Round-Up

Lehi's city celebration, The Round-Up, is something we look forward to every year.  Okay, mostly just the parades, but someday we will go to the rodeo.
The kids absolutely love the parade.  We go Friday night and Saturday morning.  Friday night we sit with the Fowlers, enjoy the floats, chat and try to stay cool.  This year we were missing Kate.  She was in the parade!  She rode with our ward float, which had a beachy theme.

Gavin was also in the parade, marching with the band.  It's a bit hard to spot your kid since they are all dressed a like, but I'm getting better at picking him out in parades and field shows.  Kind of helps that he is one of the tallest.

It was a great parade!  It just feels right watching a traditional, all-American parade in an old pioneer town with Lehi natives.  Great times!
On Saturday, we watch the parade with the Randalls, under our canopy, while eating breakfast.  The kids have so much fun with each other and gathering up candy.

Guard knows how to work the candy system.  He would stand about 1/4 of the way into the road, would wave, flail his arms, smile and laugh.  People just couldn't resist.  He got more candy thrown at him than I could ever remember collecting at the parade.

I love the Round-Up!

The Canyon with Cousins

Our family was able to spend a few days visiting Grandma and Grandpa Fowler and Carson and Brynnley up the canyon for some fun.  Randalls and Fords were camping and I brought the kids up in the afternoon, stayed for the day and came home to sleep in our own beds.
Everyone came up for dinner on Monday.  It was so fun to be outdoors in the canyon.  The kids just adore it.

The next day, Grandma took the grand kids fishing.  Neither Enoch nor Kate caught anything, but they had a great time.  Who knew they would like fishing so much?

We also did some crafts,

played games,

went on walks and bike rides.
We had a wonderful time.  Right before we left, Guard was almost hit by a truck.  Enoch ran out in front of him and yelled for the driver to stop.  He did just in time.  Oh my goodness, it was scary!  I spent the rest of the day tearing up.  Thanks goodness for Enoch and that everyone was safe.
Thanks for inviting us up Grandma and Grandpa!  We had a great time.

Busy Bee Busyness

After lunch, Enoch calmly said, "I think there is something wrong with my bees."  Very calmly.  Without panic. 
When I looked our the window, I panicked.
The bees were swarming!
I called Greg, yelled at him that his bees were freaking out and to get home.  Now. 
Then I realized Enoch had gone outside, had his bee suit on and was trying to corral the bees.  Good luck, sweetie.
I panicked again.
Not a good afternoon for me.
By the time Greg got home, the bees were gone.  I wasn't sure where they had gone, but Greg and Enoch found them in the field by the shed.  It was a bit tricky getting over the fence with the suits on, but they did it.

The bees had gathered on a bush and were all hovering around the queen.

Greg figures that one of our queens died.  The hive made a new queen and a back-up queen.  The back-up queen left the hive and took half the bees with her.  It was a bit tricky to get the bees back into the hive (considering we accidentally killed the queen in the process of gathering the bees from the bush and getting them back into the yard).

Whew!  That was hard work standing inside the kitchen and watching out the window.  Enoch took the pictures. 
Good thing Greg and Enoch like those bees.

BYU Gymnastic Camp

Kate and Brynnley participated in the BYU Gymnastic Camp and had a fantastic time!  They were so excited!  They went three hours a day for four days.  Their coaches were BYU gymnasts.  They were able to practice where the gymnasts train.  Kate thought that was the best part.

They both had such a great time.  Kate is convinced that someday she will be a gymnast at BYU.

4-Wheeling in the Neighborhood

We have been debating about selling our four-wheelers.  They just don't seem to be working for our family right now with a baby and a few extra kids that don't fit.  We figured we could rent a side-by-side a few times a year for how much it costs us to pay insurance and licensing on them.  We will see.
We haven't gotten them out for a few years and we needed to get them running, so we took them for a spin through the neighborhood.
The kids had a blast.
Makes us question our decision to sell them.
We will see.

How fun!

To the Best Dad...

Happy Father's Day!
I always feel bad that Father's Day is in the middle of June.  I haven't quite gotten use to my summer schedule yet and I'm tired and have no time to make Father's Day the great day it should be.  Sorry, Greg!  Really, he doesn't care, but I care for him.  It's our one day to make him feel special (since he doesn't even get that on his birthday because its sandwiched between two son's birthdays).  We do our best.
This year I made his favorite dinner (cream cheese chicken) and we opened presents.
Apparently, Greg can't handle opening his own presents.

 Wow!  Doesn't he looked surprised?  Great acting since he researched and picked out his new projector.

Guard loves being like his dad.

Kate just loves her Dad.

Greg also got a dolly to put his very heavy and cumbersome compressor on.  Now, he can just wheel it around rather than carrying it.

Yikes!  The packaging got Kate.

Enoch thought this dolly was a great idea!  We better hurry and get the compressor on it.

Happy Father's Day, Greg!  We love you so much!

Scattered Thoughts

1.  I think we have worn Guard out already this summer.

2.  Watching Kate's favorite TV show, Wonder Woman, on a Saturday night.

3.  We are surviving summer with gym class, Scouts, tutoring, band, piano, park, swimming, etc, etc, etc.

Our New Pool

This year we decided to get a little wading pool to have in the backyard to keep the kids busy and not asking to go swimming every day.  A tall order, I know.  But we thought it would be worth a try.
I was at Wal-mart and was asking around in the garden dept about kiddie pools.  The employee excitedly told me they just got a shipment in that morning and that I lucked out because they would go fast.  I paid for my pool and then realized I couldn't fit it into the van.  I had to leave it there and promised to be back later that day.
Hmmm...
After I got home I was telling my friend, Kristen, my problem and wondering what I could do.  She said she was planning on heading to Wal-mart later that day and she would bring it home in her Suburban.  Really?  She's awesome!
The kids were so excited when they saw it.  They all put on their suits and headed out.  Enoch only lasted a few minutes, because really it is too small for him, but Kate and Guard loved it.  They thought the slide was the best.
So many smiles and so much fun!  I anticipate many great times in the pool this summer.
(And yes, Guard is in his clothes.  He was too excited to take time to change tonight.)

First Day of Summer

I know that technically summer doesn't start for another three weeks, but it started today at our house.  And...it was exhausting.  It always takes me a few weeks to get used to being constantly on call for four kids, one dog and a whole neighborhood of friends.
Today we did jobs, summer homework, sunscreened, bought Sunday sandals, played at the park, went to gym class (Kate's class has been bumped up to 1.5 hours and she is quite tired tonight), played in the kiddie pool in the backyard and whined that we were bored.  Really???!!!  (I'm rolling my eyes right now.)
And then, Guard started throwing up.
Yep, nine times.  And, he clearly didn't learn from our Christmas Break, post stomach flu FHE about what we do when we feel like we are going to throw up.  He kept walking around looking for me, and then would throw up on the carpet.  Every time.  Except the one time he threw up in my bed while watching Thomas the Train.  Finally, I just stopped everything, sent all the friends home and held my sick baby.  Poor little guy.
He went to bed feeling fine.  I hope I'm not up tonight with a cranky, sick boy.
It's going to be a busy, fun summer at our house.  And..it will be exhausting.