Random Summer Pics

This post is an accumulation of pictures from things we did during the summer.

We like going to Seven Peaks but this has been a tricky year because everyone wants to be doing something different and it's hard to please everyone. They aren't quite old enough to split off. I miss the years where everyone just went with the flow. I'm hoping next year will be better.

James got to go to Seven Peaks a few times with friends and that was perfect for him.

Summer hair be like....

We went to the Utah Conservation Garden to help James pass off an elective for scouts. Cousins came too which made it better naturally.

Taggart and Sienna found the dress up box at Ali's.

Near the end of August we went to Thanksgiving Point. It was very crowded but amazingly enough I didn't lose anyone. I thought Taggart was the cutest hanging onto this rope.

One our way to the car they got distracted by this cool shark art thing.

These straw glasses are in the back of a cupboard and resurface every few years. They require a lot of concentration to use apparently.

Kade has a thing for hangers and leaving them in his shirts when he gets dressed.

When four out of the five kids have birthdays in July and August it's perfect for the Toys R Us birthday party. We went in August and everyone but Lynnlee got a book and stuffed animal giraffe. The worker felt bad for Lynnlee in the end and she ended up getting a book and giraffe too.

I took the minis with me to get the oil changed in the car. It took a lot longer than planned but thankfully there is a party store down the street. The time went by much faster and the minis had fun at the party store.

We went to Seven Peaks with some families from James's soccer team. One of the moms took these fun pictures.

First Day of School

James had his first day of 4th grade. His teacher is Mrs. Clare. She is new to the school and has a really fun classroom with lots of beanbags, rocking chairs, yoga balls, and some other fun seats instead of desks. His best friend Ryan is in his class so that's pretty great. He was really excited to go and it's been going really well so far.

Lynnlee had her first day of 2nd grade. Her teacher is Miss Youd. She is new to the school but it's kind of fun because I used to work with Miss Youd's sister at Timpanogos. If Miss Youd is anything like her sister than Lynnlee is in great hands. Lynnlee has her best friend Hannah in her class. Lynnlee told me that she wished school was longer each day and that she can't wait to go back each day.

Sienna was pretty sad the first few days of school. All day she wanted to know where Lynnlee was. She was pretty happy when she saw them get off the bus at the end of the day.

Kindergarten starts a week later so Kaden had his first day today. His teacher is Mrs. Harding. James had her when he was in kindergarten and she is an excellent teacher. Kaden loved his first day and got right on the bus with James and Lynnlee.  When he got home he was excited to tell me about his Skittles in his back pack.

Sienna was sad all over again when Kaden got on the bus. We went to the park while he was at school.

The minis started school a week after Kaden. They were so excited and walked right in. 

Boating

We spent the last afternoon of summer boating at Jordanelle. It is always fun going out on my dad's boat. My kids couldn't get enough of the tube and each took a few turns.

We had a picnic dinner on a quiet part of the lake.

Jenny and Jordan came too. We love having them live so close!

Solar Eclipse

We enjoyed the solar eclipse from our house. When it first started we were inside and would go out on the deck every five minutes and look with our solar glasses. Then at 11:30 we went outside and it was amazing how much cooler it was. It wasn't as bright and it is like their was a dullness and the edge was taken off. We also had fun experimenting with a shadow box and other kitchen tools with round holes. We looked at the sun shadows with a colander and potato masher.  It was a fun experience and I'm glad my kids were home to all enjoy it together.

Utah Storm Cup

James played in his second soccer tournament. It was the Utah Storm Cup in Orem. His team has really improved over the last year.

They played undefeated and won the cup!

James's 9th Birthday

James had a fun water party with friends to celebrate his 9th birthday. We got out the slip and slide plus had a few water games.

I showed Marshall a picture of a game idea. He took it to the next level of awesomeness by adding holes in the back. The object was to squirt the ping pong balls off the tees and into a hole.

There was an intense battle of donuts on a string.

We had fun with water balloons tossing them back and forth. Then a full out water balloon fight.

James shares his birthday with his cousin Maya and Grandpa Collier. He was lucky to celebrate with Maya at our house on their birthdays.

We really like to celebrate birthdays and stretch it out so we went out to dinner Monday night to Chuck A Rama.