July

Our 4th of July was so fun! We started out the day by having Ray and Diane over for our traditional red, white and blue breakfast. We had waffles topped with whipped cream and strawberries and blueberries and it was delicious as always! Then the kids and I spent that afternoon playing at this amazing slip n' slide our new neighbors invited us to (To quote Chase, "That was totally WICKED!"). We ended the night with swimming, and BBQ and fireworks up and Nana and Papa's house. It was a really great holiday!

The next day we spent at the Museum of Natural Curiosity- Nana treated us and it was such a fun morning! That museum is seriously so cool and the kids had the best time. This was one of the things Chase wanted to do most this summer (besides camping), so I'm glad we made it happen!

This was a very common site all summer long at our house. Poor Davis- we eliminated his morning nap this summer, which was great for our busy on the go schedule, but it resulted in him falling asleep in his lunch a lot of the time. 

We spent a lovely Monday evening kayaking on this pretty little reservoir with the Josephs! It was a lovely, (albeit HOT) evening and the kids loved the kayaks. Chase was really independent on the kid sized one, and Hudson loved riding with an adult. Davis even went out for a little ride with me!

Swimming- we've been to the pool almost every day all summer. I taught two different sessions of swim lessons and since I had some extra room, I let each of the boys be in a class in the July session. They did awesome! Hudson has worked so hard this summer and went from doing a little swimming to being a totally competent swimmer! By the first week of July we had him going off the board and swimming to the side all by himself. He's now "deep-end certified" (his words, not mine) and is so proud of himself. His form is impeccable too! It's been so fun to see him grown and learn and really conquer this fear and skill! Chase is still part fish, and swims all over the pool hardly stopping to breathe.

 Davis is just our fun little side-kick. Most of our activities this summer have been more big kid focused, but he's been happy to be along for the ride and has mostly enjoyed everything.

The kids got to use their cherry selling money for a family fun night at Cherry hill! I love that place (for a few hours) and so did the boys. Davis loved Pirates Cove. The big boys loved the water slides and we all loved the lazy river. It was a super fun night playing together!

While my cousins Kash and Tiff were in town we had a really fun swim party with all our kids on a friday afternoon. I didn't take pictures because I was just enjoying the moment too much, but it was seriously a blast! The next night Ian (Whit and Tiff's youngest, who is Chase's age and they became fast friends during the swim party) was singing the National Anthem at the Raptor's game in Ogden. Chase and I went to see him and watch the game and it was such a fun night out! Ian was darling and Chase loved having another chance to play with him. It's too bad he lives in Texas, these two would be darling little friends!

Davis is our little baller. He loves to shoot hoops- and usually demands "ball!" of Ben as soon as he comes home. It's the cutest.

The 24th of July was a lovely holiday for us as well. We did the Bowman's breakfast, because the kids were set on it. Later I took them over for the kid activities- they got balloon guns, frosted Utah shaped cookies (with 8 million sprinkles on top), ate some root beer floats and we headed back home before we all melted of heat! We did a swim party and BBQ at my parents house that night, which Ray, Diane and Nathan all attended with us. And then we came home and did fireworks with the Josephs, which is apparently a tradition now. It was a super fun holiday! (Although Davis was decidedly not a fan of fireworks- the loud noises were scary!)

I made these little stars with the boys before the 4th and we kept them up all month long. Sometimes the most thrown together little projects just turn out so cute! Chase painted american flags on his stars, Hudson mostly painted faces on his. I loved having them hanging here, it just made my heart happy. 

A lot of June FUN

June was the busiest month ever. It was completely exhausting for me and I regret nothing. We packed the month full of fun activities! A lot of them weren't even pictured because I was just trying to be in the moment and enjoying activities with my kids, instead of stressing about trying to get good pictures. Every day all month was full of outdoor activities (bikes, scooters, hiking, so much swimming, climbing trees, and all that good kid stuff), the boys have eaten a lot of otter pops, played with their friends, we've been the library a bunch of times, had several BBQs and just really, really enjoyed our summer freedom! Here's a few of the activities that DID get photographed:

We spent a fun Monday morning at the church art museum. There was a beautiful art exhibit I got to go see while my mom watched the kids in the kid play room (which was pretty cool). They had a bunch of fun scripturey themed stuff, Chase's favorite was building ancient looking temples out of these blocks. Davis mostly like bopping around and climbing in and out of this boat. It was a super fun morning, followed by lunch at Blue Lemon, which is all of our favorite!

 We spent a really lovely morning at the zoo! The boys wanted to see the red pandas (which are new and so cute!) so we packed up one morning and headed there. The crowds were sparse, we beat the heat, and we got to enjoy seeing all the animals. Davis was SO into it! It was so fun to see him oooh and awwww over everything and also get slightly frustrated that he couldn't pet any of them.

 Hudson graduated from UPSTART! I loved this program. It was a big commitment, 20 minutes 5 days a week, but HE DID IT! (Mostly because I made him). He learned a lot too- by the fall he was reading and he finished the program a pretty competent beginning reader. He's actually finished all the kindergarten cirriculum and started on the 1st grade stuff. He was so delighted at graduation, mostly because he knew that meant he didn't have to do it anymore.

 We had a fun morning at the Discovery Gateway. Davis is getting to the age where he really gets into this stuff and it is so cute to see him explore! Chase could (and did) spend the whole time building race cars for the derby track. Hudson escapes into his imagination world. I love children's museums!

 We came up with a plan this summer to help the boys learn to work hard and earn money for fun activities- selling cherries from our tree! The boys helped us pick cherries, they packaged them all themselves, and then they stood outside in the heat and sold them! They made $33, which after tithing we just enough money to take our whole family to Cherry Hill waterpark for the night. They got super frustrated if it was more than 3 minutes since they'd made a sale, but I think they learned some good lessons and they REALLY appreciated the reward.

 This was Chase and Hudson's most anticipated summer event- our camping trip with our BYU friends! This was our third year doing it and it's always such a blast! We camped up American Fork Canyon which was beautiful and so fun! The kids in this group (and goodness- there are a LOT of them now!) get along so well. We all have 1 year olds this year, which was crazy. Davis felt no need to stay close to us, sleep in his pack n play, or generally cooperate with any of our plans, so Ben and I were exhausted. But it was worth it to spend time with our little family in nature and enjoy these amazing friends. Even though I do not love being so dirty or being cold all night, the memories it's making for our kids are totally worth the inconvenience of camping!

 Oh yeah- and in between our Boulder trip and camping trip, we fit in one more trip to the zoo with Nana and Anna. I can't say no to fun activities with my kids, so we spent the morning at the zoo and then hurried home to pack up for camping. It was wild- and worth it!

Our Trip to Boulder, Colorado and turning 30

On June 23 I turned 30! 30 didn't feel like a huge deal to me- most of my friends are older than me, Ben turned 30 three years ago, so most of my crowd is already in their 30s and I was happy to join the club! Also, I have a 7 year old, so 30 sounds about right! On my actual birthday we drove to Colorado, but we had a little family celebration the week before with swimming, a BBQ, and my mom made the most perfect, delicious "Courtney" cake I've ever had!

So back to our trip, we left bright and early that Saturday morning and headed to Boulder, Colorado! My cousin Ella (who is the best) had her wedding there on the 24th and we wanted to be there in time for the pre-wedding dinner Saturday night. And we did! The kids were all champs and the road trip, although long and quite boring, went really smoothly! We met up with everyone at the dinner and it was fun to spend the night catching up with aunts, uncles and cousins who I don't get to see nearly enough! After helping Ben put the boys to bed back at our airbnb, I headed back to the party where Heidi and I laughed with the Sullivan gang until my cheeks hurt. 

Sunday was the beautiful wedding! Her venue in Lyons was absolutely gorgeous! The prettiest backdrop for the day and the weather ended up being perfect! Chase said going to the wedding basically counted as church since he had to dress up. 

This was a long event and overall the kids did great. Everyone behaved during the ceremony, which was thankfully short. Things got a little dicey during cocktail hour (which was really 2 hours) but they had lawn games, which the boys loved. Davis wanted to roam free and felt no need to stay close to me (he never does), and he easily won over pretty much every person he encountered. During the dinner we had very few problems, except Hudson's outburst of "I HATE THIS RESTAURANT" when he saw Mac and Cheese on his plate. Ben was a champ and took the boys outside several times to play and we got through the evening. We ended the night dancing away, which was so fun! During the mother-son dance, Hudson and I danced together to "what a wonderful world" and my heart just swelled with love for all my little boys! Davis loved dancing and bopped away the whole time! We left a little early, having spent 6 hours there, and overall the boys were great and we had a wonderful time! 

We call this group "identical stranger" (Long story)- I love these beautiful cousins of mine!

 This group is the original 8

The next day we had a chill day in Boulder. We started with a hike right by the Flat Irons, which was so beautiful! It was seriously breathtaking! It felt good to get out and hike- we couldn't visit Colorado and not do this!

 We got to meet up with Keely and her cute kids at a random Chick Fil-A which was a highlight for me as well. I love Keely and love that we've stayed so close for so many years (29 to be exact).

This trip was really just awesome! I loved having downtime to hang out and talk with my family, sister, parents and cousins. The boys were so happy that Aunt Heidi was there and continued to bond intensely with her. I was dreading the long drive home and it came all too soon! Ben had to stay one extra day for work (conveniently) and since my parents had flown to Denver via Chicago, they drove home with me and the kids. The kids actually did really well- but it was still exhausting. My favorite part of the drive was an hour outside of Denver, we got a call from Heidi that her flight had been cancelled (the 2nd time that had happened to her in the last 8 hours) and my mom and I were frantically trying differently airlines to help her rebook a flight. We were stuck in traffic, I was using my phone checking airlines, while calling airlines using my dad's phone, and all of a sudden Hudson yells to me and he has a huge bloody nose! So then I was frantically trying to help him not get blood everywhere at the same time! It was just so chaotic and frantic it was comical. The good news is that we go the nose resolved, got Heid rebooked and we all made it home in one exhausted piece! 

End of School and Start of Summer!

As school wrapped up this year, Chase and I were both a little sad. He has had the best time in first grade. I asked him how he felt about school ending and his reply was "bittersweet", which I totally agree with. Summer is so fun and awesome, but it's hard to see such a great year and situation come to an end. I snapped this picture of these three on one of their last days of school. We carpooled with Luca and Jazmyn all year and it was such a cute little carpool. These three are such sweet little friends and I've been thankful for it! 

Hudson had his preschool graduation! It was fun to see him sing his songs with so much enthusiasm and excitement! He loved preschool and Mrs. Young was so wonderful to him. He's ready for kindergarten for sure! In fact, he told us that since it's summer "I'm a temporary kindergartener and Chase is a temporary 2nd grader. In the fall we'll be official."

This was one of our last mornings getting them all ready for school. Since it was such dreamy spring weather we spent several of those last mornings playing outside for a little bit before school. 

Memorial Day weekend we went swimming for the first time! These boys are all total fish in the water and we are looking forward to spending a lot of time there this summer! Davis, not surprisingly loved it and also thinks he can swim. He's a real hazard in the water!

Chase's class put on the cutest little play! He was a narrator and did such a great job! He said all his lines with lots of enthusiasm and expression. Hudson loved watching the play and told me half way through "I wish I was in this play!" I can't say enough good about his teachers this year- they were wonderful to him and for him. They genuinely loved and appreciated him, which meant so much to me as a mom!

 This LONG anticipated event finally happened- Chase got to pull out some teeth! He's been so impatiently waiting to legitimately lose teeth like all his friends are. At almost 7.5 some of his friends have lots 5 or more and it's been hard to wait! Those bottom two teeth had gotten pretty loose and the night before school ended he suddenly became insistent that they come out. Ben helped him wrap some floss around them (one at a time) but Chase wanted to pull them himself. He gave the floss and firm yank and they popped right out! He was laughing and squealing in delight! It was so cute and funny. He was thrilled that the tooth fairy came and brought him $2! And then he was so glad it happened in time that he could show everyone on the last day of school!

 The last day of first grade! What a year! He's a natural student and loves to learn, and it was fun to see him work super hard and try even though he could easily sit back and ride on all his previous knowledge. His writing came leaps and bounds this year and I loved reading through his monthly essays in his portfolio. His teachers focused so much on social skills through their "leader in me" program and it's been amazing for Chase. He learned a lot of social lessons this year too, while sometimes hard, were a really good thing for him. He took his lunch every day (after three times trying school lunch he decided it wasn't for him) and loved having three recesses. First grade was a huge win for him!

Our first summer morning! Although we have yet to lounge around much- we've been go-go-go since summer started! I think maybe we will chill out soon....

 We went on a hike on a cooler day as a family. It's fun to hike the same trails year after year and see the kids be able to go farther and handle it better each time. Although Davis did not like that backpack- he kept just reaching up and smacking me in protest. And then he figured out how to climb out and I just carried him in my arms for the rest of the hike.

We went with a bunch of our neighbors up to Silver Lake one morning. This is the prettiest spot on earth I think. I love it up there! The drive is a little long, but it's definitely worth it. These kids played and played and the moms enjoyed chatting, we stayed for 2.5 hours before heading back down the canyon. Our newish neighbor, Lizzie Jones, road in our car. She's a newly wed and doesn't have kids yet, but came anyway and Hudson immediately took to her and pretty much talked to her nonstop the entire time we were there. He was in his imaginary world with a pretend motorcycle and looking for pirate ships and whatever else was happening in his little mind and she was a good sport to go along with all of it! Chase loved scampering up and down this rock face with Ella. And Davis was pretty happy in the stroller, but loved any time I let him get out and play in the dirt and act BIG like his brothers. It was a super wonderful morning!

And otherwise our first week of summer has been packed with lots of swimming, a bunch of playdates, some popsicles, the end of baseball season, staying up late, going to a magic show at the library, and watched some movies. It's been an awesome start to summer. Hopefully at some point we'll get in some relaxing too...