Summer Vacation Week 1

So here we go, lofty ambitions as summer starts out.  Maybe, just maybe, there will be more blog posts about our summer activities.  It could happen, we will have to see.  But here is one to get started:

School ending and Justin having time off coincided nicely.  We were going to go camping up in the mountains because that sounded nice and fun and relaxing and a good way to kick off the summer.  Ben decided to catch a nice respiratory virus that made him pretty sick and changed our plans.  Having already told the kids we were going camping we opted for the tent in the backyard.  It meant things were easier and we could keep an eye on Ben.  We got our hammock out and set up and the kids all climbed on for testing it out.

We did a fire in the backyard and cooked dinner over it.  Hot dogs for the kids, veggies and sweet potatoes in foil packages for us.  Those sweet potatoes (or possibly yams, I don't remember which I bought) were quite tasty and a new favorite for me.  We did try smores in an ice cream cone.  I had seen pictures on pinterest and thought we would try it out.  Not the greatest hit because the one that worked the best didn't melt the chocolate chips and marshmallows and the others burnt at the tips which left the whole thing tasting somewhat charred.  So, if you try it out, don't stick them on the coals, these things need a grill rack.

 Here is a great picture of the kids in the tent, this was them posing, the other pictures before this showed the girls wrestling and Sam reading.  There was eventually room made for Dad in the tent as well.  Ben even joined them but since I had the option, I wimped out and slept in my bed (which meant that I got sleep).

And we pulled out the water stuff this past week.  We had both the slip-n-slide and the pool out one day and the pool was up all week.  The kids loved it and we learned that our little red head needs sunscreen all the time, even at 3 pm in the afternoon!  Another day the pool was used to water the plants in the backyard.  Everyone grabbed a bucket and helped haul water around. 

This is Sam trying to make something like a wet suit because the water was cold.  The kids would jump in the pool for a bit and then go stand against the back window to get warm before going back for more. 

Yeah for summer.  We all survived.  The casualties of the week were one plate, one small side table that had a glass top, and one lamp.  But the fun that was started, priceless (we hope). 

Spring Soccer

We are woefully behind but just forget that, we just finished up spring soccer!  This season we had the bonus of Sam and Hannah both being on the same time.  This means only one practice a week and only one game a week!  Woohoo!

Here you can see them sporting their medals.  And below they show off their mad soccer skills.  The kids have enjoyed it.  Sam is really getting the hang of it and he has some moves.  He makes an excellent midfieldman because he can anticipate where the ball is moving to and get himself there to stop an attack.  Sometimes coming in with the appropriate howl.

This was Hannah's first season playing positions and on the bigger field.  She did a good job.  The coach asked if we played defensive reels at home becuase of one particular great defensive move from Hannah.  When asked if she wanted to play again next season she replied: "Maybe I will  try something new.  Maybe art lessons."  I think we may stick with soccer but maybe we need to find an art outlet.  My question, will an art class help with all the paper pieces on the table and floor or make it worse? 

 

Happy Birthday Sam

Yes this was several months ago but hey, you have to see Sam.
We only have pictures of him opening presents (unless they are hiding on another card somewhere).  He got his Bear book for cub scouts, a balance board that Hannah helped me make.  It's basically a board covered with fun duct tape which you balance on a PVC pipe. The kids love trying it.

 

Love the excitement for the rocket from Uncle Jordan (just add vinegar and baking soda) and a fun piano book from Grandma. 

We did let him have a small party.  He had 3 friends over and we let them have a late night playing video games.  They also played a couple rounds of ghost in the graveyard.  The best was when Dad hid from them and theyed looked for him with all the lights off.  We had some pretty scared kids. But they loved it!!
Happy Birthday kiddo, we love you! 

Fun Activities

So here are a couple of random photos of activties recently at our house. The kids school holds a Daddy/Daughter Dance and Hannah was thrilled to go (they also hold a mother/son movie night but there are no pictures of that event, we did go). Justin said it was a lot of little girls running around and screaming, basically having the time of their life. Justin even bought her a flower that we pinned on her. Oh and can I say how much I love that dress.  I found the fabric and immediately thought of Hannah.  It went together really well and I love how it turned out.
 

It has finally started to warm up, not as much as we sometimes think, but enough for the bikes to make an appearance. So every afternoon lately our cul-de-sac is filled with kids riding around on their bikes. I love living in a cul-de-sac.
 

And, Michelle decided she was done with her training wheels! She was a little hesitant after they were first off but now loves it. It helped that one of the kids who is older than her told her he didn't know how to ride his bike well yet. So she hopped on to show him how it is done. He has since figured out his bike.

Now, when I need to find my kids I have to look for whose house the bikes are stopped in front of and they are constantly asking if they can ride bikes. And Ben figured out pedaling on his tricycle. Looks like a fun summer ahead for us.

Hannah is Seven!

Happy Birthday to our Hannah girl. We celebrated with our family and then with some of her friends. Michelle and I made doughnut crayons out of some of our old crayons.

She loved them. She got lots of coloring stuff (an entire box of Hello Kitty coloring stuff from one friend).

Several craft projects, another of her favorite things.  I have hid several of these away so we don't lose parts before ready to do the project. 

And brownies with the family (we can finish those all off, not a whole cake though).  

Cupcakes with her friends! 

We love our Hannah.  She is very sweet. Always willing to do anything she is asked. Very helpful. She is very creative also. She is our adventurer, she will try anything.  She loves to play outside and also loves to play happily by herself. 

San Diego, First Trip

Justin and I went to San Deigo for our anniversary trip this year. Here is a brief summary of our trip.  We had a great time.  I had never been to San Diego before.  The ocean is cold there and from what I hear it is always cold.  It was warmer there than Utah though which is what we were looking for in a trip location. We spent one morning out at Cabrillo National Monument.  They have some cool tidepools and a lighthouse.  We spent a lot of time down near some of the tidepools even though it wasn't the lowest tide where you can see the really cool things.  I love watching the ocean.
 

This was out the window driving one day.  One massive cactus!
 

We walked around Balboa Park one afternoon.  We checked out all the free museums and such.  They had a small botanical garden that had this showcase of orchids as you walked in.  Someday I will get my greenhouse (just a small one would be fine) and then orchids (or maybe vice versus if I was convinced that I could keep them alive).

We went out to Coronado beach, the best place to watch sunset someone told Justin.  This is when I discovered how cold the ocean was.  I didn't want to play in the water, I barely wanted to walk in the edge of the water. We did of course see sunset.  This is my favorite picture, so classic. 

I couldn't have planned this better, the bird and the paddle boarder.  You can see the lighthouse at the top of the hill there also.
 

We also checked out the USS Midway.  It is a retired aircraft carrier turned into a museum. The tour is cool because you see things, you can read the signs or listen to the audio which often had extra stories from people who had served on a carrier if not that one. Then they had ones the kids could climb in, or the adults for that matter.  On the deck they had a lot of planes from all different time periods that would have landed on the Midway. There were also people giving talks about how it worked (as you come in to land, you go full throttle so that if they don't catch you you can take off again!).  I don't know if these men had worked on a carrier or with any of these particular planes but I think a lot of them were retired military.

We also stopped and saw the Mormon Battalion Visitor Center.  Wow, it is cool.  They have definitely upgraded in the last couple of years. It was awesome! And as a former site sister I thoroughly enjoyed it.

And that is a sum up of the first trip to San Diego. Next trip is with the kids, shh, they still don't know they are going. :)  hee, hee, hee.

More Snow Fun

Here sledding pictures, from our hill and then from when the kids went with Dad somewhere to go sledding.
 

 

 

 

I think the hill in the front yard was the biggest hit this year.  The kids loved going out all the time, the neighbors loved coming and playing, and I loved not having to try to cart them all somewhere to go sledding.  They also played outside more with a sledding hill in front than they would have otherwise.