June Vibes Only

This summer is already turning out to be my favorite summer ever. I don't know what changed... maybe it's that the kids are older and we can do  more things now, maybe it's that I realized Makayla has 5 more summers before she's 18, but whatever it is, we are living it up this summer, and I love it!

Summer mornings mean lazy mornings. The kids love to sneak into our bed. 

Caden is such a hard worker. He asks to go to the gym everyday to practice shooting. I am so impressed with his dedication. 

While Makayla was at FSY we decided to go to the Zoo. Apparently Brynnli doesn't remember when we had a season pass to the zoo when she was 2 and we went all the time because she claims she has never been. 

We hit all of the iconic spots at the zoo like the lion drinking fountain that hasn't changed since I was a little kid and the "How do you Measure up" sign. 

We saw lions, and tigers, and bears... oh my! And monkeys, and rhinos, and gorillas and giraffes. 

We went to the trivia show and Brynnli was so disappointed that she didn't get picked to answer a question, so she insisted we go back to the 2nd show. Brynn was prepared to answer all the questions because she knew the answers from the first show. We thought Brynnli was really into zoology, but turns out she just wanted to win a prize, which she did... she won the big prize at the end of the show by answering a question. She was so excited about her stuffed monkey!

On the way out we stopped to see the giraffes who were getting their dinner. We got up close and personal to them... check out that long tongue.. kind of gross if you ask me. 

Since Makayla was gone and Dad was out of town, the kids and I had a great time celebrating with panookies. 

When dad got home from his work trip we celebrated Father's Day. We love Tyler so much and are so grateful to him for all he does for us. He's the one who makes us laugh everyday, who always looks at the positive side of things, and who shows us how to lead by his example. Happy Father's day to the best one out there. 

We've got some baby birds in our tree. The mom was only a little bit smarter this year and built her nest not by the window well (check out last year's blog where I had to rescue the baby birds yet again). Hopefully these birds make it this year. 

Brynnli got her "flipper". It's a retainer with a fake tooth to hold the space until her K9's come in. She looks so cute with her new smile!

Summer nails? Yes please!!

It was just me and Brynn one night, so we went to see Lilo and Stitch at the movie theatre. I really liked the movie and can't wait to watch it with all the kids soon. 

Then one night it was just me and Makayla, so we went to grab dinner together at Cafe Rio. I have really loved this one on one time with the kids. 

Tyler was at stake camp for our anniversary, but look what was delivered to our house! Tyler definitely earned bonus points for that one!! Tyler even remembered that my favorite flowers are Gerber daisies. 

Grandma and Grandpa's pool is open, so we have spent a few fun days here. Brynnli made it a goal to spend at least one day a week at a pool, and so far she has been able to do it. 

Lunch at the Habit with my favorites!!

My mom is getting more and more tired on our day out. She has to get a nap in wherever she can. 

Tammy and Bruce put a pool in their backyard. It is amazing and we had so much fun swimming. Check out Brynnli's toe touch!!

Crumbl cookies? Yes please!!

We all love Tyler's new Blackstone grill. He has made the yummiest dinners lately. 

Just playing a little rubrics cube challenge to see who could solve it the fastest. Cam won this round, but Caden was a close 2nd. 

Geez, kids and their phones. We go to the pool and all they want to do is look at their stupid phones. 

Join us for more fun because the summer has just begun!!

Jam on It Champion

In between camps, Caden played two basketball tournaments with Dream Team. This was so fun because they played 4 games, and Caden's team made it into the championship game. They played great, but lost in the last game, so they took 2nd place. 

Then just a few weeks later he got to play in another tournament, and this time they won the whole thing! Jam on it Champions!!

We love watching Caden play. He challenges himself every game to be better. Caden is one fierce competitor on the court and he is such an amazing defensive player. We are so proud of his hard work!
 

Camping... All Month Long

We may have overbooked kids this summer with camps. Between Makayla and Caden they were gone pretty much all of June at camps. 

Makayla started out summer break by attending FSY in Provo with Brooke. FSY is a week long church camp where kids 14-18 get to be spiritually uplifted and spend time meeting new friends. Makayla and Brooke had a great time. They had some fun boys in their group and managed to get a few spiritual moments in. 

They stayed in one of the dorms at BYU. I think it was a great opportunity to see what college life would be like. And Makayla clearly had enough treats to get her through the week. 

A week was a little too long for me. I was missing Makayla so much!! I was so relieved to pick her up early Saturday morning and hear all about her week. 

Then just a few days later, Caden and Tyler headed out for Stake camp. This camp is fun because there are so many different activities like ax throwing, ropes course, zip line, and archery. Our ward is not very big, so it was fun to go to camp with lots of other wards to meet new people. 

Unfortunately on the way home there was an accident that stopped traffic for a few hours. The boys eventually got out of the car and met some kids in another car and all started playing card games in the middle of the road!

Then just a few days later, Makayla went with Brooke to her ward conference. Makayla was a little nervous for this trip because she didn't know anyone other than Brooke, and their friendship is in a weird place right now, but Makayla ended up having a great time. They went rock repelling and boating. It was a memorable time... don't forget to ask Makayla about the creepy homeless guy named Thomas that found his way into the camp. It's a good story!

 Maybe next year I should not plan as many camps for the kids so that they can spend their whole summer with me!