Summertime!

Summer was only yesterday right?  Grrrr time goes so fast and I can never keep up.  So I blinked and summer was over and I didn't keep up with my blog soooooooo here is a really long post about our WHOLE summer.  Sorry it is annoying but the best I can do.  

So summer brought a new neighbor.  A Guinea Hen.  I had been hearing stories of a guinea hen for years  from neighbors around the corner.  Then, one day, there was this ugly, chicken looking thing in my yard and, boy, can it make the most horrible honking sound you have ever heard and, of course, in the morning!  I don't know why it ventured our direction.  Maybe we have more bugs.  I hadn't seen it in a while but then I saw it this morning just around the corner.  Weird.

Almost every June we invite our family to come to our house for a barbecue for the Summerfest.  We had a great turnout this year from both sides of the family!

Here are my cute sisters in law!

My cute sisters!  Hey Laura!  You wouldn't hold still for the picture!  

And don't mind my ugly shed thingy.  Someday, in the near future I hope, it will be torn down.  But for now it just gives rustic charm to my backyard.  Ok it is just plain ugly.  Fixer uppers take a looooong time to fix up!  

My parents were there.  They went for a walk while I had my camera out so no pictures of them.

I found some crazy kids rockin' out in my bedroom.

Megan loves her cousins!

Lorin and Neil (and that dang shed!)

So fun to have a yard full of people you love!  Ok that just sounded cheesy!

My talented niece Leslie played for us her newest song she wrote.  

Then we gathered in the front yard for the fireworks.  That is one plus of living in this old fixer upper is that we can see the city fireworks right from our driveway.  Love it!!!

Oh the excitement!!!  I have cute nieces and nephews!

The end!  Now moving on.

Sometime in June Logan got to go with his dad to St. George.  I don't think the work part was all that fun but after he got to see the temple and go to Panda Express for dinner. I guess Logan talked and talked and talked all the way home.  He can do that believe it or not.  My kids always love time with their dad no matter what it is!

And moving on. Megan got to go to YW girls camp in June.  Because she has a summer birthday she was allowed to go even though she wasn't quite 12.  The ward opted to go to the Great Basin National Park the latter part of June because the Camp Shalom was still snowed in. Meg had a great time and felt really welcomed by all the girls and leaders.  We have an awesome ward!

Here is Megan in the Lehman Caves.

Parts of the cave.

Megan even got to have her dad there with her.  Lucky!!!  Lorin volunteered to be a priesthood leader at camp.  He was very impressed by the girls and their testimonies and the fact that they all got along and followed the rules. Lorin was also asked to go on the Pioneer Trek in July.  I don't have any pictures because he didn't take any but he worked REALLY hard getting all the logistics taken care of.

On the way home they had to stand on the border of Ut and NV.  You know, stand in two states at the same time.  

Ok June got over and we are moving on to July and of course the 4th.  We ventured to Evanston to Neil and Kim's home.  We had a yummy barbecue and then ventured up the hill to watch fireworks.  Can I tell you, Wyoming is crazy!  Fireworks everywhere and we got to watch from the best seat in town!

Cassidy and Lorin

Megan and Natalie

Logan.  Yes the flash on my phone is very bright.

Looking down at the town. Then the city set off really big fireworks off the hill right behind their house.  It was so cool and we had a really fun time!

Logan turned 7!!!

All Logan wanted for his birthday was a bike.  So that is what he got.  Oh and it had to be blue!

I think Logan was more excited about these Morning Glory sparklers than his bike!  

Grandpa and Grandma gave him a little telescope.  He loves it!

We love our Logan and can't imagine life without him.  He keeps us laughing!  Could I just shrink him for one day!?

A couple days later Logan shared his sparklers with his sisters.  I had bought sparklers for the 4th but (just my luck in attempting to be a fun mom) they were complete duds and wouldn't work.  Happy July!

On the 23rd we went down to Kanosh for their Pioneer Day parade again.  They had a lot of the same entries in the parade.  I still think it is so fun.

The YM of their ward passed out very melty root beer floats.  The sign on their trailer said "The Real Float".  Kinda' silly.  

They didn't seem to throw out as much candy this year but the kids still got their fill.  Poor Lorin had worked all night so he pretty much was a zombie.

After the parade there is a big dutch oven lunch at the park but we opted to go into Fillmore and get something else to eat.  Lorin tells the story of going to the park to eat the dutch oven lunch one year and watching some guy cut up the potatoes.  Well he cut himself in the process and just went right on cutting up potatoes and throwing them in the dutch oven blood and all.  Yummy!  

We took our lunch to the park and the kids got to play.  It is actually great because no one is there.  They are all eating bloody potatoes at the other park!  Just kidding. I am sure the food is wonderful.  We just don't like crowds.  We played Frisbee and talked.  Lorin took a nap on the grass.  We only had to scare off one weirdo.  Lorin and I were tossing the Fisbee.  Megan was sitting under a tree not to far away.  Some young guy rides up on his bike and sort of said hello to us.  He got off his bike and then started to walk towards Megan. Hello!!!!  Lorin asked him in a very, loud and stern voice what he was doing.  He just said he was going to say hi.  Lorin told him hi and to leave.  He turned and left.  It was very creepy.  You could tell the guy wasn't all there.  He probably was really just going to say hi but it was weird.

After playing at the park we went to the old house in Kanosh to have dinner as a family.  Because no one lives there the weeds had grown up high and there were grasshoppers everywhere but the kids didn't mind one bit.  They enjoyed catching bugs and, of course, playing on the 4 wheelers. 

I had to take this picture by the ditch.  There are beautiful sweet pea flowers that grow there wild.  It is so pretty.  

In July my girls had activity days day camp and I got to go because I am an assistant leader.  I even went on the rafting activity.  I knew I would get a little wet but I got soaked!  The 3 scouts in charge thought it would be fun to just splash the whole time.  It ruined it for the girls I think.  Ok maybe just for me.  It is ok for the girls to splash a little but to have grown boys doing the splashing wasn't cool.  They were just showing off.

They are all really sweet girls.  Two of the girls have moved and Meg turned 12 so we are down to 5 girls.  

Cassidy was so cute doing the boat race.  I felt bad for the other girl.  You could tell that she had some physical challenges as well.  Her mom kept getting so mad at her and was so impatient.  I hope that I am not like that with Cassidy.  I know I lose my patience sometimes and feel frustrated because it is hard but this lady was so mean.  

BB guns are fun!

Another wet activity.  There was this tube full of holes and the girls had to cover all the holes while one girl runs back and forth getting water and dumping it in.  The tube that gets full first wins.  We didn't win.

The girls with the scout who was in charge of our group.  It was a fun day.

Megan turned 12!!!

The only gift she requested was another Taylor Swift CD.  Easy enough!

Megan had some friends over to play games and to eat lots of treats!!!

Just Dance!!!

Megan and her Grandma.

I don't do cakes.  So I made cupcakes with yummy frosting!

How did she get to be 12?

Oh the love!!!

We love our Megan!!!  Now on to Jr. High.  sniff sniff

In August we also had a little reunion with my family.  We hiked up to the Grotto up Payson canyon.  If you haven't been up there you need to.  It is an easy hike and it is so cool!

The kids waded in the water.

My parents were so sweet to hold Cassidy's hands so she could hike up there.

We found a park to eat lunch at and play.

Next we went to Shelly's so the kids could play on her water slide.

Then..... we went to Jilleen's for dinner, a movie and to sleep out in her yard.  After much weeping, wailing and tantrum throwing (a good part of it was me) I loaded up our tent so we could sleep out.  I was really not excited about it because I am not a fun mom and it seemed like a lot of work and Lorin was working and couldn't be there and Meg was gone with her aunt on a trip.  I decided to try to be a fun mom and sleep in the tent with Logan and Cassidy.  It wasn't that bad and I hope they had a little bit of fun.  Here we are in our tent.  Scary!!!  

Here are a couple pics of Meg on her little trip.  Her Aunt Natalie took her down south to visit Aunt Julie and cousin Brylie who is Megan's age.  She was spoiled and had a great time shopping, eating, swimming etc.  Thanks Natalie for being such a special aunt to our kids!

Then the next week (last week before school started) Logan and I got the stomach flu.  Logan failed to inform me that his stomach hurt until after I had shared a cup of ice with him.  Awesome!!!

We were able to be better in time to take a day and go to Lagoon.  We got free tickets through Give Kids the World.  It had been 12 years since Lorin and I had been to Lagoon and I was prego then so couldn't ride the rides.       

It has changed a ton.  So really I hadn't experienced Lagoon since I went as a senior in high school. The kids had never been to Lagoon.

We convinced the kids to go on the white roller coaster very first.  A miracle in and of itself.  By the end of the ride Cassidy was crying hysterically.  As we got off she says "Mom you said it didn't go that fast!"  A bunch of people cracked up.  I get the mom of the year award!!!  In my defense it had been 17 years since I had rode that roller coaster.  I couldn't remember how it whips your neck around and jumps you out of your seat at every bump!  The other kids actually liked it.  So on to a much milder ride the carousel.  

I picked out a beautiful horse for Cassidy to ride, she hopped on and off we go.  Well, I screwed up again.  I chose one of the horses that doesn't go up and down.  Cassidy was ticked and we were not starting the day off well at all!  She was in tears at the end of this as well.  Luckily the line to the Carousel was tiny so she got right back on and got a horse that goes up and down.  Seriously!

Oh wait it wasn't a horse it was a weird goat thingy.  No wonder all was wrong in the world.  Oh yeah I picked it because it was lower to the ground so she could get on it easier.  See mother of the year!!!

Yes the horse is much better!!!

Then off to all the kiddie rides. 

Logan was very annoyed with this little boy he rode this airplane with.  The boy wouldn't stop talking and actually tried to follow us when we were done.  

Lorin's sister Natalie joined us and was so nice to go on rides with the kids.  I hope she wasn't too annoyed.

Oh yeah! Jet Star Two!  Lorin and Natalie are in the back.

Then it was my turn.  I tried to make scary faces so the kids would think I was freaked out.  I love this ride.  

Lorin and I are at the back.

Then Lorin was more brave than us all and went on The Rocket.

It wouldn't be a trip to Lagoon without going on the Tilt-a-Whirl.

Sorry Natalie.  I had a hard time getting pictures with a slow camera!  The kids wanted to go on this twice.  Natalie first went with Megan.

Then with Cassidy.

Lorin, Megan and Logan.

We don't have pictures of it but Cassidy and Megan LOVED The Bat.  They went on it twice!

Lorin, me, Cassidy and Logan waited in a really long line to go down the log ride.  Totally wasn't worth it.  I remember liking it as a kid. Did they shorten it?   Lame!

Then we waited and waited and waited to get on the Rattlesnake Rapids ride.  We needed go through the handicapped gate.  They took forever.  People that got in line the same time as us went on the ride at least twice before we even were taken down.  Ridiculous. But they let us go down the ride as many times as we wanted.  We let Cassidy choose how many times.  So we went 3 times, I think, and we were completely soaked.  The only problem was that the sun was setting so it was cold.  We should have gone in the heat of the day.  Oh well it was pretty fun.  We laughed a lot!!!  I don't know if Natalie's new shoes ever recovered.

Here we are......drowned rats!  Logan and his faces.  Thanks Natalie for being a good sport and coming with us.  We ended the day with Lorin and Natalie going on Colossus and then she took me on The Spider. I screamed the whole time but it was really fun!

I took this picture of Lorin and Cassidy talking.  It was so sweet.  We were waiting for the others to get done riding that ride that goes in a circle really fast and plays loud music.  You know... that one.  Cassidy couldn't go on it.  

And last but not least another ride on the Carousel!!!

We had soooo much fun!  I think we will try to come again next summer!

The summer brought some sadness as well.  My cousin Kacey was killed in a plane crash in Idaho.  Kacey was my age.  I wish I would have know him better but I do know that he was a great person, very kind and hard working.  For some reason my memories of him always go back to when we would visit and go to church in Idaho.  Kacey was always quite silly in primary.  What a great blessing it was that back in February he was able to take his wife and boys to the temple to be sealed together as a family.  What great peace the gospel brings.  My heart still hurts when I think about what a tragedy it is and the pain his family has gone through.  Such a hard thing.  Kacey was joined a couple weeks ago by his father, my Uncle Tim, who bravely battled cancer.  We continue to pray for everyone.  Life just takes twists and turns you never expect.  I am proud of my family, extended and all,  for the way they have faced the many hard times that they have been through with  faith and hope.  You are all examples to me.