July, Part 3: Miscellaneous

I think it's easy to forget how busy the summer months can actually be. The kids might not be in school, but there are a lot of family get-togethers and lots of places to go and things to see.

Above: Here is Pete enjoying his Wendy's kids' meal toy to the fullest. Not the intended use of the toy, but still fun nonetheless!

Above: Riding our bikes on the Porter Rockwell Trail.

Above: It was a hot day, but there's plenty of shade along this trail. Johnny did a great job practicing riding his bike. He just needs more practice because he doesn't have the same drive to get up and go and be out of the house as his brother Peter does.

Above: Peter sure loves his baby brother, Dan. Here he is reading a book to him.

Above: We're stilling getting our house organized and put together. We got these great couches because the boys had designated "spots" on the old couches that they had claimed as their own, and as a result, it was sometimes hard for mom or Dan to find a place to sit that was not already taken. This couch provides plenty of seating for everyone to enjoy!

Above: Though, let's be honest, the boys still staked out some spots.

Above: The boys were big fans of the corner spots. Luckily, they both claimed different corners.

Above: My good friend, Wendy, sent me a "cheer up" gift bag full of all sorts of fun things (like a rubber chicken that you can fling almost like a slingshot, silly string, and some stick on mustaches). The boys loved the mustaches.

Above: Peter adopted a new persona to match his mustache.

Above: My Johnny is as sweet as can be, with or without a mustache!

Above: Here we are at the Museum of Natural Curiosity with my friend, Nicole, and her boys. Go figure though. They got along great when we were neighbors, but when we were no longer neighbors and got together for play dates, I sure heard a lot of, "I'm bored. Can we go home now? I want to go home." I don't know why they could play so well together in their own yards, but if we tried to get together for play dates, they wanted to be anywhere but there.





Above: Sometimes, you just need to get a crown or two (one care of my mom as a birthday present and the other purchased by me). It's always a good thing to remind yourself that every girl, young or old, has the capacity to act like a princess, even if she doesn't always feel like one. Sometimes you need to don a crown and remind yourself of your own potential. Besides...sparkles.

July, Part 2: Visiting the Gardens With the Washburns

It's always nice to enjoy the gardens on a Sunday afternoon with the Washburn family. It's especially nice because we have the gardens all to ourselves.

Above: It really was the perfect day for visiting the gardens.

Above: This guy will smile for me any time!

Above: Trying to fish using an ultra-long stem.

Above: Fortunately for the fish, Peter was not successful in his attempts at fishing.

Above: They always add such fun decorations and extra touches to the gardens.

Everyone else opted to travel via golf cart, but I had a great time just walking around the empty gardens--just Dan and me.

Above: Could you ask for a better walking buddy?

Above: It was such a beautiful day and we had a very nice time at the gardens.

July, Part 1: Celebrating the 4th of July

The 4th of July was jam-packed this year. It is a yearly tradition for the Washburn family to party hard on the 4th of July. Plus, my brother, Nephi, made an unexpected visit to Utah. You never know when Nephi will be back, so you kind of have to make room in your schedule to see him when he's there or you could miss him for good. It plays havoc with schedules, but what can you do? So, Jeremiah took Pete and Johnny to Aunt Angie's house to celebrate with the Washburn family and I started out there too. When Dan got tired and needed a nap, I went for a drive to let him sleep...a drive to my Mom's house. Dan got his nap, and after he woke up, I got to see Nephi and his family, and then I drove back to Angie's house to finish out the 4th of July celebration. Whew! Is it bedtime yet?

Above: It was really fun to Nephi, Shandie, and their girls. Here's Kinlie playing in the sandbox with Caroline.

Above: Maddie is getting so grown up.

Above: Sweet Katelynn has a lot of sass to her too. Ha ha. Here she is being authoritative about the snowcones to Grant.

Above: Grant wasn't quite sure what to make of that sass. Ha ha!

Above: The adults were there too, of course. :)

Above: Nephi and Hannah enjoying the cool house.

Above: There's nothing better than being crowned by your dad.

Above: Sleepy Theo.

Above: After visiting the Mackay side of the family, I headed back to Angie's house to spend the rest of the day with the Washburn clan. Aunt Angie and Uncle Casey always get a super fun bouncy splash house for the kids to play in.

Above: All the kids, of course, loved it.

Above: Dan, of course, was too little to play with the big kids in the splash/bounce house, but he was a good companion to me and gave me a mini photo shoot. What a handsome guy!

Above: Everyone had a great holiday, even without the fireworks.

Above: Dad had a ton of fun on the slip N slide.

Above: Johnny enjoyed it too!