July 2017

July

July was mostly filled with the 4th of July, the pioneer trek, our family reunion, working at the lake, and Reilly's visit. But here are a few other things from July:

Tyler and I headed out to paddle board and kayak as much as possible. We loved finding new water to paddle on. Several of our date nights actually started in the afternoon as Tyler got off work early and we hit different lakes and the river. We love it!

Ailey headed out for her second year of Girls Camp. Once again, she absolutely loved it!!

We picked her up at the end of the week a little dirty and grubby but with a huge smile on her face and all kinds of tales of adventure!!

Kameron took an online World History class over the summer so that he could have more electives when he returned to school in the fall so this was the sight that greeted me nearly every morning. :)

Ailey and Bryn were going strong with their "baking club". It was awesome. They are great little bakers. They kept us in treats all July. Here are a few of their creations:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Truffles

While Ailey was at Girls Camp and Kameron was working, Tyler and I got to have a lot of one-on-one time with Bryn. We had so much fun hanging out and going on little outings with our girl.

Even Kameron got in on that action!! :)

Ailey's mermaid tail arrived!!

Ailey REALLY wanted a mermaid tail for her birthday and got one! This was the real highlight of her summer!! It turned out to be so much fun. She got a lot of use of it at the lake in July.

One of my young women from years ago got married. It has been fun watching Nicole grow up. I have been her primary teacher, activity day leader, and one of her young women's leaders. Nicole has always been hilarious and a free spirit. Her wedding reception and choice of husband suited her perfectly.

Joey and Nicole

An extra fun surprise was that my dear friend Jayni was here from Utah and we met up at the reception. Jayni and I have been friends for years and it was so fun to see her and her cute family.

I love the Carltons!!

The girls have been reading up a storm!! Summer is the best. I love trips to the library and long days and late nights for reading. I am so glad that my kids do too!!

Especially in their fort! 

The girls made a big fort in Ailey's room and they slept and read in it for several days.

We also finally kicked things into gear with our Tea Party Tuesdays. We started doing this last summer and the girls loved it and wanted to do it again. We FINALLY got things going around the end of July.

On Tea Party Tuesdays Ailey, Bryn and I take turns *hostessing* and sharing poetry. The hostess picks the food and beverages, sets the table, and is in charge of the discussions. Ailey and Bryn love doing this!! It's super cute. We all bring two poems to share. They can be poems we like or poems we have written.

I love seeing what poems they have chosen and why they like them. We have had some really great discussions. Yay poetry!!

We also had to run out to the lake quite a few evenings to help my mom with various things as she updates the lake house and moves from her house. As a result, we got to do quite a bit of night swimming this year. Love it!!

Meanwhile back in Utah...Reilly went camping and fishing a whole bunch with my brother Kirk and his family. She loves it and had a ball!

My sister, Kelley, and Elle moved. They just moved across town but it feels like they moved to another city. Kelley moved in with her long time boyfriend Chris. This will be the first year that Elle and Bryn won't be in the same class. Bryn is going to miss her!! We have enjoyed having them so close.

We also received some devastating news...

Tyler's cousin, Holly, lost her husband, Tommy, to cancer. So sad!! They have two boys and it all happened very quickly. He was diagnosed and gone within just about two months. Our thoughts and prayers have been with Holly and her boys. Also one of my good childhood friends, Leesa, is fighting her second round of absolutely horrific cancer. Cancer sucks so much!! July was full of some wonderful highs and some really sad lows.

Silverwood

Silverwood

When Reilly was here one of the things on the top of our to do list was to go to Silverwood. Ailey and Bryn had both earned free tickets from reading during the school year and they were especially eager to go. I like amusement parks but they aren't easy or pleasant with little kids. It isn't fun to drag around strollers and diaper bags and toddlers and preschoolers and hang out most of the day at the kiddie rides and then do all of that in the stifling heat. It always takes a lot of coaxing to get me to want to go. This year was great though!  The kids were awesome. No whining. Everyone was tall enough to ride all of the rides. It was fantastic. We went on the day when the temps were somewhat tolerable and we ended up having an absolute blast!! Turns out our kids really are the perfect ages for amusement parks! Everyone had a partner to ride with...win-win.

We walked in the park and headed straight to the roller coasters. We thought it was probably best to start off big with Bryn. She is gutsy and was excited to ride a *real* roller coaster so we decided to go right off the bat rather than build up to the scarier rides and then have her chicken out.

Waiting in line

You would think that Ailey would refuse to ride roller coasters due to her extreme fear of heights but while she won't cross a bridge without tears she will ride a roller coaster and many other scarier rides. Reilly and Tyler are HARD CORE. They love scary rides. They are up for anything and nothing scares them. Kam will ride with them but he isn't as crazy as they are...he takes after his mother. :)

They survived and even LOVED the roller coaster and instantly ran to get in line to ride it again!! Dippin' Dots were the immediate reward for bravery. Yay!! After that everyone was off and running. All.Day.Long.

Kam laughing his head off!! I love this.

Ailey drives like an old lady. The antique cars stressed her out until she figured out that they drive themselves. :) Too funny.

Brynnie driving her antique car.

The Ferris Wheel was not a favorite ride of Ailey's...especially when she was stuck up on top...but she did it! We had so much fun running around all day. The lines weren't bad and the weather was nice. We rode about a million rides and no one threw up or felt sick. I feel like we have perfected our snacking and eating at amusement parks after a few bad experiences over the years. We've got it down to a science now. Our last ride of the night was the big roller coaster which was especially fun with the sun going down and all the lights on. Dare I say it? I can't wait to come back. Ha ha!

We closed the park down and had a great time as a family!! I will happily go again next year. :)