Early June

June has been a fun and busy month! This first photo isn't necessarily summer-specific, but Ben took this one of me reading to my boys one night. I love our reading time so much. It's one of my favorite times of the day. 

 We've been trying to visit the library more frequently, mostly because it's amazing how much more exciting the "new" books are during that first week or so. One morning I found the boys on the floor reading their new books together. Chase was reading it to Hudson and my mama heart just about burst with happiness! Ever since they started sharing a room, their relationship has really taken off. It might be coincidence, but they play together more and with (slightly) less fighting. I love these cute brothers!

 Swimming- it's what we do all summer long! We've been the splash pad twice, and then swimming in my parents pool almost every day. In fact, the first full week of June we went swimming there 6 times in 5 days! We brought friends with us most days and it was so much fun! We also met Katie and Nora there and we swam with my mom and then all ate a picnic poolside. This is my favorite way to spend our time during the summer. My boys are such little fish and have no fear of the water. Chase is now a really strong swimmer and doesn't use a life jacket at all.

 I am teaching a few sessions of swim lessons this summer. It sounded like a better idea when I advertised last April than it does now (mostly because it hasn't been the warmest week) but I filled the whole first session up in 24 hours. I have 9 classes and mostly it's been fun. Chase and Hudson are each in a class and Chase loves it. Chase is with two of his good friends and he has a blast and is improving a lot. Hudson has no tolerance for the cold, or being told what to do. So his class has mostly been a fail. I haven't pushed him super hard though because I know it won't do any good, and I know I'll have plenty of opportunities to work with him throughout the summer.

One Saturday morning we decided that we needed a family fun day. We started off bright and early with a hike up to one of our favorite spots on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. It was a beautiful morning and such a great family activity. I love the little conversations I get to have with my boys while we are hiking and they are holding my hand. Although not pictured, we also took the boys to see Zootopia and the dollar theater that afternoon, which was also so cute and fun. We ended up at the splash pad later that day, so it was definitely a fun-filled Saturday!

This is how Hudson hikes "using his jets". He pretends he's an airplane. It makes it easier.

We planned a double date with Will and Kate and my parents watched all the kids! I think everyone had a great night. We went to a yummy Vietnamese restaurant in Salt Lake City and the grandparents took the little ones to Dinosaur Park and out to ice cream. Although Chase doesn't look like he's having fun in the picture, he was actually super excited about it. He just doesn't like to smile on demand. 

We've been to the park a few times. This particular day, I stood back and just watched my kids interact. There was one point where Hudson was playing on this spinning thing and Chase wanted a turn. I thought I'd have to interfere, surely it would become a fight. Instead I watched as Chase politely asked for a turn, Hudson got off to give him one, and then after just a minute Chase hopped off so Hudson could have it back. It was a golden moment! Obviously this doesn't happen every single time, but it's amazing to see these social skills develop and watch them learn to think of others. 

 After all this playing, we usually crash! Here is Hudson on a day when he insisted he didn't need a nap, and that "napping is HARD!" 5 minutes later...