July 25-31

Monday, July 25 - Because Pioneer Day fell on a Sunday, we celebrated it with fireworks today. We had everyone come over to our house and set a bunch off in our street. It ended up feeling like a fun street/family party! Unfortunately, we couldn't go too late because tomorrow is the first day of school! It was fun celebrating anyway though!

Tuesday, July 26 - When did my babies get so old? Nick started 5th grade with Mrs. Wendling and Kendra started 3rd grade with Ms. Beck. If we've talked about school, you know that I really wanted Kendra to get Mrs. Fay like Nick did in 3rd grade. However, no amount of stopping in at the office and talking to the principal was going to get them to change her so luckily, Ms. Beck seems like a good teacher! I think it's going to be a great year!!

Wednesday, July 27 - Amie asked if I could pick her kids up today to go to a picnic for Weston's school class. In order to make everything work out, I went and got them before our summer movie started. They saw "Shaun the Sheep" with us (oh man, dumbest show ever!) and then we headed to a park in Riverton for his picnic. The kids had so much fun playing at the park and I enjoyed my time with the Fraser kids.

Thursday, July 28 - We said goodbye to Simon this afternoon for a few days. He rode up to scout camp with Britton Child. Let the adventures begin! While he was away, I turned on a movie for the kids and got rid of some old toys that no one ever plays with. We just have so much stuff, I was happy to get rid of some stuff!

Friday, July 29 - Simon and Joe Doman are good friends and leaders over this crazy group of scouts. They love being there and helping shape these boys' lives. Tonight, our favorite home teacher, Brother Williams, stopped by and brought us shakes. We sure enjoyed them! 

Saturday, July 30 - Happy first birthday to our dearest Kam! We simply love this baby boy and we were honored and thrilled to get to spend his special day with him!

Sunday, July 31 - Kendra sure does love this baby girl! She got to go over to Dave & Viv's, hold baby Finley, and even feed her a bottle. Lucky girl!

July 18 - 24

 Monday, July 18 - I tried to have this collage ready for Ricki's birthday on Sunday (so I worked on it on Saturday) but alas, I forgot that I was dealing with Walmart so it didn't get done until today. We picked it up on our way home from seeing "Penguins of Madagascar" and having lunch at Jenni's. I'm glad to have it up. It's about a year in the making!

Tuesday, July 19 - "Mom, we have to go to Cowabunga Bay - it's a tradition!" "Mom, why haven't we gone yet this year?" "Mom, it's the only thing I really wanted to do this summer!" I gave in! :) We went to Cowabunga Bay with my sister and her kids. It was super fun! Well, at least it was until Kendra threw up around 5:30. Then it was less fun so we went home. I'm glad my kids didn't miss out on their "favorite tradition of the summer"! :) I can't believe school already starts in a week from today!

Wednesday, July 20 - I should have known that Kendra's itchy throat on Monday evening would amount to a 24-hour flu-like sickness. She started throwing up on Tuesday at Cowabunga and didn't feel better until late tonight. Poor girl. I don't know what to do about these darn allergies! I also don't know why she always gets flu-like symptoms when she's having allergy problems. I guess it's good her appointment with the allergist is only two weeks away. Hopefully she doesn't have to go through this again before then. Nick had a fun day up at scout day camp. He went canoeing, did archery, and of course, bought some fun stuff at the trading post. I'm so glad he has so many ward friends to go have fun with!

Thursday, July 21 - Thanks to my dad, we got an impromptu family outing to the movies! V.L.C.M. does premier showings of upcoming movies and my dad often gets tickets. They gave him 4 for tonight's preview of Star Trek but he and mom couldn't go. It includes prizes, popcorn, drinks, and candy for everyone that attends. Unfortunately, Nick has been sick today (and missed his second day of scout camp) so we left him and Ricki with Grandma Sandi and Grandpa Steve and went just the 4 of us. I didn't love love the movie - it was alright - but it was good enough for a free outing! :) Thanks Daddy!

Friday, July 22 - Candace, Melanie, Amie, and I went to the Blue Lemon tonight. It is always the best day ever when I get to look forward to catching up with these ladies. These are three of my closest and best friends! Love you gals!!

Saturday, July 23 - Our kids were in the Pioneer Days Youth Parade with our stake. They had so much fun walking in the parade and they were even on TV! Afterward, they threw a huge party with bounce houses, games, and face painting. The lines were long but the kids were thrilled to get their faces painted for free!

Sunday, July 24 - Ricki and I weren't feeling well so we skipped church and napped...a lot. Simon took the other kids over to his parent's house and finally got to hold Finley for the first time. Look how teeny tiny she is in his arms!

July 11 - 17

Monday, July 11 - Zack had his 5 year well check and Ricki had her 2 year. Ricki is pretty average hight and weight but Zack is kind of a little guy. He was only 10% for weight which they were okay with because he was only 15% for height! I'm feeling much better about our decision to keep him back one more year from Kindergarten!

Tuesday, July 12 - Where there is free Chick-Fil-A chicken, there will my family be! The kids and I stopped at the Draper location after gymnastics and got free lunch. Later, I was talking to my sister and we decided to meet over at The District location for dinner. Dinner was MUCH crazier than lunch but it was still really fun to be there together.

Wednesday, July 13 - Kendra, Halle, and Brielle have been begging to have a sleepover for the past few weeks. I was at Jenni's in the afternoon today so we brought the girls home with us. Well, this was Kendra at about 8:45! We may need to have a talk about being a good hostess! :) 

Thursday, July 14 - For adventure day today, we went back to Thanksgiving Point and explored The Gardens. There was hardly anyone there but after about 30 minutes, I realized why...it was 100 stinking degrees! However, the heat never bothered me so we hung out for a few hours, had lunch, put our feet in the fountains (not sure if that is allowed or not!), and then got in our car and turned the A/C on full-blast! I'm going to miss our fun adventures when the kids go back to school!

 Friday, July 15 - Kendra had gymnastics every morning this week from 10:30-11:30. It has made it a very difficult week for me because I'm realizing it's hard to get anything done when I leave the house by 10:00 and don't get home until around 5:00. One compensating factor is that the gym is right by a 7-11. I went in to grab a $.99 Big Gulp and check out what is on all of the cups - a FREE Redbox! I think that is a great deal! $1.06 for a 32 oz. drink plus a free movie that would otherwise cost $1.60! I won't mention how many of these I got over the course of a week. Not as many as you might think! ;)

 Saturday, July 16 - Happy 36th Birthday to Simon! I can't decide if this is the best day ever or just top 5. First of all, Gary, Alexis, and sweet tiny little baby Finley are home in Utah! All is right in the world! :) We had the privilege of helping them move their belongings from their moving truck into storage and Dave & Viv's. They will stay there while they search for a house. Hooray for family being close! In the afternoon, we went with this lovely crew to Rodizio Grill to celebrate mine and Simon's birthday's. We hadn't been out yet for my annual birthday dinner and it just so happened to fall on Simon's birthday so it was a good day all around! My only regret is not taking pictures this morning. I would have loved to have captured Nick and Kendra's first experience holding Finley. It's basically all Kendra has talked about since she was born almost a month ago!

Sunday, July 17 - We had a triple birthday party at our house. We celebrated Simon, Zack, and Ricki. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed just hanging out in the backyard being surrounded by the people we love. I feel extremely blessed to have the family that we do. It was such a wonderful occasion to all be together. Yay for birthdays!!

July 4 - 10

Monday, July 4 - This Independence Day will go down in the books as being a very special day for a whole different reason - they got engaged!!! We are so thrilled for Kenny, Katie, and Kam! It sounds like the wedding will be almost a year away in June but we're so excited to have a new sister in the family! Congratulations Kenny & Katie!

Tuesday, July 5 - Happy birthday to my amazing, strong, loving, spiritual mommy! I simply couldn't live without her. She is my rock, my comforter, and the one I turn to in all aspects of my life. If I am ever half the mother she is, I will be a success! Wishing you the happiest of birthdays today mom! I love you!!

Wednesday, July 6 - Today was another special day. My good friend, Elise Francis, was sealed to her sweetheart today in the Provo City Center Temple. Simon and I were lucky enough to go to the sealing and then join them, their friends, and family at a fun get together at their house afterward. I am so happy for Elise. She is just the best! We became instant friends when she moved into the ward and we were called as visiting teaching partners. Congrats Francis family!

Thursday, July 7 - This girl! Could she get cuter???

Friday, July 8 - Amie and I have not spent much time together in the past few months. It was time for a BFF date! We got together, had dinner at Panda, went shopping for sofa tables and jewelry, then stopped at Iceberg on the way home for a shake. It was so much fun and so great to be together! I love my BFF!!!

Saturday, July 9 - Happy 5th birthday to Zack! We let him choose where he wanted to go for his birthday dinner so, of course, we ended up at McDonald's! They had a fun time playing and running around. We look forward to a great year with our Zacky boy!

Sunday, July 10 - It was a busy Sunday! I went to Jenni & BJ's new ward to hear them speak. Luckily, Halle had a talk the same day so we all went in to primary to hear her too! When I got home, I quick did Ricki's hair and went to my ward for the last hour (I was teaching primary). Tonight, we had a birthday party for mom at the McCullough's. This is a pic with grandma and all 9 of her cute grandkids! Such a great day!!

June 27 - July 3

Monday, June 27 - I search Pinterest often for nail art that I can do. I really loved the dots and lines of this one so I did 4th of July nails again. I love doing my own nails! We've been spending most of our summer Mondays at Jenni's new house. Mom has the day off too so we go over, have lunch, and hang out. We're trying to plan our family reunion but it isn't working out so well. :) We have a really hard time staying on task!

Tuesday, June 28 - We just can't get enough of Chick Fil A! We met Grandma and Jim at Chick Fil A in Jordan Landing. It worked out perfectly because I had a bunch of errands to run anyway. 

Wednesday, June 29 - We saw "Hotel Transylvania 2" today at the summer movie. We then went over to Jenni's and the kids swam and hung out for a couple of hours. So much summertime fun!

Thursday, June 30 - Simon took the day off today so that we could go to Cowabunga Bay but watching the weather report, it turned out not to be a good day to go. Instead, we went to the Curiosity Museum at Thanksgiving Point. We got there around 11:00, played until 1:00, left for lunch at Pizza Pie Cafe, then came back and played again until 6:00! It was a long day but so much fun to be together as a family. I wish Simon had more days off to spend with us!

Friday, July 1 - Let parade season begin! The kids and I met the McCullough's over at the Riverton Parade. Simon was working the Real booth so he wasn't able to join us. I had to include the bottom picture because seriously, look at Ricki's face!! Haha

Saturday, July 2 - We had lots of fun at the Western Stampede Rodeo! Our whole family, including Kenny, Katie, and Grandma Sharon, was there. I even ran into some old high school friends (Anna & Chuey). It was a really enjoyable evening!

Sunday, July 3 - I have taken a sewing class for the past few weeks. This week's lesson was how to make pillow cases. How cute are they?!? My ultimate goal is to be able to sew a prom dress for Kendra and then Ricki. I figure I have 8 years to gain the skills to do it so I need to work on it! :) I have really loved my sewing classes and look forward to taking many more!