Back to School

Cole's start of 1st grade can really not be told without the context of his summer, so forgive me while I back up a little. As I've mentioned, Cole struggled a bit in Kindergarten. As we tried to decide what to do for the summer, we knew we wanted something amazing. We ended up signing Cole up for Club U at the University of Utah. Not only was it convenient, but it came highly recommended. At $300 a week (GULP!), it wasn't cheap, but we were willing to give it a try.

We are so very glad we did.

Cole absolutely loved it. Not once did he complain about getting up in the morning, or whine about being bored. They kept those kids so busy from early morning until the afternoon. Cole even loved after care, and came home with beads, boondoggle, key chains, and all other manner of crafts. Here are just a few of the things he did over the summer:

Canoeing

Archery

Boat Building

Hiking

Bee Keeping 

Astronomy

Physics

Solar-Powered Ovens

Cardboard Box Castles

Visits to: Natural History Museum, Museum of Natural Curiosity, Trampoline Park, Ogden Dinosaur Park, East Reservoir, Living Planet Aquarium, Great Salt Lake, Cherry Hill, and various water parks, including Cowabunga Bay. 

It was just incredible. Watching Cole gain confidence and excitement as he tried new things and made new friends was so wonderful as a mom. Not having to worry about where he was, or if he was having fun was so relieving.

The only thing I wished was that there were pictures of all of this. I was able to take this one in after care; he was so proud of his creation.

So, after a summer of non-stop fun, it was pretty difficult to think about going back to school and having to sit still all day. Luckily, by the time the first day rolled around, Cole was ready.

Now, while it may not be as fun as the summer was, I think we're ready for the new year in Mrs. Woolf's 1st grade class!

U-Kids Carnival

University Kids held their end of summer carnival, and the weather was gorgeous. The kids got to do a lot of fun things, play some good games, and even ride some ponies.

But you know the thing the kids wanted to do over...and over...and over again?

Sack races. Yep, sack races. It really is the simple things.

Just Once

I cannot believe that we have only been camping once this summer. It always seems like such a huge hassle, until we go and it is always amazing. We went up to Whitney Reservoir, which is a good 45 minutes outside of Kamas. But the ride was totally worth it. Once we turned up the dirt road, we were treated with the sight of a mama and baby moose. Amazing!

Kelly, Jeremy, and JC had located our camp, and it was gorgeous. The only drawback was that we had picked the opening weekend of the bow hunt, so there were some interesting folks up camping. (There was an interesting moment when we walked by a campsite and were greeted by a dead deer hanging off the back of a 4 wheeler.) 

Cole, Jack, and JC had a blast hanging out together - climbing trees:

 Doing crafts:

 Keeping food away from the pups:

 Making DELICIOUS dutch oven dinners:

 Playing "Ring Around the Rosies:"

 S'mores:

 And taking in the beauty around us!

 Let's never leave!

Time in the Sun and Water

Growing up, we spent a lot of time on the lake, and so when Grandpa and Grandma Thomsen offered to take us out on the boat, we jumped at the chance.

Cole's biggest priority was to get out on the tube. The first bit, he went with Bryce, but he soon sent Bryce back on the boat and went solo. He absolutely loved it and did not want to get out.

Jack...he was a little harder to persuade. Let's just say, I ended up pushing him into the tube with Bryce. However, about two seconds in, he had a huge grin on his face and was loving it.

Mostly, it was just fabulous to be out on the water with the sun on our faces and to relax as a family.

Let's do it again!