crazy july

i finally have a minute to play catch up on the busiest month i think i've ever experienced. we have had both matt's sister and her family and my brother and his family in town for the past 3 weeks and we've been trying to juggle activities with them along with our own schedule and so i hope you'll forgive the pending travel log.

4th of July--

no pic but spent with old, old friends the evans' who just happened to be moving back to here after a looooooooooong time spent in school. rick was one of the best men at our wedding and we were the last people he talked to as he headed out to propose to marty. so fun to catch up. so fun to see their kids we've barely met (who are miniatures of their parents). we've so missed friends that we had when we got married. plus # 1 on this post about living back home this summer.

6th of july--

baby hank's blessing (all pictures taken on my mom's camera-which means they'll never get off as i'm not sure if she knows how;) my little bro taylor and his wife laney had their first baby (on my birthday!!!) and blessed him this day down in orem. it's the first family ordinance we've been to in quite a while that didn't involve one of our children. plus # 2

6th-9th of july--

a quick trip to idaho, sans matt, with two sisters-in-law and their kids. how we love this place!!!! a big thanks to malee for staying back at the house with sleeping eli so i could swim with the older kids, corn meal with bacon, and an innumerable amount of double solitaire. plus # 3--close enough to drop whatever might be going on and take a few days of r&r in good ol' st. anthony. swim, float, swim some more, eat, watch girlie movies that matt would never pick and i've been dying to have someone to watch them with. a necessity of every summer as long as i can remember.

10th-12th of july--

bennion (matt's mom's side) family reunion in brighton. i don't have pictures of the whole group yet but here are the kids in their reunion shirts. we stayed 2 nights in cabins up there and had a great time with cousins of matt's that we rarely see. so fun to let our kids get to know relatives from around the country. plus # 4- getting to observe the bennion sisters at work. my mother-in-law and her sisters excel at family get togethers. they have been conference calling each other for months getting every last detail figured out and making sure their were fun and games for every age and liking. they thrive under pressure and are ever gracious and generous! thank you fab 5--you know who you are!!!

11th-25th of july

matt's sister in town for above said reunion and to vacate for a few weeks.

we had fun trips to liberty park, the bountiful bubble, uncle craig's cabin for horse riding and 4-wheeling, a family birthday party (with 5 of the 6 grand kids birthdays in the summer we thought combining them all would be best. mallory just got to celebrate twice this year), sleepovers and wii tournaments. mallory has found her twin in her cousin emileigh. just months apart, they are both into the same things right now and and get along swimmingly. on my side, she is the one cousin that doesn't have a twin. she's too young for kate, camila, and miranda and too old for ali and lauren (at least in her eyes) so emileigh is a treasure. if we could just get eli to stop pinching her, their visit might have been perfect;) plus #5 seeing matt's only sibling and her family more often than once every 2 years or so

17th- 19th of july-

neighborhood camping trip. in an attempt to get in good with some of our new neighbors we went camping to the spruces with a few families. as we've not been camping for some time, the kids were beside themselves with excitement. we're not the worlds most amped up campers. in fact, we're camping white trash. we pack all 6 of us with all our gear smashed into every inch of extra space into the ol' minivan--kids buried in sleeping bags and pillows so they'll fit (both the kids and the bags) in the back and coolers piled high in front of those with short legs. no high tech gear, just a clearanced out eddie bauer tent from target and a hand me down dutch oven, but they get us through. eli spent the entire 2 1/2 days covered in dirt. oh! he was gross! kids and camping, the essence of filth.

11th of july-3rd of august

my other little brother and his family are visiting as well and so we have been trying to even out the time between families. we spent a day with all the moms and kids up at this is the place heritage park last week (camera left in the car!) and all the cousins on my side (excluding babies) were enjoying a surprise afternoon downpour on the train after riding the ponies and doing all things pioneer. lunch at lucy's and before we knew it it was 4:30 and dinner for matt called. we packed up and headed back to reality with much whining and attempts to persuade me to let them stay. plus # 6--my kids get to grow up with their cousins. they're not the odd family out anymore (and i don't feel bad about saying no to sleepovers because there's always the next weekend)

24th of july--

new family picture taken!! yipee! can't wait to see them rachie. thank you! thank you! i love that you are adopted;) plus # 7- living in a hub where extended family with mucho talent stop in to visit other family and you get to sneak your family into their busy schedules and they still love you!!!!

25th-26th of july--

hawes family hike to timpanogos cave and camping trip. yes! camping trip #2. our first time getting in on the hawes campout (obviously-plus # 8). mallory hiked the whole way up. she complained every step, but every step was her own. we were trying to avoid a repeat of last weekend's hike to donut falls from the spruces where she took maybe 10 steps on the whole journey. she was a trooper until we had to make a mad dash from the cave 1/2 way through for an emergency potty run. it seems letting her carry her own camel back does come with a down side!

we camped overnight a few miles up from sundance, survived a thunderstorm and headed down the next morning in time for church which brings us to

28th of july

isaac's 7th birthday, celebrated with a skateboard, a donut cake and a promise to go miniature golfing (with a real cake) when we get a free weekend.

and the first day of school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! already!!! there's nothing like the first day of school to bring summer (and birthday) fun to a halt. isaac in grade 2 and megan in grade 4. the kids are excited to get back though, and so am i. it came up a little fast as we're used to a 3 month break but we're in desperate need of a routine. the only reason i'm blogging right now is 2 kids @ school, 1 across the street and 1 napping. i totally get that old office max commercial that has the mom dancing with glee throughout the isles of the store as she gathers back to school supplies, her morose children following and "it's the most wonderful time of the year" playing in the background. it's time. and i'm ready to send them back. back to going to bed on time, back to getting up for scripture study, back to reading every day, back to peace and quiet. ahhhh! can't you just hear it? (as long as i'm not homeschooling, a plus no matter where we live)

yes, this post is FINALLY over.

megan's b-day

for megan's ninth, we had a ladies only lunch at archibald's with megan's grandmas and her bestest cousin maren. she was adamant that mallory was not allowed to come as all she wanted this year was to go somewhere without everyone else, meaning "the little people", mallory, isaac, and eli. so, thanks to my sister-in-law, dana, we could grant her this one wish. we had a lovely lunch and then walked around gardner village checking out all the cutesie girl shops. we later hit ikea as she also wanted to give her room a makeover and she wanted to pick a new duvet and color scheme for her room. her bed has been pink for the last few years and she's had enough. she picked a black and white floral print with primary colored circles so we'll see when we get it all thrown together how it turns out.
she also wanted to make her own cake and she did a fabulous job. (no, the cake did not fall off the counter as it appears it is about to in this picture.) it was her first time using the icing bag and tips and she was so nervous--but she pulled through in the end. i'm actually quite excited as i am a horrible cake baker/decorator, so she may have been lucky and acquired that gene from matt and can do all my cake decorating for me.
i can't believe how fast she has grown and that i have a nine year old. she has been such a joy so far--even when her competitive spirit gets the better of her (like today,with isaac playing the wii--that girl CANNOT lose to her brother in anything) and she tries so hard to be the best at anything she tries. she's such a sweetheart and we love her to death (and can't wait until she's 12 and we have a built in babysitter!! believe me we are counting down!)