Park Silly

Summer is a funny thing.  Around May-ish, I come up with all these "things" we need to do, acting like we have all the time in the world.  Mid-July I realize that summer is winding down, and it's a frantic rush to fit it all in.  

With that in mind, we worked to make time for a few new things, and one of them was to go up to Park City for the "Park Silly" event they hold on Sundays.  Main Street is shut down, and vendors are allowed to set up.  Cole and Jack's first order of business was to get their faces painted and their balloon animals made.

I found an adorable coat rack and Bryce picked out some prints for the office.  After that, we kind of just wandered aimlessly until we spotted the ski lift.  Both kids were super excited to ride, so up we went.  

Outdoor market visit of some sort?  Check!  (I try to keep my expectations low.)

July 24th

It has become a bit of an unspoken tradition to spend the 24th of July at Darin and Cindy's house.  This year, we got to do it with the addition of Ryan and Eliza's family, straight from New Zealand!  There was lots of fun things do to, including water balloon fights.

Jack even got his own cooler of water balloons - thanks, Aunt Cindy!

We spent time getting reacquainted with Ryan, Eliza, Peter, Matthew, and Jacob.  It was so good to see them.

And then we moved on to the main event - fireworks!  Jack found this "bootiful" princess chair, and decided not to part with it the entire night. 

 I will call this picture "The Fireworks Director."  He's in charge.

 I also realized how big my kids are getting.  Cole even got to light his own firework this year.  He was VERY excited.

What a great night!

July 4th

We celebrated July 4th in the new house, and were feeling a little sad about missing the neighborhood bike parade, BBQ, and fireworks this year.  When we heard about a pancake breakfast in our new neighborhood, we were totally on board.  Pa and Nana came up, and we all headed to the unfortunately-named Donner Park.  They did indeed have breakfast, along with a GIANT water slide down the hill.  There was even a firetruck there to spray the huge slip n' slide with water.  Cole would have none of it, but Jack seemed somewhat amenable to the idea, so Bryce took him down.

It was hilarious to watch, but I'm not sure Jack was impressed.

Later that day, we went back to Pa and Nana's for sprinkler fun and fireworks.

 I absolutely love these reactions shots from Cole and Jack.  We had such a wonderful time!

Hot Days of Summer

As I flipped through the pictures on my phone, I realized that we've had a pretty fun summer.  I think it's a combination of 1) more time not commuting, 2) having the kids be older and more able to get involved in activities, and 3) my obsessive use of my phone for pics.

So, I'm going to attempt to put all of these "summer fun" pictures into one post.  I've got about 30 of them, so be prepared to be inundated with kid pics.  Don't like it?  Well, I bet you don't like puppies or America, either.

We've had lots of fun with water in our backyard.  Now that we have shade in spots, it makes it much more welcoming to be outside.  

We even discovered a little "cave" made of branches.  Cole especially thought it was awesome.

We enjoyed having Cayden, Beckett, and Hamilton over for a water day and breakfast - courtesy of the dutch oven.  Delicious!

 We've also enjoyed visiting our friends.  Hamilton had a super fun party, complete with bounce house and water slide.

Cole has been learning so much this summer, and I'm super proud of him.  We took the training wheels off of his bike after about two weeks of practicing on the balance bike.  He absolutely loves to ride - including zooming down our hill.  It takes about 2 weeks off my life every time he does it.

He's also continued in Karate, and loves to hang upside-down and climb whatever he can.

We were also proud of him for "earning" his first toy.  We told him he had to pay half for the "Falcon Castle" he wanted, and he stuck with it.  (Surprising to me!)  It was so exciting to go pick out the first thing he had earned.

 Jack is also having a great summer and is just getting so big.  He especially loves bubbles...  

Anything to do with sand or construction vehicles...

And racing Cole around on his tricycle.

The boys have also done an AMAZING job of swimming this year.  Cole has always resisted anything that gets his face wet or feels at all cold.  However, this year, he took swimming lessons at Steiner during school.  All of a sudden - he LOVES to swim!  He jumps in the pool, does somersaults, and will even swim a little on his own.  Being someone who loves to swim (ahem), it makes me so happy to see him embrace it.

Jack is following right along with Cole and loves to cruise around in his water wings.  And he absolutely does not need help.  Ever.  Seriously, don't touch him.  

We've also enjoyed one of the best parts of summer - eating!  The boys have really been good at helping me in the kitchen, and love to take turns mixing and measuring ingredients.

And how can you get through summer without watermelon?  I had sliced some up, and left it on the counter for a bit, and came back to find Cole had eaten his way through almost all of it!  I think it's a grim forecast for the eating habits of teenager boys.

And finally, what's summer without ice cream?  

Happy Summer, everyone!