James's 8th Birthday

James is now 8-years-old! It is an exciting age and his birthday was a great day. We started off with donuts and presents. He had asked for a specific Lego set and since he figured he was getting it I decided to send him on a scavenger hunt so it would be more exciting. I think it might become a new tradition for presents because my kids really liked it.

He had soccer in the morning. Then we went to Lowe's Extreme Air Sports. It is the coolest place and James loves it there. He has been looking forward to going there all summer. He got to bring one friend and he and Cohen stayed busy the whole time, mostly on the American Ninja Warrior course.

The kids section is awesome there. The minis and Kaden had just as much fun.

We went to Golden Corral for dinner per James's request. Sienna kept wanting to hold Cohen's hand.

The food wasn't great but the birthday boy loved!

James especially loved when they sang to him.

Car Problems

We got into a car accident the weekend of the fair. We were headed to get pizza and a car pulled out in front of us. We had a full car with all of us and my niece so thankfully no one was hurt. Thankfully it was the other driver's fault and so her insurance is paying for everything. We are enjoying our fancy rental car until our car is fixed.

Wasatch Fair Days '16

My kids look forward to the carnival in Heber every year with cousins but I'm getting a little more leery as I see nuts and bolts missing all over the rides. Luckily everyone was safe and enjoyed the afternoon there. It was a hot one though.

I hung around with the minis and Kaden so I have lots of pictures with them. It was the minis first year going on rides and they loved it.

We went to the parade on Saturday. My dad was in the band.

It was fun having Charlie's family in town for fair days. Everything is better with cousins!

End of Summer

It was a great summer! I felt like we were able to do everything on our list. The last few weeks were full of family time. Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks of summer.

James played indoor soccer every Saturday in Lindon. We loved watching him play.

We had lots of cousin sleepovers.

When Lucy stayed over we went to the Lehi Outdoor Pool. It was a little cloudy and cold. The kids didn't mind too much.

You can always find Sienna in a dress up.

We went to the Museum of Natural Curiosity.

Bowling and Jack and Jills. Katelyn and Drew came with. Everything is better with cousins.

I took this at our last time at the splash pad.

We scored this awesome play dome on KSL classifieds for $25!

We relaxed Sunday afternoon the day before we left to Japan.

Kaden had his four-year-old check up (a little late) the morning we left to Japan. He got a coupon for a free ice cream cone. The minis also had ice cream coupons from their check ups so we all went out for ice cream at JCWs.

Dripping Rock

My friend told us about Dripping Rock. It sounded pretty kid friendly so we decided to go with Charlie's family. It is an easy paved trail.

There is a steep drop from the path to the river that is a little tricky for little kids. Then you get to the river and it's gentle and shallow.Across the river is the dripping rocks. It's really cool to see.

I wasn't watching as I was walking on the river bank and a stick poked into my shin. I wasn't prepared with bandaids, napkins or anything to stop the bleeding. Thankfully Lynnlee got me some big leaves to put over it. I held pressure on it for about ten minutes and then the bleeding stopped.

So then we walked up the river to see more dripping rocks.

We stopped for dinner on our way home. Since Charlie's family lives far away I'm grateful we got to spend time with them while they were visiting.

Kaden and Tanner are just the cutest. They are both the third oldest in the family and I feel like they are so much a like.

Japanese Outfit

My grandma Jean brought this cute outfit from Japan to me when I was a toddler. I was a very stubborn toddler (brat) though and wouldn't wear it. Some how my mom got me to wear it for this picture though.

 
Sienna wore it and it's fun to compare the pictures.