Monday, July 11, 2022

When Nichole comes to town...

Nichole is in town, which means PARTY!! I'm pretty sure this is the highlight of our summer because we pack so much into just a week and a half before life goes back to summer chores and mundane weeks. Nichole and Kate flew in on Wednesday, June 29th, and we hit the ground running. We met up with the Tanners at This Is The Place in SLC. What I thought would be a couple hours of fun ended up being at least 4 hours...and could have been more if the park wasn't closing! The kids loved all the pioneer activities. They panned for gold, stamped leather, did pioneer chores, played in a splash pad, made bracelets, toured reconstructed pioneer homes and a hospital, and even had a "prescription" filled at the pharmacy. We ended our day with a trip to the ice cream shop for a cool treat.




































Unfortunately, we have to share Nichole with other friends and family who live up here so on Thursday, June 30th, she and Kate headed to Logan for a couple of days to visit Ryan's brother and his family. Nichole, Kate, and Keilei, Kate's paternal cousin, returned on Saturday (July 2nd) to finish out the party.  Tyler, and his girlfriend, Sydney, joined us too. They were in southern Utah for a reunion for Sydney's family. (Ryan then joined us the next morning.) By the time everyone got here, we spent the evening enjoying "farm" friendly activities. We started by picking cherries then grabbed some ice cream and the Red Barn before ending the night at my friend's flower farm. Just some good ol' country fun.





Sunday (July 3rd) Nichole's family spent the day together while I worked on 4th of July prep. Monday was the 4th of July! (See that post for the crazy details!) We always have so much fun celebrating the 4th with family. Tuesday was Tyler and Sydney's last day with us. Nichole and I decided we needed a little girl time (we are outnumbered by the boys) so we grabbed Kate, Keilei, and Sydney for an afternoon Tea at Taste in Provo. This has become an annual tradition that I look forward to. 90% of the time, I am surrounded by boys and don't often get to do girly things. Thankfully, Nichole lets me tag along.

After tea, we met up with the boys (and the Tanners) to see the new Minion movie. I'm pretty sure I slept through the whole thing. I guess the meds I was on made me a little sleepy...but thankfully not dizzy! Nichole wanted to see this movie with Tyler. He used to love the Minions. It's hard to be a mom and watch your kids grow up. He and Sydney have moved to Colorado so it was sad to say goodbye to them after the movie...not knowing when we'd catch up again.


That day, my cousin's son, Kai, his girlfriend, Laura, my uncle Jon, and his wife, Emilee also left. It was a quiet house with only 8 of us now. We decided to end the day with a sunset boat ride. Krystle and her little family joined us too. It was a much different boat ride without the older boys! The little boys (and Kate and Keilei) were simply content to kneeboard and/or play on the tube. The adults were content to sit on the boat and relax. We all loved the sunset!






Ryan flew home Wednesday (July 6th) morning and Nichole, Kate, and Keilei transitioned to the Tanners house. We didn't have much planned that day for which I was grateful because I wasn't feeling the best after trying to do a day without medications. I joined everyone for a trip to the Snow Bros (a couple boys in Krys's neighborhood that do snow cones on Wednesday) before I headed home. Jonas luckily got to spent the night and enjoy an evening of science experiments and trips to the park. 



After sleeping off the effects of the medications, I met up with everyone the next morning (Thursday, July 7th) in downtown Provo. Krystle was able to sign us up for a scavenger hunt app, Goose Chase. We spent the next hour finding various places (e.g., a bank, a hotel, a Mexican food restaurant, etc) and taking funny pictures. I was surprised at how much we were able to accomplish in a few blocks on Center Street. The kids had a blast! After our time was up, we headed to the BYU Creamery for an ice cream to cool off before we split up.














The next day (Friday, July 8th), we celebrated Jonas's birthday in the morning with an army themed party (see Jonas's birthday post for more details). After the party, we headed to the Provo Rec Center to enjoy an afternoon of swimming. It's fun that Jonas is finally to that age (and skill level) that I don't have to be worried about him in the water. Still, I helped Krystle with Addie and Lincoln, but the end is in sight! The time when Krys and I will be able to lounge poolside while the kids play.
On Saturday (July 9th), Jonas, Danny, Jeff and I headed to Idaho Falls to attend Grant's wedding reception (see that post for more details). We returned on Sunday, July 10th. On our way home, we stopped at Krystle's to enjoy one last evening with Nichole and Kate (Keilei had returned to Logan on Friday). Sandy, Don, and Cooper joined us too. Krystle and Jordan hosted us for a yummy low-country boil. This is a very southern meal experience...and it's so good! We enjoyed an evening of good food, games, and good company.





Nichole and Kate finally returned home on Monday, July 11th, but not before we made one last stop to 
7-11 for our free slurpee! Can't pass up a free slurpee! It has been a fun couple of weeks hanging out with family. Life is more fun when you share it with the people you love. Nothing is more important than family. We're on the downhill slope of summer now. The boys aren't looking forward to going back to school (even though I am!). We still have a few more weeks to fit in some stuff so stay tuned!

















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