The Fourth of July is always one of our favorite holidays. We went to Wet n Wild, had a cook out at the Campbell's, and celebrated with dessert and fireworks at the Perry's. A few days later the Elms moved into town. It will be great having cousins so close by! Summer break was awesome with a trip to Utah/Idaho and we closed it out with the Maloy family coming to our house to visit after they moved to New York two years ago. What a great month!
Hannah finished second grade! She loved Mrs. Kramar so much, and we were grateful for her as a teacher. Hannah finished with all As and Bs and with very kind words from Mrs. Kramar. Hannah also had nearly three times the accelerated reader points as most of her class for the year, and twice as much as the second place kids. She is quite the reader! She read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this month. Hannah turned eight while we were in Utah. For her birthday we went to Fat Cats in Ogden and went bowling, played laser tag, and rode bumper cars. She had a tea party for her birthday and had a great turn out with so many of her friends. She was interviewed and prepared by Bishop Young to be baptized, and she's anxiously awaiting that day in August.
Paige finished kindergarten and was happy to slip into summer mode. Paige is currently into gymnastics and we're constantly either a) hearing her body thud against the ground upstairs as she practices flips, cartwheels, and handstands, or b) watching her body flail about, head over heels. She is actually pretty good at tumbling, even though she's never had a class, and Adam and I just signed her up for tumbling at the dance studio down the street. She can't wait.
Sam is a professional at the potty now. I can trust him not to have an accident. I always find that potty training leads to a boost in vocabulary and I've noticed it with Sam too. He's extremely curious and vocal about everything. He's going through a big "why?" phase right now. Sam is enjoying his time with his sisters, and I'm glad they are home too. Sam has been getting hooked on playing the iPad, but after a month with his sisters at home, and traveling a bunch he has no patience for it, which I am grateful for. Sam loves playing with his Imaginext toys and legos. He begs me to play with him every day, and I try to do it.
Jonathan is changing every day. Most of it is for the better, but right now, he's going through a big hitting phase, which is just not my favorite because he hits HARD. While we were in Utah he was constantly asking to nurse, which was kind of funny. I don't know when/how I'll stop because he loves his mommy's milk! Jonathan had so much fun on vacation being around his favorites: grandpa and dogs. He's currently loving: Bananas, animals, Mommy, Daddy, Hannah, Batman, fruit snacks. His current dislikes: changing diapers, changing clothes, going to bed, driving in the car for too long.
Our trip:
Our trip was such a delight. It was practically nonstop fun. I loved sharing a Utah summer with each of my kids. We visited a lot of family and friends, including aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents, great aunts and uncles, second cousins the Packards, and children of high school friends. We spent a lot of time on the road from Vegas to Utah, up the mountains to Snowbird, over to Island Park, and back again. The kids loved Snowbird, especially fort building. They swam everyday, played Bingo, rode the tram (which they were all nervous about), and went on several hikes. They also loved the cabin where we hiked some more, took many walks down to the river and back, watched movies, kayaked, and explored in the woods. Their favorite part was probaby picking wild huckleberries along the Coffee Pot trail.
Of course, Grandma and Grandpa's house didn't disappoint either. We went to This is the Place Heritage Park, Fat Cats, parks, ate a ton of ice cream and pizza, had movie parties, played with Grandpa's Hot Wheels, and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. As soon as we got back home Sam said, I miss Grandma and Grandpa's house.
