as we do. (Still, I secretly wished we all lived closer!) We have been keeping busy with several fun activities each week. Some days we really pack it in; other days we simply find fun things to do at home. Here is a chronological list of our summer fun!

Nichole and Tyler flew home on Monday, June 24. On Tuesday (25th), I needed to get a few things done around the house (e.g., putting things back in order after the wedding/farewell, getting Dallin prepared to leave, etc.). Still, we decided to have a little fun by putting a puzzle together then picking some cherries and baking some yummy cherry cookies! We even found time that evening to go see a movie.

On Wednesday, June 26, Jonas and I joined Kate, Kaia, and my parents for an afternoon at the Butterfly Biosphere. The kids enjoyed observing all the butterflies and were elated when their flying friends would land on them. Jonas handled it much better this time. The first time we came, he did not like any butterfly landing on anyone!

After we explored the biosphere, we had lunch at the Tower Deli. We then met up with Krystle and her boys to go grab a cookie and a drink from Quench It.

Thursday and Friday (27-28th) Jeff, Dallin, Danny and I flew to Kansas City to see Hamilton. Kate and Jonas stayed with Krystle while we were gone. When we got back (Saturday 29th), Jeff finally made good on his promise to Kate - we bought a calf. We've wanted to get another calf to raise for meat but simply haven't had the time. Now we did. Kate got to go help pick it out. She even named it and bottle-fed it for the weeks she was staying with us. (Hopefully, she won't be too crushed when she eats it next summer!)

Keeping up with fun activities while Nichole was still in AZ, Kate, Jonas and I drove up Payson canyon on Monday (July 1) with the intention of hiking up the Grotto Trail to have a picnic. Unfortunately because of all the wildfires last season, the trail was closed. Since we were already up that way, we decided to drive a little further to Payson Lakes. We had our picnic, walked around the beautiful lake, threw rocks in the water, and waded in a little. Afterward, we went to Farr's Ice Cream for a treat to cool off. It was a fun afternoon...even if Jonas didn't want to walk around the lake. (I've got to hike with him more!)

Finally, Gma and Papa came to stay with us. (They had been staying with Krystle.) While they were with us, we went to Lowe's Xtreme Air Sports on Tuesday (July 2nd). Krystle and her boys joined us as well. This is one of Jonas's favorite places! He loves the trampolines and foam pits. He really loved playing with his cousins. It's way more fun than just hanging out with Mom. I think Danny and Kate actually enjoyed playing with the little boys more than just jumping in the bid kid area.

On Wednesday (July 3rd), Gma, Papa, Jonas, Kate and I headed to SLC for the day. My parents haven't been to Temple Square in a really long time so they wanted to see some of the museums and visitors center. We went to the Family History museum first. It was really cool! They have updated a TON of stuff. It is more interactive. I helped Kate look at her family history and search names of ancestors. I love learning about who I came from.

Afterward, we headed to the Church History Museum. We enjoyed seeing all the artifacts and new art work. Well...I enjoyed it. I'm not sure it was what Jonas was interested in. Still, he was a good sport. Finally, we grabbed some lunch before heading home.

After a fun 4th of July, we decided to take things easy the next couple days. Kaia got to come spend the night as well as Nolan and Camden. We just stayed at home and let the kids hang out here. They even convinced Jeff to take them for a tractor ride. I'm pretty sure Jeff has "favorite uncle" status for life! They all enjoy hanging out on the "farm". However, no day on the "farm" is complete without a trip to the Red Barn for ice cream!

I just love this random picture of Kate! She just put on this costume then somehow ended up perched in the tree. Oh how I hope she never loses her childlike innocence!

Gma and Papa left on Saturday (July 6th). Kate and Kaia were still hanging out at the house for the morning. I got to slip away with them for a late lunch. Nichole even joined us. It's nice to get in a little girl time! Kate then went to stay at Krystle's with Nichole, and Kaia went home with Scott. The rest of that weekend was spent cleaning the house and just relaxing! It has been a crazy month of June...even though all the fun activities didn't stop there! There were a few days of just hanging out at home and playing at Krystle's. I was still working on getting things ready for Dallin's departure (see "See You in 2!" post) the beginning of the following week. Any free time we had was spent as a family. After he left, the activities ramped up again! On Thursday (July 11th), Jonas, Danny and I met up with Nichole, Kate, the Tanner boys, and more at the Highland Glen Reservoir, but not before we stopped by a 7/11 to grab our free slurpee! Now Jonas is addicted! He thinks slurpees are better than soda...and that's saying a lot! Sandy brought her kayaks to the reservoir to paddle around on. I know Jeff (and the boys) wants a speed boat, but there's just something about being able to propel yourself on the water that is kind of therapeutic. We also swam and just hung out on shore...until a little storm rolled through! It was a bit of a bummer to leave so early, but we went back to Sandy's to let the boys play and have dinner before going home.

The next day (Friday, July 12th), Jonas and I met up with Nichole and Kate and some of their friends (Alysha and Adele) in SLC. We had lunch at Cheesecake Factory before exploring the latest pop-up museum, Love Letters. I love these museums! I find other people's creativity inspiring. It was gratifying to find enjoyment in books and words and letters. I'm sure Jonas got a little sick of me helping him identify the letters, but he had fun on the slides, playing with blocks, and especially the shredded paper pit.

After exploring the museum, we let the kids run around the splash pad before saying goodbye to Alysha and Adele. Nichole, Kate, Jonas and I started to head south. However, we scheduled a few stops along the way. Did you know there are incredible murals in SLC? It was fun to find a few to take pictures. Jonas fell asleep once we got in the car so we didn't visit many, but the few we saw were fun.

Saturday (July 13th) was a little less cultural and definitely more rural! We started the day at the Scottish Festival in Payson. When Kate was researching her ancestors, she found several family lines that traced back to Scotland. She even discovered which clans she belonged to. Because of that, she was more than excited to wander the clan booths at the Scottish Festival. I wandered around with her before joining Jeff and all the little boys in the bleachers to watch the Highland Games competition. I think it's a little funny/cool to see these grown men and women recreating games from centuries ago (e.g., caber toss, hay bale toss, etc.). I was pretty impressed with what they could do!

That night, we really got our redneck on at the Lehi Country Fairgrounds Monster Truck Rally. In true Jonas fashion, he fell asleep for the first few competitions. I swear this kid can sleep anywhere! The rest of us were entertained by the monster truck and UTV races. I'm not sure I would call this a sport, but I'm certain there is some skill in all of it.

Sunday was a day to relax preceding a couple more days of fun before Nichole and Kate went to Logan for a long weekend. On Monday (July 15th), Jonas and I met up with everyone at Lehi pool to go swimming. Jonas finally got his casts off on Friday! He was more than ready to jump in the pool. Technically, he could have gone swimming even with his casts on, but his casts were a nice excuse to avoid the pools. Yet, after seeing his excitement and skill in swimming, I felt a little bad we haven't been. I guess we'll have to go a few more times before summer is over. I was just thrilled to see how well he was managing himself in the water. All those swim lessons are paying off!

The following day (Tuesday, July 16th), Nichole's brother-in-law, Sean (the one they're going to visit in Logan), invited us to his fire station for a tour! Jonas was beyond excited! He vacillates between wanting to be a superhero, soldier, or firefighter, but secretly, I think firefighter is at the top of his list. Sean let us tour the station before seeing the trucks. We saw where they slept, ate, and just hung out between calls, but once we got to the trucks, the boys cared about nothing else! Jonas just wanted to be inside the trucks pretending to fight fires. He was almost annoyed when I made him walk around the entire truck while Sean showed the boys all the specialized equipment they used. I'm pretty sure this might be one of the highlights of Jonas's summer.

Wednesday (July 17th), Nichole and Kate headed north and Jonas and I finally crashed...or at least I did. I love having family visit during the summer! It makes the months fly by all while having tons of fun (more than I would admittedly do with my kids without them being here). However, this summer has been more action packed than other summers because of the wedding and Dallin leaving on his mission. Thus said, I think my body was finally ready for a break. While Nichole and Kate were in Logan, we just chilled at home. We still did swim lessons, chores, grocery shopping, etc., but for the most part, we just got to slow things down a bit. One evening, however, I did go over to my friend, Shannon's, house to participate in a pop-up flower workshop. Shannon has a greenhouse and LOVES growing flowers. She always does amazing arrangements as well. I loved having a night off and utilizing my creative to design a little bouquet.

On Sunday (July 21), Nichole and Kate came to stay with us for the rest of their trip. That evening, we joined my extended family for a fun dinner at Don and Sandy's house (my cousins). Megan and Roy (more cousins) brought over a foam machine that was the hit of the evening! The kids had a blast sliding into the massive piles of bubbles and literally burying themselves in them. I simply enjoyed being surrounded by family. I definitely do not have a perfect family. We screw up. We make mistakes. We unintentionally hurt feelings. We cry in anger or frustration, but we love fiercely! We laugh. We forgive. We move on. We celebrate strengths and lend a hand when we're weak. We each have our own journeys, yet we are happiest when our paths intersect.

Monday we decided to head to the Provo Rec Center. I feel like my summer has been cut in half because of the wedding and Dallin's mission. It's sad to say this is only the second time I've taken Jonas to the pool (and Danny's first...but he has gone to the pool other times with friends). He loves just swimming for fun! No lessons. No learning different strokes or survival swim techniques; just plain old fun. We spent a couple hours there. We worked up enough of an appetite to grab a few cookies from Chip afterward.

Tuesday we took advantage of the reduced price in movie tickets to see the live-action remake of Lion King. I love that Jonas is finally old enough to sit through a movie...mostly. We enjoyed the movie...and the ice cream treat after.

That evening, Nichole, Jeff, and I got to go out for dinner with just the adults! That was the best treat of the day. We met up with Don, Sandy, Roy, Megan, Eric and Shar (adopted cousins) for dinner at Black Sheep Cafe and more ice cream at Rockwell's (although I did decide to simply share ice cream with Jeff. I think I've hit my sugar capacity).

Wednesday (July 24th) was Pioneer Day! I wish I could say that I planned all these fun pioneer-esque activities, but I didn't. I did, however, do the Temple to Temple walk with Nichole. We woke up early to make it to the starting line at the Provo Temple then walked to the Provo City Center temple. Nichole has wanted to do this walk since it started 7 years ago. There were thousands of people, but it didn't really feel like it. We had fun! It was a great way to start our day.

That afternoon, we joined a few of Nichole's husband's (Ryan) cousins for a tea party. I got to tag along and have a little girl time. It's nice to do frilly things every once in a while.

For dinner that evening, I made some BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, and potatoes with pie for dessert. That was the extent of my "pioneer" themed activity. After dark, we set off a few little fireworks. That was it. Maybe next year I'll have a little more energy to plan something a little more fun.

Danny was our pyrotechnic for the evening!

Our week was quickly winding down...so was our summer. I still can't believe August is only a few days away. On Thursday (July 25th), Nichole and I took all the little kiddos to Payson Lakes to give Krystle a little break. I'm pretty sure it was comical for everyone else to watch us manage 4 little boys, but none of them drowned or got hurt or were lost so it was a successful adventure! The kids actually weren't too excited about the water. They got in and quickly decided that throwing rocks from the shore was more fun. Finally, we put away all our water toys and simply walked around the lake. The kids loved finding wildflowers to make a bouquet for Krystle. I love these kiddos! I'm so glad that Jonas will have his cousins to grow up with.

Friday (July 26) Kate decided that we needed to go to the Aquarium. She had been wanting to go to Lagoon but settled for the Aquarium after we all considered the cost and time and weather associated with a day at Lagoon. So Jonas and I joined Nichole and Kate for a fun day at the aquarium. Jonas loved the penguins the most! He was a little concerned about walking through the water tunnel, especially when he saw the rays and sharks swimming over and around us, but once he saw that it was safe, he enjoyed that as well. I just enjoyed spending time with him. He has been a trooper! There have been very few days this summer that we have just stayed at home or done what he has wanted to do. He has voiced his frustration, but ultimately always chose to find joy in whatever he was "forced" to do.

Saturday (July 27) was Jonas's birthday (see separate post) and Sunday (July 28) was just a lazy day at home. Monday (July 29) Nichole and Kate finally flew home. Kate had been with us for 5 weeks! She was excited to get back to AZ and start school. I was grateful for all the time I got to spend with my family this summer. They mean the world to me. I am sad to see the summer go so fast, yet I'm ready for things to slow down. It has been a summer full of fun!