Summer Vacation

We took a small family vacation the first week and a half of July. Tripp spent the previous week and a half in Scotland so it was nice to have him back and. We started off in Duck Creek at the Marz cabin. Everyone was there and we enjoyed our second year celebrating the 4th up in the mountains. Then it was off to Salt Lake City for several days of fun, family and friends.
At the cabin we: went fishing (Kyle caught the first fish), rode 4-wheelers, played on the rope swing across the street, made crafts (thanks Aunt Sam), attended the Fire Fighter's Pancake Breakfast, watched the 4th of July parade (Ali, Tripp, Lindsay, Sam, Wes & Ryan) participated in the 4th of July parade (Grandma, Papa, Abbie, Nate & Daisy (in the cabin car) and Kyle who lead the parade), made and threw paper airplanes off the loft, played lots of Sequence, generally got to hang out and have a nice time.

In Salt Lake we: stayed at Aunt Tina's house, swam in her pool, went to the Zoo with the Butler girls (we miss them again already!), Kyle FINALLY rode the zip line (although I'm still not sure he weighs enough), visited Wheeler Farm, fed the ducks (at Wheeler Farm), went to the Aquarium in Sandy, spent the evening at Lagoon, made a trip to IKEA, had a family BBQ at Aunt Leslie's house and generally had a great time.

On the way home we stopped by MamaThom & PapaThom's house for a short visit. PapaThom taught Kyle how to make the ammunition for his 12 gauge rifle (I think). Kyle figured it out and got really good at it really quick...still not sure how I feel about that.

A few items to note:

*Kyle was asked to wear his Boy Scout uniform and lead the parade with the other scouts. I told him it was his choice. He decided to do it then ended up being the only scout there when another one drove by, saw he would only be one of two, then bailed. Kyle did it all by himself. I was really, really proud of him.

*Abbie really didn't know what we were doing when we went fishing. When Kyle caught the fish and she saw it squirming in the net she screamed her lungs out and ran as quick as she could to the back of the boat. It took her awhile to calm down.

*Abbie loved playing with and reading to baby Ryan...she is smitten.

*My Aunt Tina is great. She was such a fantastic hostess and really got to know the kids and went a bunch of places with us. My kids really love her (and all her toys - especially the air hockey table).

*Seeing the Butler girls was so much fun but it just reminded us how much we miss them during the summer.

*Abbie got startled by a monkey at the zoo then really didn't want to be around the animals. She spent the majority of our trip to the aquarium hiding behind my back.

*My cousin Jen had a friend visiting that joined us all at Lagoon. Thanks Theresa for bringing Connor (age 11)...Kyle had a blast and can't wait to see him next summer!

*Abbie's first ride at Lagoon was the "Egg Drop" (not sure what the real name is). Abbie hated it and struggled with rides the rest of the night.

*Kyle made friends with Tina's dog Sandy. She slept with him the second night we were there.

*My Aunt Tina and Aunt Leslie have beautiful gardens.

*We got to see Paul and Patricks' families on the way from the cabin to SLC. Unfortunately, we didn't know they were in Cedar so we couldn't stay for a long visit and playdate.

*The kids enjoyed hanging out/seeing their cousins (Nate, Ryan, Isabelle, Seth, Cooper, Preston, Saige & Garrett) and I loved seeing mine (Rick, Ryan, Nolan, Ashley, Jennifer, Michael + spouses + kids).

Evening At the District

This afternoon I decided to take the girls to the District this evening for a small picnic and a ride on the carousel. They always want to ride it and with Tripp out of town and Kyle visiting his mom we had nothing stopping us. I got in touch with Lindsay and Sam and both were interested in joining in. I got there a little early with the girls for a picnic. They loved playing on the grass, lounging on the blanket and dreaming about which animal they were going to ride.
Then everyone joined us and we headed to the carousel. My girls were all smiles (they've been a little blue lately with daddy, Kyle and Ruby all away).

Lindsay suggested a trip to Ben & Jerry's after the ride. Abbie & Daisy never turn down ice cream so off we went. After the cones we wandered over to the live music and the kids danced for awhile. Daisy fell asleep within seconds of getting in bed tonight. Sometimes the best of times come out of plans that were never really plans at all...

I Sew! Well, Sort-of...

I've been wanting to learn how to sew for as long as I can remember. A few years ago, Tripp found a really great sewing machine on sale at Sears. It is small and doesn't do anything fancy but it is perfect for learning how to sew and at under $50, it was the perfect price as well.

Fast forward to December 2009. I still hadn't used my machine! I kept looking into classes in town but with our schedule I could never commit to anything. Then I thought I would just teach myself...plenty of people do it. But I never got around to trying anything. I didn't want another year to go by without using the pretty blue machine so I devised a plan to invite a darling lady in my ward over once a week to help me out and keep me on track. Luckily, she was completely in to the idea and her two cute daughters wanted in as well. Thus began our Tuesday night sewing group.

So far, I've made napkins, pajama pants (pictured on Abbie above) and blankets. We've taken several weeks off along the way to accommodate schedules but usually Tuesday night at my house looks something like this...

It has been fun and I'm slowly getting the hang of things. Getting everything perfect is really tough. Sometimes just sewing a straight line can be tough! But I love it and I especially love seeing the Meyer family every Tuesday. They are all slowly moving out of my ward so Tuesdays will become a special time just to visit with them.

We've been busy this summer but I haven't been toting my camera around everywhere. Here is what we've been up to: swim lessons * swimming at the rec center * swimming at grandma & grandpas * lots of parties (going away, birthday, etc.) * scout camp (Kyle) * Wacky Wednesday (Abbie) * Discovery Museum * sleepovers * tennis soccer * Wii Fit * library * cleaning the church. No vacations yet but we plan to leave in a week for Duck Creek then Salt Lake City.

What We've Been Up To...

We've had a busy few weeks. I'm convinced that May is the new December. With all the craziness going on, we did manage to sneak in some fun last week....
Abbie's spring dance recital was Tuesday night. She was all smiles and excitement until she actually got near the stage. The crowd terrifies her. She didn't go out for the first dance and went out for the second but left the stage in tears before the music started. Poor little marshmallow heart. She looked festive and had fun with Ruby so we are concentrating on that.

After Kyle's last final on Wednesday we went up the road to Mt. Charleston for an afternoon hike and cookout. It was a lot of fun and much cooler than Vegas. The hike and marshmallow roast were a huge hit with Kyle and Abbie.

We took the kids to the public pool Friday afternoon for a couple of hours. It's their favorite and we especially enjoyed having Tripp join us. I got sick Friday afternoon and thank goodness for the Butler Family. They invited Abbie & Daisy over for the evening while Tripp & Kyle attended a meeting and I was in bed.

Saturday morning we hit the library summer reading program party then off to Grandma & Papa's for swimming and lunch.

The kids got to spend some time with their cousin's this week. Thursday afternoon Isabelle came to play with the girls and they couldn't have had a better time. Saturday night Kyle and Tripp went to play video games with Paul, Seth and Cooper. Paul provided treats for the night and Kyle came home asking for new video games so he must have had a great time.

This week begins official "Summer Break". Kyle heads off to scout camp tomorrow morning and the girls begin swim lessons. I guess summer is really here...

Thanks Grandma!

I love my new headband. I feel like such a big girl wearing it. It fit really well and is extra pretty-and well made. I haven't broken it yet!

My mom likes it too but she says that I'm growing up too fast.

See you this summer,

Abbie

Spring Soccer

Spring soccer came to an end Monday night with the end of season party. The boys enjoy getting together twice a year to just play and hang out...no soccer allowed! They swam, ate, generally ran around and goofed off like 12 year old boys like to do. We've been with this team for a very, very long time now so thankfully, while the boys are having their fun the parents and siblings don't mind hanging out and chatting a bit.

The long-time assistant coach is leaving in July. He is being stationed somewhere else for a year so although we're lucky to keep his son on the team for at least one more year, sadly Coach Gil had to say "Goodbye". He was a great assistant coach. Inspiring and fun and as Hurley said to Ben the other night, "You were a great number two."

Soccer Tournaments & School Programs

This was a weekend full of soccer tournaments, school programs and studying for upcoming finals.

Kyle's team played two games Saturday, winning both. Sadly, we missed the first game as Abbie's school program was at the same time. Too many places to be, too little time. This is becoming the story of our lives...

The Eagles won a semi-finals game this morning then ended up in the championship game this afternoon, which they lost. The coach's wife is always kind enough to email Sunday afternoon to fill us in as we don't play sports on Sunday. The big end of season party is tomorrow night and I have lots of chopping to get to tomorrow morning to be ready in time!

I think I mentioned before that Abbie has the absolute most darling preschool teacher ever. Ms. Joy truly lives up to her name and loves each of those 8 kids in the morning class like they were her own. She put together a little program where the kids shared some songs and music with us then received their awards. Abbie was awarded most "Amiable" as she is friendly to everyone and kind and loving to everyone at preschool and willing to do what others would like. She is so lucky to have another year with Ms. Joy.

As for this big-haired baby...I finally figured out what is making her locks so gigantic of late. She has been scratching her head all over. I caught her doing it the other day and she has been at it every day since. She suffers from skin conditions and I think the new shampoo I've been using is bothering her scalp. Poor itchy-scalped big-haired girl. I immediately switched her shampoo back and we'll see if we can tame that fuzz back down.