Lagoon!

Jonah and I had the chance to go to Lagoon on Monday.  Dante, Alexys and Ataiya had bounce back passes so my mom offered to pay for Jonah so Dante would have a friend to ride the rides with.  I decided that I might as well go and take them so I could ride the rides too and my mom wouldn't have to go sit there all day.  I was hoping Keith could come too, but he had too much to do at work and it definitely made it cheaper to only pay for one ticket!

Jonah liked Lagoon last year, but he was too scared to go on a lot of the rides. He really wanted to go, but we made him promise he would go on the rides with Dante, since that was the whole point of him coming.  He promised he would go on all of them, but he never totally committed to Wicked.  They started out on Jet Star.  Jonah seemed a little nervous when they got off.  We went to Wicked next and Jonah did not want to ride it.  He waited while the rest of us went on it.  I love Wicked.  I can't help but scream like a little girl every time I go on it.  I am terrified and wonder why I'm on it every single time, but I love it.

After that we did the colossus.  Luckily there was no line so Jonah couldn't talk himself out of it because he was scared.  By the time we sat down he was crying and begging not to go.  It all happened pretty fast, but I told him he had to go and I put my arm around him and off we went.  He still seemed a little nervous at the end, but he said he liked it.

He was a little nervous to go again, but not as bad as the first time.  The second time he went on it he was able to relax and enjoy it and that was it for him being scared.  I'm glad because I felt horrible making my crying child go on a ride.  We almost got him on Wicked once, but I told him that he didn't have to.  I don't think he would like that one yet.

It was fun to go around with the kids, even if I had to sit by myself most of the time!

Me, Alexys and Jonah all rode together on the jet star once.

It was crazy hot all day.  I was sweating like crazy and begging the kids to go on rattle snake rapids so we could cool off, but I didn't get them on there until it got cloudy and was starting to rain.  Crazy kids.  They would get distracted because all of the lines were short and they were sure that the lines would get long if we didn't go on every ride we passed right then!  It was a really good day to go, we didn't wait long at all for rides.

We got soaked on the rapids.  I loved it!

The Spider is one of my favorite rides. 

I love this picture of the girls.  They were so funny.  Alexys talked non stop!  I teased them and tried to push them into boys because I'm mature like that!  It is interesting every time I do something for Jen's kids or take them somewhere I always feel the same feeling.  It seems like I can feel her there and she is thanking me and happy I'm with the kids, that is the best way I can describe it.  It is always followed up with a moment of sadness for all that Jen is missing out on.  I always like to turn on the music loud in the car when they are with me and sing with them (Alexys and Dante both love to sing along to the radio and they seem to know every song) because that is what I know Jen would do.

Jonah went on the screamer with me.  Jonah and I didn't want to go on the rocket so while the other kids went on that we went on a few rides together.  It was fun just hanging out with him.  He was so good and kept saying thank you.  I was really proud of him.

We were there from opening to closing.  I have never felt so old as I did that night.  My feet were aching and I was so tired!  Caitlyn didn't want to go to Lagoon, she hates rides, so she stayed home and watched Hallee and Wyatt until Keith got home from work.  She is a cheap babysitter, she only charged us one beanie boo!  I'm really glad Jonah and I were able to go.

Happy Birthday Keith!!

Keith's birthday fell on a Saturday this year.  I decided to kick off the celebration on Friday.  I surprised Keith with eggs benedict for dinner and plans for all of us to go to a movie that night.

Keith loves to go to movies, so I knew he would love it.  We went and saw "Home."  It was a cute show.

We are so grateful for this guy.  I could go on and on, but Keith is amazing.  He is so selfless.  He works so hard for us, but we are always his first priority.  He is such an amazing father.  He loves his kids and he is so involved with them.  He is such a great husband.  He is so helpful around the house and he is great at showing appreciation for all that I do.  I love that!  I'm so grateful for him.

Today we let Keith sleep in.  When he woke up the kids all gave him presents and cards that they had made him.  The kids were so cute.  Caitlyn and Jonah gave Keith their own money and Hallee kept giving Keith her toys.  They were all so sweet and kept telling him Happy Birthday.

After lunch we headed over to Classic water slides.  We had some free passes which made it even better!

Caitlyn and Jonah had a blast together on the slides.  It was so fun to watch them.  They were laughing and having so much fun together.  Every mother knows you have to treasure those moments!

Seriously, I could have just sat and watched them all day.  They went down those slides over and over.

Wyatt was a little nervous at first so he wanted to go down with dad.

We talked Hallee into going, but she wasn't totally thrilled about it.  She went down with me once.  I went down with each of the kids at least once.  It was so fun.  Caitlyn and I went on a mat together and we were flying.  I was screaming like a kid the whole time.

Hallee went down with Keith after she went down with me and that was enough for her.  She had fun in the kiddie pool after that.

Wyatt got brave and started going down with Jonah and Caitlyn.  Yes, apparently Jonah flexes while he comes down the slides.  On one of their rides down Jonah told Wyatt to scoot over so he could go past him and they both came down separately.  I'm not sure how they did that on the waterslide, but they both thought it was pretty funny.

I love that Caitlyn and Jonah are making the exact same face in this one.  We all went back and forth between the slides and the kiddie pool.  We stayed for a few hours.  We brought treats and drinks and the kids were in heaven the whole time.  Caitlyn and Jonah kept thanking us, I love when they do that.

Keith's parents called while we were driving home to see if they could come over tonight.  They brought some ice cream and stayed and visited for a while.  It was fun to have them and I know it meant a lot to Keith.  Happy Birthday Keith!

Bowling

Today we went bowling with cousins.  You can sign up for free bowling for the kids during the summer.  We just had to pay for shoes.  The kids were so excited.

I didn't know how Hallee would do, but she loved it.

Caitlyn and Jonah did really well. 

Hallee loved holding her ball!

Hallee liked it better once we got this ball rolling guide.

Wyatt used the ball roller a few times and then decided he would rather throw it down the lane.  He did really well.  He was so excited when he got a strike, he was jumping up and down, it was so cute! He sure looked like a big kid today.  I think I'm seeing some signs of Wyatt acting older again.  I have been worried about him.  He is having horrible separation anxiety right now though.  Hopefully he will get it all figured out!  We all had fun bowling!  After that Caitlyn and Jonah both had play dates.

Tonight we took the activity day girls skating.  This is Caitlyn with her new friend, Paige.  The missionaries have been working with Paige and we go over with them once a week for discussions.  They had invited her to come to church and she hadn't, but Caitlyn invited her and she has come the last two weeks.  We had Paige over today.  Her and Caitlyn get along great.  The missionaries are so impressed with Caitlyn.  She will give the most amazing answers and insights during the discussions. I hope she keeps nurturing her spiritual side!

We had a pretty good group of girls tonight.  They all had fun.  I had fun roller blading with them.  We were going to go on a hike today, but we had to switch to skating because of the weather!

Why don't you get a summer vacation Dad?

The kids don't understand why Keith doesn't get the summer off of work.  I know Keith wishes he did too.  He does miss out on a lot of fun stuff!

On Wednesday we met up with Mel and her family at the park.  The boys had fun playing football.

I love my pretty girls!

After that we went over to Mel's to swim.  I was surprised that Wyatt got right in the pool and was fine on his own.  He really likes the puddle jumper that Gary and Julie gave us.  I didn't get in the water, so I told him that he had to do it on his own.

Hallee said she wanted to get in the pool.  I knew she would want to get right out, but I changed her and put her in anyway.  She lasted about two seconds.  She played with the hose and cups instead.

I love watching the kids have fun with their cousins.

After swimming they all played and Mel gave everyone drinks and snacks.  It was a great way to spend the day!

We have a wolf in the house!

Jonah earned his Wolf on Tuesday.  He wanted to earn it this summer so he has been working hard.  He did a good job of pinning me at Pack Meeting.  I like that they do that because it is a lot of work for me too, I just hate getting up in front of people!

Jonah wanted us to look surprised for a picture!

Jonah really enjoys scouts.  He has to miss a lot this month because of track, which is another reason we worked hard to finish his wolf.  He is so excited for scout camp in a couple of weeks.

I have a couple of pictures off my phone.  After track practice I took Caitlyn and Jonah to Macey's for a Kong cone.  They were pretty excited!

We bought this Love Sac from Audrey.  It was a lot bigger than I was planning, but the kids love it.  They have had a blast jumping on it and doing flips.

Caitlyn was a library shelver at school this year.  You have to apply and your teacher has to give you a good recommendation.  She has loved it.  She would skip recesses to do it.  They let them continue in the summer if they want to.  The school library is open every Wednesday.  Caitlyn signed up to shelve this summer.  It is a good excuse for us to go in and get books and have the kids take AR tests.

Last Saturday Keith and I celebrated our 12th anniversary.  We dropped the kids off at my mom's and headed down town.  We try to deal sealings in the Salt Lake Temple on our anniversary.  This year it fell on a Saturday and they had too many live sealings so we did a session instead.  It was really nice.  We went to lunch afterwards.  It was a wonderful day.  The last twelve years have been wonderful.  I'm so grateful for Keith!

Summer Vacation!

I'm really excited for summer vacation this year.  We are all ready for a break from school!  So far it has been great (all four days!)  I'm trying to get into some kind of routine in the morning so the kids can get their reading and some math done.  We used a free online math program last year and we are using it again this year.  It is great, the kids don't usually fight me on it.  I need to focus on helping Caitlyn and Jonah with their reading levels and comprehension.  I also need to do better at reading to Hallee and Wyatt.  So far so good, hopefully we can keep it up through out the summer.

Our first day of summer vacation was a blast.  We met the Becks at the reservoir.  The kids were so excited.

Jonah got right in and was freezing the rest of the time.  He gets cold easily.

Caitlyn had fun on her board.

Wyatt loved it.  He went back and forth between the sand and the water. 

Hallee got in the water and had a blast.

The boys all had fun together.  Wyatt did a good job of keeping up with the boys.  They had a few water fights.

Caitlyn had a great time with the girls. 

Hallee thought it was so funny to lay in the water!  I was surprised at how much Hallee got in the water.  She had a lot of fun in the sand too.

Hallee and Kenzee had fun with the rakes and shovels in the water.  We stayed there for lunch. It was a lot of fun. 

That night the Beck's came over and we left all of the kids home while the adults went to dinner.  It was so nice to go out and visit without the kids!  After, we came back here and visited while the kids played.  It was a great way to kick off summer vacation!  Emilee and I ended up going to a late movie that night.  Keith is always great about encouraging me to do things like that!