Monday, July 31, 2023

July Memories

July has been non stop fun. Tyler had to go out of town right after the 4th of July, so it was just me and the kids... and you know what that means... we stay up way to late, sleep in, don't make our beds, and have lots of fun.

Kneaders has a special $5 French Toast, so we woke up "early" one morning for breakfast. 

We had so much fun at the West Jordan Pool and Brynnli pretty much wins the award for best tan line. 

Alas, Daddy came home from his work trip and Bella was so excited to see him... either that or she thought his ice cream was for sharing. 
Makayla and her friend Maddi are so cute together. They bought matching pajamas and matching stuffed animals. Makayla even bought baby clothes for her stuffed animal. Maddi invited Makayla to her first ever sleep over. I was a little nervous, but they had a blast and slept out on the tramp.
Since Makayla was gone, Brynnli was missing a sleeping buddy, and Caden never gets to have a sleeping buddy because he has his own room, so the two of them had a sleepover in Brynnli's room and it was probably the cutest thing I have ever seen. 
Sushi date night!

My dad turned 77 this year so we had my parents over for dinner. 

It doesn't get any cuter than this...
Wednesdays are the days I take my mom. I hope Brynnli will always remember these special moments she is able to share with her grandma. Brynnli is so patient, helpful, loving and understanding with Grandma's forgetfulness. For being the youngest in our family, Brynnli sets the best example for all of us. 
It's back to school shopping time. I took each of the kids alone on a date to get new clothes and shoes for school. Brynn and I needed a little pick me up at Swig because we were shopping until we almost dropped. 

And somehow she also convinced me to get lunch at McDonalds. 
Caden and I got to go on a special date to Pizza Pie Cafe. I love these one on one events... our kids are pretty amazing. 

Check out this sunset. 
Caden has been working so hard during the basketball off season. He goes outside to practice everyday and he has also been working out in the basement. His hard work is really paying off because Tyler and Caden were playing one-on-one and with Tyler cheating, Caden still beat him. 


Our kids are the best. All three of them wanted to go on the plane ride at Lagoon. I hope they will always be kids at heart... even when they don't fit in the kid rides anymore. 
I am so grateful for Tyler. He works so hard at his job and does so many things for us at home. Sometimes working so hard just takes it right out of you. 
Have you seen the meme that says something like, "One day someone will be obsessed with you.... it's probably going to be a dog, but that's ok". Bella is so obsessed with me that she patiently waits outside the door for me to finish going to the bathroom. 
It's ok because I'm just as obsessed with her. 
24th of July can only mean one thing around her... Pie 'n beer day! We celebrated Pioneer day the only way we know how with Key Lime pie and Root Beer
Fridays have become our homemade pizza night. Yum!!
So our bonus room needed a little re do. Makayla and Caden needed a space for them and their friends to hang out and Brynnli needed her own space for her many, many, many toys. So we moved all of Brynnli's stuff into the bonus bedroom and turned the living room area into a cool hang out spot. Now everyone is happy and the kids literally spend all day up there hanging out and playing. 


Fondue is fon to eat!
Surprise day date to The Red Iguana. This place is famous and their food is delicious. 

We had some birds hatch just outside our family room window. I loved watching these 3 cute little birds every day. Unfortunately only one bird survived because the other two fell down into our window well. We tried to rescue them, but they died a day later. Makayla named one of the birds Chirp and made a cute memorial in our playroom to remember him. 

Summer mornings are best spent sleeping in Mom and Dad's bed. 
I got my hairs did. Love it. 
I think Bella thinks she is human and wanted to join the card game fun. 
Also, sitting on dad's head is fun. 
Check out this girl. Makayla works so hard at dance and tumbling everyday. She's getting quite the muscles to prove it.. and she also has a great tan line. 
We are so proud of Makayla. She created a power point to help convince us she is ready for a cell phone. She made some compelling arguments and we worked together to come up with a contract for her first phone with a phone number.  
Family pie time. 
Caden had a bunch of his friends over for a late night outdoor movie. I love Caden's friends. They are a really great bunch of kids. 

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Family, Freedom, Fireworks, and Fun

We had a great 4th of July at Hanna Land. I love the 4th of July at Hanna because there are so many fun things to do there. Tyler and I started running in the 5K over 10 years ago and it has become one of our favorite traditions that all the kids love to participate in. Some of the Jones family were at a baseball tournament, so it ended up being just me, Tyler, Craig, Makayla, Caden, Brynni, and Camden who ran. When I wake up at 5 am to run and later in the day when I can't walk, I wonder why even do the 5K, but when I see how cute and excited these kids are, it makes it easier. 

Bright and early at 7 am ready to run. 

We were a little bit injury prone this year. I walked most of it because I am still trying to get over my plantar fasciitis. And poor Makayla hurt her knee while running, but Caden was the fastest of the kids and Brynnli was a close second. Tyler said he wasn't going to run because his ankles have been hurting him, but he ended up running in about 30 min. 
Then it was off to my favorite parade where they started late, went around twice, and threw out lots of candy. 



Caden and Tyler went fishing again, but didn't catch any fish. 
Later that night we went to the fireworks. We were all laughing so hard because the fireworks scared the cows, so they ran over to the fence by us and were mooing the entire firework show. Tyler said it best... the fireworks were very "moo"ving this year. 


The next day we spent playing games and floating down the river in the kayaks. The water is extra high this year, but the water was so freezing cold. 
There must have been something in the air because we all had allergies this time, but poor Tracy had them the worst. Her eyes swelled up so bad that she had to put a wash cloth on them. 
Sunsets at The Land don't get prettier than this. 

The next day we drove to the lake that is kind of by Hanna. We brought the kayaks and the boys' fishing hear. Carson was the only one to catch a fish. 
The rest of us had so much fun on the lake. 



Brynnli had so much fun building her mud castle. This kept her busy for most of the time we were there. 



Caden wins the award for perfectly cooked marshmallow. 

4th of July night we went to fireworks in Sandy. The kids played games while we waited for them to start. 
The fireworks were definitely bigger and lasted longer than Hannah's, but we had so much fun at both. 




Then Tyler was off to the airport to take his midnight flight to Toronto. It was a great 4th of July full of family, freedom, fireworks, and fun. Can't wait for next year.