Summer Fun

School starts in only a week. I thought I would do a run down of all the fun we enjoyed this summer. Most of it occurred in a week time span with our big camping reunion trip in Colorado.

The Pool: The public pool was a hot spot. Pool trips almost everyday. Noah and Daniel remembered how to swim. It took them a little time, but they were off swimming on their own soon enough. The public pool has a little lazy river with a current that takes you around and around. It was really fun. The pool also has a couple of the big twisty water slides. By the end of the summer both boys were going down both the uncovered and covered slides. Noah was getting good enough to go off the diving board. He was such a little stick on the board; his jump barely made the board move. It was a riot to watch.

Reading: The kids completed the summer reading program within a couple of weeks. Among the best books we read were, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (to Daniel); H.P. and the Prisoner of Azkaban (to Noah), The Candy Shop War (to Noah). We checked out tons of books from the library and had fun going there often and reading in the huge castle.

4th of July: We had a blast participating in 2 nights of celebrating the country's birth in Mesa. We ate lots of watermelon, went down the big blow-up slides, played at little carnival booths, ate scrumptious caramel apples, heard and saw Governor Brewer speak, watched lots of fireworks. It was loads of fun!

The Trip: We took off for Colorado in July. We spent a couple days driving up to the mountains. Colorado could not have been more beautiful. It was like a fairy world. Everything was so green and smelled so good. The temperature was awesome during the day. We froze at night while we camped. Temperatures droppped into the upper 30's. From AZ, we felt like we were getting frostbit on our toes!! The camping trip was so fun. The planning and food shopping was a little stressful, but it was worth the stress. I loved seeing my brother, Derrick and his wife Jenn. We don't hear from them very often- he is the complete opposite of me. I can talk about anything and share my life with anyone- I am definitely an open book. derrick is not. Trying to get details about his life is like reading a locked book. So, I was super happy to be able to at least the man and his wife. I miss them so much. It was also awesome seeing my little sister Juliann and her husband Ross from Texas. It has been way too long without her. We were very close to each other, especially the last couple of years before I left for college. It was fun giggling and talking with Julio. I loved seeing my older sister, Elisa and her husband Tom from Colorado. My kids had fun playing with their kids. I hope Gavin and Rianne had has much fun with their cousins as Noah, Daniel, and Jodi did. They wandered all over the campground. It was fun seeing them all play together. Dustin let Daniel and Noah loose with a hatchet. It was hilarious watching the grandparents and aunts and uncles wince as my kids came chopping along. I am happy to report that not one child lost a finger or even got cut. Phew!!! We had a blast with Lief and his girlfriend Amy. Jodi has a new gal pal. She was practically attached to Amy's side, tent, space. Wherever Amy was, Jodi was close behind. It was great seeing my parents as well. They spoiled the grandkids of course. My kids love Grandma and Grandpa so much. They always leave the grandparents with a new best animal or toy. These toys become sacred to them, just because they were from Grandma and Grandpa.

Customize a collage

The Birthday Girl: We celebrated Jodi's birthday while in Colorado. Many of her aunts and uncles were there to celebrate with her. She was one spoiled 4 year old. She got pretty much everything she wanted. A Barbie Guitar- the best gift ever (for her!), a Lego set (no more fighting over Noah's), a new babydoll, and best of all a mail box- no wait it was a dressup set. But Jodi's first comment was, "Oh wow a mailbox!" It was truly priceless. A day playing dress up with her aunts was the best gift ever. We also went to the lake near my home town and the kids road in their first ever boat ride. My mom has a little fishing boat that she used to take out when she was a girl. It still works and it was loads of fun taking the kids out on the lake. They saw a deer on the shore. The splash in their faces was so fun. The water was FREEZING, but it didn't matter.

The Utah Field House and Dinosaur Museum and Arches National Park: When we vacation, we go all out. We went to Vernal, UT and had a great time at the awesome Dinosaur museum with a little less family. Each destination one of my siblings had to leave for their homes. We had a great time seeing the skeletons of Dilopicus. Man that Dinosaur was long. Anything about dinosaurs is the most awesome thing in the world for my kids. They were in heaven.

On our way back to AZ, we spent time at Arches National Park. We had to drive through Moab any way and thought the kids were old enough to take the tour. We had tons of fun hiking around and up to the different arches. Our favorite was Double arch. It was really awesome. It was a very hot day, but so beautiful. The deep blue sky with the red arches was very picturesque. We got tons of photos and even a poster because we loved it so much. We hiked through a very powdery sand. It was so pretty.

Flash: I promised the kids a dog when we moved, then when we got back from our trip. It was time to pay up. We now have a little puppy peeing and pooping on my carpets, yipping at night, and being super soft and cuddly. He is a chihuahua and dachsund mix. He looks more like the doxie than anything. He has a doxie body on chihuahua legs!! He is super fun and the kids love him to death.

Summer turned out to be tons of fun. We love our home. We love our family. So now we begin a new school year. Daniel starts all day Kindergarten, Noah will be in 2nd grade. They have all their school supplies and are looking forward to meet the teacher night on the 9th and then school begins on the 11th. Jodi and I will be so lonely without the boys.