Mini Golf

One putt in and I realized that miniature golfing had been a mistake. As soon as I realized that Hank and Max couldn't NOT give the ball a few extra taps and take a few do-overs, I tossed out the scorecard and focused my attention on just trying not to let them hurt each other with their golf clubs rather than actually play any kind of an organized game. So much work! When Hank and Max weren't whacking balls left and right, Ben was complaining about the heat and Joey and Rocky were racing ahead to splash in the water features. Someday we'll be able to do civilized activities and participate in a game together. But it wasn't this time. 

Best Buds

Just one of those random moments that I had to capture of my kids showing voluntary and spontaneous affection towards one another. Whereas Rocky has always filled the role of the baby in our family, he's growing into a great little playmate and Joey is enjoying playing with him more and more.

Giant Sundae

Are you seeing this?? One of our fun neighbors organized a water balloon fight followed by a thirty-foot long ice cream sundae. Several rain gutters were taped together and the adults scooped a dozen gallons of icecream into the "dish" while the kids poured on the toppings. I tried not to think about all of the double dipping that took place and ignore the obscene amount of sugar consumed to enjoy allowing kids to be kids. 

Conquering Fears

For as long as Hank has been looking forward to moving into Rocky's old room and having a bedroom all to himself, we didn't anticipate him getting so nervous and fearful about sleeping alone. It was like we had a newborn all over again: he refused to go to sleep, came out of his room crying every few hours that he couldn't fall asleep, and eventually ended up in a sleeping bag on the floor in our room. After a week of this nonsense (we tried night lights and leaving the door open, we suggested he go back to his old room shared with Ben, we prayed about it....nothing) I devised a new strategy: I bribed Hank with a special mom/son date if he could sleep in his room for one week without coming out. With some difficulty, Hank was able to sleep in his room alone and so it was fitting that, to celebrate, he and I overcame another fear together and went indoor rock climbing. It was ridiculously fun to participate in a physical activity together, full on compete, and mostly just enjoy each other. Hank is still struggling a bit with sleeping alone, but he's making good progress and I think in time he'll appreciate having his own space. 

Pioneer Day in Rexburg

We visited Aunt Robyn and Uncle D in Rexburg over the 24th of July (Pioneer Day!) and had an absolute blast. As soon as we arrived, we changed into our swim suits and boarded our rafts and tubes to float the snake river. The water was calm enough to relax without any safety concerns and the cousins had fun hooking their tubes together and spinning around the river. Afterwards, Robyn treated us to a durch oven feast. I felt so guilty just being a lazy guest and not getting put to work! The boys had fun playing in the backyard and running amok...it was a quintessential summer night. In the morning we met up for an old-timey small-town parade that was charming and entertaining. Our trip was capped off with a barbecue and party for Jax's birthday. So fun. The boys are already asking when we're planning our next trip.

Cowabunga Bay

In years' past, we watched for early discounts and bought our water park passes on sale. This year the water park never discounted the memberships and, with five kids, we got priced out. When the tickets were finally marked down mid-season we grabbed them, although I'm still annoyed about the outrageous cost for a family admission. We recouped our tickets by visiting frequently, particularly on the 'kids eat free' day;) I do love spending a hot summer day cooling off in the water and I love that swimming is an activity we can all enjoy together.

Found our Groove

With baseball taking over our lives for the better part of the spring and into June, we didn't really settle into a solid summer routine until mid-July. Once we finally found our groove--sleep in, work on chores, plan a picnic and afternoon outing, then relax and play outside in the afternoon--it was smooth sailing. Some of the boys' most requested outings were swimming at the resevoir and playing at Liberty park in SLC.