Mini Reunion with the Harts!

One day I saw on Instagram that Darren and Marylou were going to be in Utah, so I quickly messaged them to see if we could arrange to get together! They came out unexpectedly for an aunt's funeral, and were only in town for 1 1/2 days, so I'm so glad it worked out for us to hang out for as long as we did! Our families met at Thanksgiving Point, the perfect place for the adults to chat while the kids roam the gardens and climb the water tower. Melinda and Ang hadn't seen them for like 16-20 years, but as with any old friends, we all picked up seamlessly!

Alanna just wanted to have a few friends over for a belated birthday celebrations. They jumped on the tramp and played outdoor games.

Babysitting Bode...

We got to babysit Bode for a few days, and Alanna loved being his little mamma! She fixed his bottles and rocked him to sleep and played with him!

We got these overhead sprinklers for the tramp and it's perfect for the hot summer days!

Pioneer Day Celebration.

Our reservoir ended up being closed, so luckily we had the trampoline sprinklers to keep everyone cool instead! We had lots of different games to play and earn tickets for prizes, and the kids all seemed really motivated to keep themselves entertained that way!

Jackson and Paul (and me) made this giant Jenga set this summer.

We couldn't believe how much Blaze and Peter made this tower lean without falling!

The most wanted prize was this mini pool table

Jackson and Paul made corn hole at Ce Ce and Poppy's house. We also made a ladder golf set.

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We roasted smore's on the new fire pit and enjoyed all of the new backyard additions we had this year.

I bought a firework set at Costco that I thought was pretty lame, but the kids just love to set off their own fireworks, however piddly the are!

Albion Basin Wildflowers...

Axe Night...

Our TRX group planned a date night in May to hike Horse Tail Falls, but we had to find an alternate activity because it rained. So again, in July, we planned to hike Horse Tail, and it rained! We did dinner and axe throwing instead and had a great time. James threw two axes at once and hit the target with both! If i hit the target it was all luck, no skill involved. It was still fun to try something new!

Jackson's 15th birthday!

Jackson spent the day at Airborne, with Conner, Mason, Ethan, and Camden. Afterwards, they come to our house for pizza, ice cream cake, and video games until late into the night! I can't believe this kid is 15! Only three more years left with him until he serves a mission! He loves playing guitar, recently started piano lessons and loves them. He's becoming more social and initiates outings with friends. He even has a crush who he met at youth conference, and they've been texting! That especially makes my mama heart so happy!

James's 1st Triathlon

Jake came to town to help motivate James and Sam through their first Tri, held at Echo Lake. They survived! James hardly trained...only swam a few times. He and Sam stuck together during the swim and met a new friend, a cancer survivor. Jake made really good time and ditched them from the very start, but he came back to help them through the run. Afterwards we met up at the Black Bear diner for lunch and ended up hanging out for the rest of the day! Jake was amazing driving from Sac all day Friday, doing the Tri on Saturday, and driving home on Sunday. 

Cow Appreciation Day and Alanna's Birthday...

They won't ever outgrow free Chik-fil-A!

I took Alanna to breakfast at Penny Ann's for her birthday! She got the jelly donut french toast!

The next day, James and I took Alanna to my favorite, The Dodo, for dinner and dessert. She loved her chocolate peanut butter mousse pie! So did James!

Gym Birthdays!

Heidi and Jen are two of my favorite instructors at the rec center, and so for their birthday we surprised them with these fun tanks that say "Hakuna Tabata means no burpees". In Heidi's TRX camp, she has been OBSESSED with burpees, often making us do 150+, and that's right before High Fitness where we add another 75+! After our Monday night classes, we had cupcakes...and these ladies proudly ate the cupcakes! I mean why not when it's your birthday and you just worked out for 3 hours in a row!

Summer Fun...

This was an awesome sunset view from our bedroom window one morning!

For the 4th of July weekend, the Scera Shell in Orem, hosted a fun colonial event with Benjamin Franklin and other actors in full costume and character! The kids had some fun conversations with Ben about toys they play with these days compared to what they did back in his time. 

We also made a stop at Brooker's Founding Father's Ice cream shop, where all of the gourmet flavors are named after....our Founding Fathers! There was so much to choose from, and none of the flavors were boring at all! James tried to trap me in the guillotine, but I managed to escape!