Rain

My kids love the rain.  Since we live in a desert, rain is a reason to celebrate.

I love that neither foot is touching the ground.

The favorite rain game is chasing objects down the gutter in front of the house.

Can you find the little man?

Don’t ask me why they are wearing winter coats – It wasn’t cold at all.

 

The Bug Wagon

The bug wagon,

home to several grasshoppers, spiders, preying mantises, wasps, and this handsome guy:

Boys.

 

Scout Camp

Now that it has taken me over 2 months to blog about Switzerland, I’m feeling like I should catch up on what we’ve been doing this summer!

I got to go with my wolf den to scout camp.  I had a great time, and was impressed by the activities available to the boys.  They got to shoot BB guns, bows & arrows, and slingshots.  They made swords and then had a battle with those swords.  I’ll say the camp organizers know what boys like!

Our group with their swords…..

CHARGE!!!

Don’t forget to go here and leave a comment so you can have a chance to win some delicious Swiss chocolate!!!

 

Canoeing?

My boys invented a new style of canoeing.  They both got soaked, but entertained themselves for over an hour.  Who would have thought a canoe on dry land could be so much fun!

 

The last few summer pictures

Fun at the lake.

Building a sand castle.

The Fourth of July

At the Rodeo.

 

The 4th of July

Before I begin an account of our trip to California, I’d like to fast forward through June to the 4th of July.  I am so sadly behind that it is already over a week past the fact, but if I wait until I catch up chronologically I’m afraid it could be  November before I get to it.  So here it is.

We went to Salina where my sister Lisa lives to experience the 4th small town style.   Richfield (next town over) hosts a little carnival/fair event complete with blow-ups, food and entertainment.  They also have two great kid events.  Foot races, and a fish catch. We started the day there.

But we had one very important stop to make on the way.

Fireworks.

On your mark, get set…GO!

Daniel wanted to race too, that is, until it was actually time to run.  Then he changed his mind.  That seemed to be a theme with the boys that day.

After the races came the fish catch.

A few hundred trout were dumped into temporary pools.

On “GO” the kids jump into their pool (divided according to age) and try to catch a fish.

Ben and Dan enthusiastically jumped in.

And then changed their minds, and got back out.

Apparently my boys are afraid of fish.  I wonder if next summer at the fishsite won’t cure them.

After the park we went to Lisa’s grandparent- in – laws for lunch/dinner, then went back to Salina for the parade,

and dessert.

By the time it was dark enough for fireworks, the boys were fast asleep in the guest bed at Matt and Lisa’s house.

Some other time.

 

Three "Little Things"

1. Hannah, and her young age of 7 weeks slept all night last night. That’s right! 10:00 – 6:00. I hope this is the beginning of wonderful sleep filled nights!

2. Also about Hannah, she has learned how to SMILE! She melts my heart every time. I’ve been trying to capture her beautiful smile on film, but she must be shy or modest or something, in any case, I have been unsuccessful. I’ll keep trying.

3. And last, my favorite part of the day (except when all the kids are in bed and asleep at the same time) is in the afternoon when Daniel and I gather the eggs. That’s a lot of fun, but the best part is on the way back to the house we stop at the peach tree and treat ourselves to a peach. Nothing is as good as a sun ripened, sun warmed, juicy, sweet peach that drips all over my hands and chin.

 

Riding Bikes

Ben’s on two wheels! Clark took his training wheels off this afternoon, and look at him go. The quote of the day was, “Let’s go cruise some more, Grandpa”.

Daniel, not to be left out of the fun, jumped on Ben’s big wheel and pushed himself along the sidewalk.

 

Summer Hike

It’s been a while since I posted anything because being large with child I find that I don’t have the energy to do much worth posting. We did go on a family hike Saturday morning first thing, the boys had a great time throwing rocks into the stream.

 

Idaho Trip

On Thursday, Lillie and I spontaneously decided to go to Idaho for the weekend. Everyone had a ton of fun. On Friday, we went to Sandy Downs, along with cousins Braeburn and Granny Smith. All the kids had fun jumping off the steep side of the sand dune. Ben was somewhat hesitant at first, but he quickly got the hang of it. Dan’s favorite part was sliding down the sand feet first on his belly, flipping his arms and legs like a beached sea turtle.

Saturday afternoon, the family went to Green Canyon Hot Springs, which was another hit with the kids (and parents!) Leslie came too. Daniel is a little waterbug like his brother. He’d lift his feet off the pool bottom so he was floating with his water wings, and just laugh and laugh. He also got a kick out of half running/half falling down the steps into the pool and landing in the water. Ben enjoyed jumping off the side of the pool, trying to make a splash as big as the “big boys” jumping off the diving board in the deep end. He did much better once we reminded him that he needed to plug his nose, not his ears!

In between activities, the boys played with their cousins on Crabapple farm, petting the goats, sheep, cats, etc. The weather was perfect. Only a slight breeze most of the time! Lillie took an iMovie tutorial from Braeburn, so perhaps viewers will be able to watch video of the weekend fun soon.