Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Chase's Third Swim Meet


 Chase had his final swim meet on July 31st.  He swam the 50 meter backstroke and improved his time again.  He shaved off another 6 seconds!  He took 5th out of 13 boys in the backstroke.  Then he swam the 50 meter freestyle and improved his time by a few seconds.  He's been working really hard on his "block starts." He looked awesome diving into the water! His last event was the 50 meter breast stroke.  He's never swam this event before so I was really proud of him for even trying it.  He did so great!  He's a great little swimmer!  He has such a positive attitude and is willing to try new things.  I think that takes a lot of courage.

We were so lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa A come to his swim meet.  They were the best cheerleaders!  They cheered really loud for Chase.  Matt was late getting out of work so unfortunately he missed Chase's first event but I videoed it so Matt was able to watch it.  We loved having Grandma and Grandpa A come to the swim meet with us.  I was busy with my "job" so it was nice to have someone watch Bridger while he swam.  They love the boys so much.  It's wonderful to have them so a part of our lives!


Cheetos Fingers!



Camping in Midway



At the beginning of summer, Matt and I looked at our calendar to see when we could go camping over a weekend.  To our surprise, there was never a "free" weekend so then it was narrowed down to this weekend and we made it work.  It was Aliyah's birthday on Friday and everyone was going to the zoo. But I hadn't packed anything so I didn't go. Shantelle took the boys with her so I could pack. They had such a fun time at the zoo. When Matt came home from work, we loaded the food and hooked up the trailer and headed to Midway.  Matt is amazing driving and parking the trailer. We got everything settled and unhooked. I had made sloppy joes so all I had to do was heat it up. It was a simple dinner but it tasted great because by 7:00, we were all starving.  After dinner, we played dominos for over an hour. I love playing games together.  After we tucked the boys in bed, Matt and I stayed up and watched "The Vow."  Before we fell asleep, I said "I love camping." Matt started to laugh and said "it's not true camping." But it's as close as I'm going to get to "camping." 



 Luckily the boys slept in Saturday morning. Chase slept in until almost 9 which is so rare and then Bridger slept until 9:45! I went for a beautiful bike ride around Midway and Heber. We had such a fun afternoon. The boys having been playing games. Matt went out and played catch with them. Bridger is learning how to use a baseball mitt.  I saw a mansion while I was on my bike ride so we went for a little drive so I could show Matt. It's probably one of the biggest houses I've ever seen! I had heard about a cheese factory in Midway so I looked it up in the internet. To our surprise, it was only 5 minutes away from our campsite. Unfortunately they weren't making any cheese but we could at least see their equipment. Our boys have never tried cheese curds so we bought some ranch cheese curds. Bridger looked like he was going to throw up but Chase liked them. Cheese curds remind me of Minnesota. Everyone got a scoop of ice cream. It was very refreshing on such a hot day. Then we drove to the Jordanelle reservoir.  We walked around for a little and then Matt said "let's go have a Janet moment and read the signs." It made me laugh.  It ended up being a learning moment in teaching the boys how dams are made. After that we went bak to the camper for "quiet time."  For dinner, we went to the "train place."  We went around 7:00 so it wasn't so crowded. That place can be crazy!  I don't really like their food but their shakes are awesome. We got an Oreo one and then the classic, chocolate, marshmallow, and banana. We couldn't believe how fast the boys ate them especially Bridger.  Matt had to go back home after dinner because he has lots of church stuff. He has to talk in a combined Relief Society and Priesthood meeting.  I wasn't ready for the vacation to end so the boys and I are staying until Monday or Tuesday.
















 Sunday was such a quiet and relaxing day. We went for a little nature walk this morning. We played "Life." Chase just can't play that game enough.  The boys worked on some art projects while they watched a church movie. We read "The Friend" and listened to lots of scriptures.  I spent lots of time outside in the recliner chair under the awning. It's been really quiet around here because most people went home. We roasted hot dogs for dinner. Then we had a few marshmallows but I forgot to buy the stuff for smores so we just had marshmallows. I loved sitting around the campfire with the boys. 





 Monday morning I got up and went for a bike ride. I was a little nervous to leave the boys but they were happy to stay home and play games on the iPad. I was half way through my bike ride when my front tire went flat! I tried to pump it up to see if it would stay but it wouldn't stay. So I had to change my tire! Dang it! For the rest of the ride, I felt like I was saying a constant prayer because I didn't have another tube. If I got another flat tire I would be in big trouble and it would take me forever to walk back to the boys. I learned a valuable lesson to always carry two tubes. I felt very blessed to make it home safely. When I got home, the boys were still sitting on the bed in their pj's playing on the iPad.  
  For breakfast, we drove down to "The Store" and picked out doughnuts. The bakery lady talked us into trying some ruby snap cookies so we bought a few for later. We took the doughnuts home and ate them with nice cold milk. We don't get doughnuts very often so it was a treat.








 Afterwards the boys changed into their swimming suits and we went down to the lower campground and found a little stream. The one by our campground is dried up so they were so happy we found a stream.  We had so much fun playing in the river.  It was very cold but Bridger didn't mind even though his feet were red. Chase and I had to take breaks because our feet were freezing! The boys loved splashing each other and throwing rocks. We playing in the river for an hour. We saw a beautiful deer as we were walking home. We met a really nice camp worker on the way back to the camper. He wanted us to meet his wife and when we did, she invited us to sit down and make some "jumper cord" bracelets with her. The boys picked out their cords and she taught us how to make them. She even got drinks for the boys. I was amazed at how quickly the boys caught on. They did a great job on their bracelets. They want to make some more when we get home.  During the afternoon we played catch, read some more, worked on their mosaic pictures and ate the yummy cookies. It was a perfect R and R afternoon. We were going to go home tonight but we decided to go home tomorrow morning instead. Mylissa's family is coming up on Thursday so they're paying for the campsite through the weekend so we don't have to bring the camper home. 






Thursday, July 26, 2012

Party with Aliyah.

We were going to be out of town for Aliyah's birthday so we wanted to have a little party with her before we left.  We went to the splash pad.  We were in such a hurry to get there that we forgot to bring any toys to play with.  But the kids still had a fun time.  



 I can't believe Aliyah is turning 3.  It's crazy how fast the time is flying by.  Aliyah was very excited to open her presents from us.  We gave her a few of our favorite books: Blueberries for Sal, Make Way for Ducklings, and Mrs. Nelson is Missing.  I found this really cute puzzle game that makes lots of fun sounds so I couldn't resist. Happy Birthday Aliyah!




Monday, July 23, 2012

Bee's Game with the Adams'


 For Father's day, we gave Ardell a night out to a Bee's game with his family and a Bee's shirt.  Everyone but Amy, Ashtyn (she was at a volleyball camp) and Charlene came.  We ate hot dogs and peanuts.  Jake came over and said "take a picture of the boys with me."  I love how he loves our boys.  The boys were all over Mike.  Even though it was a slow game, it was such a fun night being together.


The boys kept asking for cotton candy.  I told them that we had already bought enough and had eaten enough treats.  So then they went to Uncle Mike.  He was trying to resist them but the boy kept coming by shouting "cotton candy." Plus the boys wouldn't give up.  So Mike handed Megan some money and bought them cotton candy.  You can tell from the picture that they were very excited to get cotton candy.  Good thing they have Uncle Mike! 
Megan and Grandpa

Chelsy and Austin

Jake and Grandpa



Sidewalk Painting

Shantelle had to work for a couple of hours so I told her I would watch Aliyah.  We love having Aliyah!!  She is such a funny and happy girl!  Before it got too hot, we went outside and painted the driveway.  I loved watching the different things that they painted.  Aliyah was a little apprehensive to paint but once she tried it, she really liked it.  Chase wrote everyone's names.  Bridger did a self portrait.  He made sure he had orange hair.  It was so cute!!!