July

We did a lot of fun things in July. We took full advantage of the summer; which is the way I like it. We went on several hikes, Cowabunga Bay and some other activities that I didn't get pictures of, but rest assured, we had a great time.

 

We spent a few different days at Farm Country. Carver always likes looking at the horses, but freaks out when they start to move.  

We enjoyed a lot of time in our backyard, including picking and eating strawberries.

My grandpa grows the most amazing garden. We have been better this year about going over to help him pick and eat all that he grows.

Shawn has been talking about sewing his own pajama pants for a long time. He was so proud of himself when he finished.

 We went to our favorite splash pad in Highland. I made muffins to bring as a snack. Several times I caught this baby stealing one behind my back. I guess he liked them.

Seriously, this kid. Could he be any cuter?!?

Our neighborhood has an annual Canada Day parade. Kind of funny, but the kids love it.

I was making breakfast and heard Carver laughing so hard. I kept looking over to see what was so funny, but he was just staring at the cupboard. Finally, I saw the cupboard slowly open with Evan inside. These kids keep me laughing.

"Mom, I'm all ready for swim lessons"

This is where Carver hung out for the two weeks of swim lessons.

4th of July bike parade. I never got a picture of Shawn because he was too fast.

Homemade dunk tank at the neighborhood party.

Jon participated in the pie eating contest.

The results of the dunk tank

 

4th of July party with Jon's family

We went up in the canyon with my family one day. We found this cave, which my brother wanted to explore. He asked if he could take Shawn and Evan and I said "yes". That was one of those parenting fails. It was a super deep cave and had parts full of water. Nothing bad happened, but what if it had? There could have easily been a mountain lion living in there, a deep pool of water, a crazy person. Dumb!

Grandpa's stories always involve a tickle. Evan's laugh is the best!

My sisters and I met up at Tibble Fork Reservoir for our annual outing. It is such a beautiful setting and the kids had a blast. Well, expect when Carver tripped on a rock and ended up with his face in the dirt. 

I had to run an errand so I bent down to give Carver a hug. The other boys came running for a hug too and Jon caught this picture. I sure love these little boys that drive me crazy.

This is what happens when you get in a fight....with your nightstand. He now wants me to put a bench between his bed and the nightstand so when he falls out of bed he doesn't hit his face.

A picture from one of our hikes. Evan has started saying that he hates going in the mountains. Sorry Buddy, you better learn to love it because we will be up there a lot. 

That is one cool kid.

May and June

I finally have a moment on this Sunday afternoon to update the blog. Thanks Honey for playing with the kids right now. I have uploaded over 60 photos to cover all of May and June. Since it is mostly only family that looks at my blog I figured I could get away with doing a massive photo overload.

 

Beginning of May brought Evan's 4th birthday. I love this spunky, funny, sweet little smart mouth. All he wanted for his birthday was a trip to a hotel with a playground and pool. We took that opportunity to take a vacation to St. George. We found a hotel with 2 pools and 2 playgrounds so he was in heaven.

The morning of his 4th birthday. 

Thanks Shawn for pointing out that 2+2=4. 

He wanted Costco muffins for his birthday breakfast. Man, I love this kid. I don't have to plan a birthday party and now I don't have to make a big fancy breakfast. 

Right after breakfast we headed over to the very first preview day of the new children's museum. It was amazing! Blew my expectations out of the water. We all loved it! 

We drove straight to St. George from the museum. Jon's sisters Deanna and Jenny came with us and it was a lot of fun! Except for all the looks from the people in St. George trying to figure out if we were polygamist. We went out for pizza that night and they made Evan a pizza in the shape of a 4.

This boy was happy with his pools. One outside

and one inside

And an afternoon at a splash pad

Carver and I hanging out in St. George

I was outside talking with a neighbor and came in to find Evan helping his friend and himself to some ice cream.

We went for a walk/bike ride along the Jordan River. Shawn came to a quick stop and said, "Let's take a moment to enjoy this beauty" 

Shawn asks nearly every day if he can sell something. This day he was trying to sell rocks. The business was not going well until.....

he spray painted them gold. Business really picked up.

We went to a piano concert at Thanksgiving Point. 

Jon decided to take us on a trip downtown using the Frontrunner train. Evan thought it was awesome! Shawn looked terrified the entire ride.

Carver has been turned into the Cinderella of our family. Always sweeping, mopping, vacuuming.

We visited my mom's grave for Memorial Day. Shawn is always very sweet when we go there and asks lots of questions. I loved this picture because it shows the little bird house that my grandma made and brought up. She has hundreds of homemade bird houses all around her home. There was just something so sweet about it. Poor grandma, you should never outlive your child.

Last day of school! Shawn walked to and from school every day with this little friend. They were so cute together, especially on the days that it rained and they shared an umbrella.

 Shawn's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Stites

What a great brother

This beautiful park in Cedar Hills is one of our favorite places to play in the Spring. There's a fun little stream, lots of shade, and a playground.

Farm days at Thanksgiving Point. Now that's a good dad!

Shawn is starting to get frustrated when I tell him what to wear or not wear so he ends up going out of the house like this often.

Carver is the worst climber I have had. I am not sure how to stop him.

Waking up Daddy is hard work!

Carver loves to wake up his brothers. He whacks them on the back until they move over enough for him to climb up.

We love spending time in the mountains in the summer. Love it!

 A little birthday party for Evan with our families.

 The free children's museum in St. George was surprisingly fun. The kids thought it was great!

Evan's soccer team

More pictures from the Thanksgiving Point concert

Another picture of the train ride.

It's about time they learned how to start a campfire.

Picking cherries at my Grandpa's house

My little walking partner

 Morning cartoons

Jon's sisters took our older boys to a work party and came home with these awesome balloons. They thought the party was amazing!