This is going to be a longer blog, so you may need to read it in small chunks--however there are exciting slideshows to keep your interest! I am basically going to outline the highlights of our summer, so here is June! This list of fun times is actually going to start with Memorial Day, but close enough!
Memorial Day
We went camping with our friends the Normans for Memorial day. We tried to go to Palisade State Park near Manti, but it was all full, so we found a campground called Temple Hill Resort (term used loosely) and reserved a spot there. We weren’t sure what to expect, and were pleasantly surprised when we arrived. We had a hard time getting there since our trailer is having problems with the slide out. Todd worked all day on it and we finally got out of town. The kids ended up hitting it off with the Norman kids and got along great. They only ever see them once a year or so, but they got right to exploring and playing games. We went on hikes to find petroglyphs, milked the campground cow, took pics at the temple grounds, some went golfing, swam at the questionable pool, played games, and rode 4-wheelers. We rented the 4 wheelers right from the campground and hopped right on the trails! The Norman kids loved Todd’s “Juciest hamburgers they ever had!” and of course we had peach cobbler in the dutch oven.
Little Red Riding Hood
I started out the summer with a 68 mile bike ride in Logan. My friend Heather and I(see triathalon pics in March) decided to do this ride for cancer. I signed up for the 38 mile version, but at the turn off decided to continue on as to not be bored riding by myself. Amazingly, I made it! And in better time than expected--I averaged about 16 MPH. Let's remind ourselves that my longest ride until this point was 18 miles. It was actually fun and as an added bonus, I burned 3100 calories!!!!!! The food was also awesome! They had stops every 15 miles or so with every fruit you could want all cut up nice, little sandwiches, power bars, drink refills, Ibuprophen, pottys, everything you could think of. It is a women's only race, so at all the stops were the men being everso helpful and encouraging. They had the best lunch-Subways, chips, fruit, cookies, etc. And at the end....Creamies, chips and salsa, you name it! They also had a breakfast that morning and a dinner party the night before when we picked up our stuff. I know it sounds like I am all about the food, but man what 5K could compete with that! Anyway, Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to let us stay at their house even though they weren't there and I had the best shower of my life after 4 1/2 hours on a bike! We are hoping to make it an anual event and we are trying to get big group to ride together with matching shirts and all the fun stuff, so anyone who wants in invited!
We went camping with our friends the Normans for Memorial day. We tried to go to Palisade State Park near Manti, but it was all full, so we found a campground called Temple Hill Resort (term used loosely) and reserved a spot there. We weren’t sure what to expect, and were pleasantly surprised when we arrived. We had a hard time getting there since our trailer is having problems with the slide out. Todd worked all day on it and we finally got out of town. The kids ended up hitting it off with the Norman kids and got along great. They only ever see them once a year or so, but they got right to exploring and playing games. We went on hikes to find petroglyphs, milked the campground cow, took pics at the temple grounds, some went golfing, swam at the questionable pool, played games, and rode 4-wheelers. We rented the 4 wheelers right from the campground and hopped right on the trails! The Norman kids loved Todd’s “Juciest hamburgers they ever had!” and of course we had peach cobbler in the dutch oven.
Little Red Riding Hood
I started out the summer with a 68 mile bike ride in Logan. My friend Heather and I(see triathalon pics in March) decided to do this ride for cancer. I signed up for the 38 mile version, but at the turn off decided to continue on as to not be bored riding by myself. Amazingly, I made it! And in better time than expected--I averaged about 16 MPH. Let's remind ourselves that my longest ride until this point was 18 miles. It was actually fun and as an added bonus, I burned 3100 calories!!!!!! The food was also awesome! They had stops every 15 miles or so with every fruit you could want all cut up nice, little sandwiches, power bars, drink refills, Ibuprophen, pottys, everything you could think of. It is a women's only race, so at all the stops were the men being everso helpful and encouraging. They had the best lunch-Subways, chips, fruit, cookies, etc. And at the end....Creamies, chips and salsa, you name it! They also had a breakfast that morning and a dinner party the night before when we picked up our stuff. I know it sounds like I am all about the food, but man what 5K could compete with that! Anyway, Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to let us stay at their house even though they weren't there and I had the best shower of my life after 4 1/2 hours on a bike! We are hoping to make it an anual event and we are trying to get big group to ride together with matching shirts and all the fun stuff, so anyone who wants in invited!
Our Baby Julia
Of course the highlight of our summer has been baby Julia! No other baby will do for Allyson--"Mommy, that baby is not cute as our Julia!" "I don't like that baby!" Jordan and Katy are always fighting over who gets to hold her (and well, so am I). One day I said Allyson couldn't hold her because she was fussy and she said "I want to hold the fussy Julia!" The funny thing is that Jillian isn't as obsessed as the others. It must be the age! We loved playing with Emily when she was here to see the baby. Even though she got sick that one day, we still had fun times. Anyway, Jonny and Melody are so patient and cute to share her with us all--We love her tiny self!
Strawberry
Of course the highlight of our summer has been baby Julia! No other baby will do for Allyson--"Mommy, that baby is not cute as our Julia!" "I don't like that baby!" Jordan and Katy are always fighting over who gets to hold her (and well, so am I). One day I said Allyson couldn't hold her because she was fussy and she said "I want to hold the fussy Julia!" The funny thing is that Jillian isn't as obsessed as the others. It must be the age! We loved playing with Emily when she was here to see the baby. Even though she got sick that one day, we still had fun times. Anyway, Jonny and Melody are so patient and cute to share her with us all--We love her tiny self!
IKEA
Yes, the excitng times are here. IKEA has graced us with her presence here in Utah. I did not sleep ou
t to be one of the first ones in, In fact I waited several days if you can believe it! I decided to get the cubbies that all of my sisters have and put them in the laundry/mud room. They are the BEST! Each kid has a cubby for their laundry, there are cubbies for swimming stuff (in the winter I will put the hats and gloves in those), mismatched socks, tools, bracelet bead stuff, sports stuff, etc. On the top I got green containers from Walmart for cleaning supplies, handwashings/towels to wash, and DI stuff. After getting several opinions from various family and friends, I decided that mixing different kids of baskets was just fine and the most functional way to do it. For instance, bottom row has the sports junk and tools, so they needed a more sturdy basket. Anyway, here is a picture of the pride and joy! The best part of it all was that I installed it myself and never had to bug Todd once to build or assemble it!
Strawberry Days 5K
This year I ran the race wtih Mom, Grandma, Jonny, my friend Cori, and Melody and Dad walked with weeks old Julia! Jonny said he just didn't want me to beat him. On what planet could I ever beat him? I did however run it in 25:50 which I think is my PR and was 9th in my age group! It was really fun, but the shirst were the ugliest they have ever been-even worse than the yougart cup ones.(See Jonny, Melody, and Dad)
t to be one of the first ones in, In fact I waited several days if you can believe it! I decided to get the cubbies that all of my sisters have and put them in the laundry/mud room. They are the BEST! Each kid has a cubby for their laundry, there are cubbies for swimming stuff (in the winter I will put the hats and gloves in those), mismatched socks, tools, bracelet bead stuff, sports stuff, etc. On the top I got green containers from Walmart for cleaning supplies, handwashings/towels to wash, and DI stuff. After getting several opinions from various family and friends, I decided that mixing different kids of baskets was just fine and the most functional way to do it. For instance, bottom row has the sports junk and tools, so they needed a more sturdy basket. Anyway, here is a picture of the pride and joy! The best part of it all was that I installed it myself and never had to bug Todd once to build or assemble it!Strawberry Days 5K
This year I ran the race wtih Mom, Grandma, Jonny, my friend Cori, and Melody and Dad walked with weeks old Julia! Jonny said he just didn't want me to beat him. On what planet could I ever beat him? I did however run it in 25:50 which I think is my PR and was 9th in my age group! It was really fun, but the shirst were the ugliest they have ever been-even worse than the yougart cup ones.(See Jonny, Melody, and Dad)
Strawberry
Our next adventure was camping at Strawberry Reservoir with the Ruffners (the people Todd is building the Park City house for). The trailer was even worse this trip and we took it in to the shop when we got home. Of course our warrenty expired in May, so we are trying to decide whether to trade it in, or fix it, or what. Anywho, The kids had a great time fishing on the rented pontoon boat. They caught 29 fish, but none of them were rainbow trout. They were all cut-throught and we couldn't keep those. None-the-less, when do you catch that many? Todd and Jordan shot their guns a little and the girls went on a ride in the Ruffner's ranger jeep. The kids also loved playing with the walkie-talkies, Disney Scene It. I, myself, was sneaking any minute I could to read Ender's Game! Todd made the famous dutch oven ribs and peach cobbler and they were loved by all.
Baseball/Softball
We had a lot of fun this year watching Jordan play baseball, and this year Katy decide
d to play softball. Many of their games overlapped and were at different places, so it was a little hard to juggle. They have such supportive grandparents, Aunts and Uncle. Even Emily spent some of her precious hours of vacation time at the kids games. Jordan ended up being one of the 2 main pitchers and short stop when he wasn't pitching. He doesnt' normally p
itch, so I was a nervous wreck. It is so hard to watch your kid be discouraged when they are having an off day. Everyone is counting on them to pitch well--so much pressure. As we got farther into the season, he got much more comfortable and ended up doing really well. In fact, our team didn't make it to the state tourn., but another team picked Jordan up to pitch with their team in the tourn. The kids are only allowed a certain number of pitched per week, so the teams can pick up extra pitchers so they won't run out. Usually the pick-up guys just pitch, but when they used up his pitches, they put him on third base. Even though it wasn't his actual team, they were very nice to him and he a great time! Now about Katy. This was her first year and she did awesome! She usually got at least one base hit in every game . She was a good sport when her team lost every game except for one. I think all she cared about was hitting the ball!
d to play softball. Many of their games overlapped and were at different places, so it was a little hard to juggle. They have such supportive grandparents, Aunts and Uncle. Even Emily spent some of her precious hours of vacation time at the kids games. Jordan ended up being one of the 2 main pitchers and short stop when he wasn't pitching. He doesnt' normally p
itch, so I was a nervous wreck. It is so hard to watch your kid be discouraged when they are having an off day. Everyone is counting on them to pitch well--so much pressure. As we got farther into the season, he got much more comfortable and ended up doing really well. In fact, our team didn't make it to the state tourn., but another team picked Jordan up to pitch with their team in the tourn. The kids are only allowed a certain number of pitched per week, so the teams can pick up extra pitchers so they won't run out. Usually the pick-up guys just pitch, but when they used up his pitches, they put him on third base. Even though it wasn't his actual team, they were very nice to him and he a great time! Now about Katy. This was her first year and she did awesome! She usually got at least one base hit in every game . She was a good sport when her team lost every game except for one. I think all she cared about was hitting the ball!The Rest....
In our spare time we had even more fun! Todd and Jordan went to Jordan's survival boy scout camp. Todd was in charge of the GPS course and loved every minute. Katy went to Girl Scout Day camp and joined the swim team for the first time(I will blog more about that in the July funtivities!). Jillian went to play practice every tues and thus. morning and lost her first tooth! Did you know that the tooth fairy can sometimes come while you are at church? We also had weekly sleepovers/tennis with Nana, went to piano lessons, the summer movies at the cinemark theater, got a pass to the Lehi Pool, and played non-stop with the neighbor kids. I'm just wondering who made up the name "Summer Vacation!" No, really summer is so fun and I love being with the kids(when they aren't fighting) and it is a nice break from preschool. So.....if this blog didn't bore you to tears, watch for July funtivities coming soon!
In our spare time we had even more fun! Todd and Jordan went to Jordan's survival boy scout camp. Todd was in charge of the GPS course and loved every minute. Katy went to Girl Scout Day camp and joined the swim team for the first time(I will blog more about that in the July funtivities!). Jillian went to play practice every tues and thus. morning and lost her first tooth! Did you know that the tooth fairy can sometimes come while you are at church? We also had weekly sleepovers/tennis with Nana, went to piano lessons, the summer movies at the cinemark theater, got a pass to the Lehi Pool, and played non-stop with the neighbor kids. I'm just wondering who made up the name "Summer Vacation!" No, really summer is so fun and I love being with the kids(when they aren't fighting) and it is a nice break from preschool. So.....if this blog didn't bore you to tears, watch for July funtivities coming soon!
7 comments:
Nice job. I bet that took you hours. It sounds like a serious June!! We'll have to make your time here fun and fun-like.
ummm. . . . so that was me. I was still signed in as you!!!
I knew Cami would find a way, and I knew it would be to sign in as you. I think is was worth the work. You guys have some much fun. I very jealous of all you fest..I mean fun..or whatever kind of tivities they are. I love the slide shows, so I hope you aren't to frustrated with them to do another in the future.
So, when I asked Jordan if pitching when the whole game was riding on him was too much pressure he matter-of-factly said, "Nana. It's Little League." That's my boy!
The slides are great. I love the darling girls in the field of daisies, milking the "campground cow," Jordan driving the boat (he looks so grown up!), the girls in the boat (reminded me of our fun at Bear Lake last summer), and of course the Family Strawberry Days 5K. Will you have Jillian's play in the July Funtivities blog? Keep it up!
I always loved the long warm days, and the freedom and family togetherness of summer, too. You are making priceless memories for the kids.
It is so fun to come to your blog and see pictures of all the kids and get an update on what you are doing. You are so athleticish Amber. We miss everyone soooo much. I can't wait for you guys to come to San Diego again and go to the beach etc. But it looks like you are having a blast in Utah. Your new niece is really cute. Sometime you can come out here and use the big 9 ft. surf board Jeff bought at Costco. It is so huge anyone could get up on it...even me. Well, probably not but anyone else.
Hooray! I finished reading your June fun-tivities! No, really, it was a great update and gave me something worthwhile to do while eating lunch.
You guys are party animals!. I am impressed that you are still taking pictures, even of your fourth child. We just use Jacksons baby pitures and tell everyone they are Cooper. Not a stretch. Hey Give me your blog name so I can link to it. Mine is cartercluff.blogspot.com.
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