Little Extras

Little things happening here and there...

Swim Meets were almost every weekend.  This one is at Pleasant Grove Pool.  She excelled in all of her events.  Her favorite ones are the 25 Fly and the 25 Breatstroke.  She tried all strokes, but these are her two favorite.  I've been very proud of her and her hard work and dedication to her practices.

I helped out with a baby shower for a neighbor.  It was a lot of work, but worth it.  We have Czech neighbors that are amazing cooks and did a wonderful job with the food.  I helped with all the coordinating, and flavored waters, and set up.  A great day.

The orchid Trent had gotten me at Mother's Day (I think) was blooming again!  I've never had an orchid bloom again after it's original blooms fell off.  It was is so pretty!

Ammon and Tarin were doing swim lessons after Raegan's swim team practice so she had to wait... Always love a good game of Uno! :o)

Tia White-my cycling buddy- asked us to take some sweet peas out of her garden.  So we did.  We loved shelling the peas and then cooking them.  Oh they were so so good!

Cecret Lake

A neighbor wanted to go hiking with kids, and there was this one trail I had heard about, so I decided to have a go at it.  Up Little Cottonwood Canyon is Alta Ski Resort.  During the summer it is so beautiful and I was excited to expand my knowledge of trails.  This neighbor, Jessica Cook, had a teen Jarom's age and two others close in age to my other kids, so it worked out.  Turns out she was a good resource for other events that happened that day with our oldest, but that is another story... it was a good lesson in obeying parents. (hint: Glade was his name-o)

We started out at Alta Parking Lot

 Ammon looked so peaceful, I had to snap a pic...

Still found patches of snow, so you've gotta stop and throw a few snow balls!! :o)

My little "posers" for pictures ...  hahaha

stopping to play in the creek

Couldn't get enough of this!!  Love the outdoors so so so much!!

got a hold of my phone and took tons of pictures just like this... I had to preserve at least one :o)

We made it!  I love watching the kids take it all in!  Lunch and exploring in the snow patches was well worth the 3 mile hike.

The Wardwell's and the Cook Family (Jessica, and kids: Austin, Ethan and McKenzie)

Tradition to dunk himself in snow melted lakes... such a goofball, but has a lot of courage.

The chair lifts are always to fun to play with.  The ladder to climb was exposed so the kids climbed up and found a nest in the cogs of the lift.  So cool.  Then of course swinging and climbing into the chairs itself is an adventure. :o)  It was a beautiful and  well worth it!

YW Activity Hike

Tarin isn't quite 12, but... they invited her to come.  This was a combined activity in preparation for girls camp...which Tarin will be able to go on.  They all had a great time.  Rian now has a sister in YW.  (To think next year, all three girls will be in YW!)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's day to a great dad.  The kids all made cards for him.  They did a great job to make him feel special.  We also made him an Ice cream sandwich cake...that was awesome.   Kids loved making all of it!

My card to him- I loved sharpening my drawing skills, it had been a long time.  It was worth it for him.

Raegan's card

Tarin's scratch off card

Ammon's card-painted pasta

Here is the ice cream sandwich cake we made dad!  So yummy!  He is also wearing the shirt we made him.  It says, "My dad deserves a pat on the back".  There are bleached out hand prints on the back of the shirt.  Sadly I got the shirt a bit too large... oh well, it's become his 'Sunday-around-the-house' shirt.

Last Baseball Game

 Awards to the team for a great summer season.

Obviously, not everyone was able to make the last game, but it was a fun season.  They all learned so much, and they are all so cute.

Shooting

Trent had gotten back into town and took the rest of the day off.  She we went into the hills behind our house and did some target shooting.

Later we took Tarin, Raegan and Ammon to try the ferris wheel at Sheels.  Its huge and was a thrill.  Ammon wasn't ready for it, but Tarin, Rae and I loved it.

Driver's Permit

After passing the test, Rian is officially legal to DRIVE!!  Wow, this is exciting.  Althought this does age me (I have a child old enough to drive!), I am pretty excited to see her learn and get experience.  Way to go RiRi!!

Check out that pro! :o)

Glasses

Raegan's goofy face!  She had gotten her new glasses.  She picked out the frames and looked forward to this day for a long time.  She loves them...and she looks great!

Provo Rec Center

 Trent's work sponsored a fun day at the pool.  Sadly he was out of town and couldn't be there.  But it was cool to try a new place.  The 4 younger were interested, so I said, let's party!

Tarin trying the rock wall

Ammon was scared to try the water slides, but I knew once he did, he'd love it!  Couldn't get him off of it...

As we were leaving, the kids loved this water feature at the front of the center.  Jarom caught it as it jumped from circle to circle.  Seriously, they played there for 20 minutes :o)

Yes, yes, they had to play funny and pretend they were going pee... hahaha

Jeramiah Johnson Activity Days Camp

The Girls had an opportunity to go to a Day camp for Activity days.  Yep, only in Utah...but hey, gotta love the resources.  Tarin was about to turn 12, so I thought she'd like the experience before leaving Primary.  Raegan also had a great time.  This place is up Hobble Creek Canyon by Springville.  They were in need of help so I volunteered to be a leader.  I was excited to check it out too.  I love this stuff. :o)

Plenty of crafts and activities to do.  They had a great time with girls in the ward and others from around the valley.

searching for gold, and beebee shooting

Got to try pulling a hand cart.

Picnic At South Fork Park

Rian and her friend Alyssa wanted to take each other's pictures in the mountains, so I decided to make a picnic out of it at South Fork park up Provo Canyon.  We love this park and the creek they can play and splash around in.

Such a great place to hang out and explore in.

My cute little monkeys!

 Took a little trail that followed the creek.  Loved the mystery of the animal made trails.