Colored Sunshine

I love these little bottles in my summertime window.

Jeff the Bricklayer

Access to an extra yard bin + free bricks at Papa Scott's = a Jeff Yard Project!

This little bed by the deck was overgrown with grass and rose bushes gone-wild.  Jeff ripped it all out, filled up our neighbor's yard bin while they were gone for the week, re-routed the sprinkler lines to make flower pot drip lines for me, and then filled it in with brick from Scott and Colleen's yard project.

We envision a spot for the wheelbarrow and kiddie pool in the winter...

And did I mention that Jeff's mathematical estimation helped him bring the PERFECT NUMBER of BRICKS?  I was impressed.

Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn!

Kaitlyn came to visit us in July--we've been missing her while she's been home in Salem!  Her birthday was earlier in the month, so we made a cake to celebrate.  Dinner was slightly better than the night that Jeff dropped the pizza face-down on the floor.  They didn't forget that.

The Day My Tomatoes Drank a Swimming Pool

Oh, this boy.  He's a good helper.

Movie Day with G'ma Colleen

Joshy to have a special day, too!  He and G'ma Colleen always have a good time together.  On this particular day, he was a bit sluggish after having a fever the day before, but he rallied and enjoyed Didier's, Barnes and Noble, and a movie with G'ma. 

G'ma was excited to try out the RECLINER SEATS that were newly added to the Northtown theaters...

And Joshy found some Minion goggles to use as picture props.

Keep Your Face to the Sunshine...

...and you cannot see the shadow.

 It's what the sunflowers do.  -Helen Keller

This sunflower field near G'ma Dianne's was GORGEOUS!!!  We couldn't help stopping for a couple of pics on our way out for a girl playdate.  G'ma took the picture of Grace and Brooklyn on their way home.

Someday These Boys Will be Trouble

mark my words.

Daddy's Girl

Church Campout at Marshall Lake

The Whit Pres Church Campout was at Marshall Lake this year.  Jeff had such great memories of the church campout growing up.  This year we thought it would be fun to meet more families in the church.  We arrived in the early Friday afternoon and had fun setting up camp.

Setting up camp...

...setting up camp...

...managing setting up camp...

The kids rode their bikes around...and we were giggling at Grace as she got high-centered and I sang the Wicked Witch of the West song...

The lake was the highlight...the rocks, the water, the fishing!

We met some really nice families and will always remember the kids catching sunfish on this dock.  We didn't stay for two nights, however.  We're wondering if camping with a TWO-year old next summer will be a bit easier...?

Our Hatch Pool

Gracie had a free ticket to the Hatch Pool, so we decided to go!  We invited Brooklyn to come along.

The kids decided that they wanted to jump off of the diving board, so they had to take a swim test.  I was so proud of Joshy--he popped in first and gave it his all, but the lifeguard wanted him to try it again on another day.  The girls passed, so Joshy and I got to go get him a Sprite and relax on the pool chairs.  Sometimes it's hard to be the little brother...and the mom gets to try to make life better with a sugary beverage.

But this day was monumental for Grace...this is her first time jumping off the diving board!  She finally did it after attempting--and backing off the board--several times.

The day was NOT monumental for mom though...she forgot to use the free ticket!

Puttering Around at Home

I found a few little projects to do once we were home for a while!

I found a picture of these little insulators--on Pinterest!--and had showed Mom.  She found a few for me and even had Dad cut rebar for me.  I finally got them out in the yard! So cute!

It was time to change the kitchen chalkboard.  It still had an Easter theme to it, so finally, in mid-July, I got the summer sign up.

And Uncle Brad had made these Bigfoot Puzzles--rocks in baggies--that he gave out at Megan and Jeff's wedding.  I had to find just the right spots for them!

Going Home.

Yes.  We were crazy enough to do this entire drive on Sunday.  We were only going to drive to the Tri Cities and stay another night with Julz, but once we were there and swam in Trina's pool, two more hours seemed like nothing...and our own beds were waiting for us!  After 12 nights away, we were ready.  We pulled into our driveway before midnight.  Ah, so great to be home!

Staying with Gregg...and Missing Yancey

We were lucky enough to be able to stay at Gregg and Yancey's for two nights on our way home.  Yancey was in St. Louis with a dear friend whose son was getting a heart transplant, but Gregg was a wonderful host.  The kids were thrilled that they had a TOY ROOM, and Julz was sweet enough to bunk with them in the kids' room both nights.  Of course Catan came out on our last night...and Julie won, for the record.  :)

Spiders for Yancey, so that she knew we missed her...and that we'd been there!

Josh immediately found THE MOVIE DRAWER!!!

And Micah loved ROCKY.

Utah Olympic Park

Park City was the home of the 2002 Winter Olympics.  At the Utah Olympic Park, we got to go see the Flying Ace All-Star Aerial Show on our last day in Utah.  It was A-MAZING!!!

Watch this!  Everyone skied down different chutes and landed in different spots of the pool.

It happened to be Western Day there at the park, and they had a face-painting booth.  The kids and I stood in line while Daddy checked out the Olympics museum.  He said I was the best mom in the world, for the record, because face paint freaks him out.  The kids loved it.  Gracie even got interviewed by the local news right before she became a cheetah.

We ran through the 2002 Olympics Museum, too.  My favorite were the giant buffalo puppets that were used in the Opening Ceremonies...and the pins.

After a fun morning at the park, we drove downtown to see what we could see.  Chipotle, mainly, and then we drove by the Mormon Temple and the State Building.  Then back to Gregg's for a...