Wrapping things up and calling it a Summer!

**School is now officially in session!!**

As promised, I am recapping the past couple of weeks...
This summer went by so FAST!! One minute we are shoveling snow and the next we are sending the kiddos back to school. I really feel like I blinked and summer was over. Ah well...
So, at some point or another this summer, 4 of my old college roommates made their way through town. I was able to meet up with two of them for a fun lunch and it was great!!
This is Nicole. She has two darling little kids and they were so much fun to meet and play with!
This is my roommate Chanelle, whom I was roommates with the longest. She has 4 super cute kids and my kids really hit it off with them. Brinlee and Karissa were BFF's after about 20 minutes!

It was fun to reunite with these girls and I hope to do it again sometime! :)

We had one last summer hoorah and met my parents in Logan...where we lived for a couple of years while my dad finished school. It was fun to visit the old stomping grounds. We went up to USU campus and we visited an old park that we lived by. It has been 20 years since we lived there and it was so crazy to see the changes. We stayed the night in Logan and the next morning we got up and went to Bear Lake where we met Emily, Sean, Andy and Kristin. We spent the day there and then everyone went their separate ways. It was a great way to end the summer.

And, finally....SCHOOL HAS STARTED! The girls are thrilled with their teachers, classmates, and everything else! They love school (so far) and it has been interesting just having Aidan at home. He feels ripped off because he wants a backpack and he wants to go to school too. Someday all too soon.... :(

**A Summer's Tale**

This is a story of three children, a mom, a dad and their super summer adventures...It has been some time since we last checked in with our family, so this is a long chapter in their book of life. It is a tale of swimming, hiking, boating, traveling, happiness, tragedy, and other novelties. Here is our story...

The kiddos spent 2 weeks in Utah. The first was spent being spoiled by their aunt and grandpa. The next was spent in swimming lessons...

We were in Utah for the 24th of July so Grandma and Gramps bought up BIG sparklers for the
festivities!
We went out one day in our canoe and the girls swam in a lake among lily pads. We went to Cave Falls and on the way home stopped off at a swing we found last year that is huge and goes down the face of a mountain.

We went to a nearby lake with our friends the Ashton's. The sand was a great entertainment and it was a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Last week we drove up to Yellowstone (no pics from there...sorry.) And then went down through the south enterance into Teton National Park and into Jackson Hole. We got there in time to see the nightly "shoot out" and it was also the same night that there was a 4.8 earthquake 25 miles away. I didn't feel a thing, but some people next to us mentioned it. The kids loved the shoot out!

We waited in the "town square" park for about an hour. Judy and Gene went with us that day and I am sure they are still recovering from the long drive that it was. This summer we got ourselves a little kitten. It was from a litter that the Ashton's cat had and my kids were so excited to get a cute little pet. We named him Thunder. Unfortunately, our cute kitten was not so lucky when I was backing out of the garage. I am experiencing some trauma over the situation and even though we only had him for about 4 weeks, he is greatly missed. (Even by me a very NON pet lover!) Another addition to our house is this AWESOME tandem bike!! We inherited this beauty from my aunt Tammy and uncle Paul who we LOVE very much!! It has been so much fun to work on and get fixed up. Mike has put in a lot of work. (It used to be bright yellow, but MJ didn't like it so much and we painted it blue. Whatever floats your boat I guess.) It is the funnest bike around and we are so appreciative for our inheritance!!

We took the kids bowling one afternoon. It was Aidan's first time and he loved it. He wanted it to be his turn every time. Cam and Brin realized that Wii bowling is so different from real bowling, but had fun anyway.

(Brin just got a strike!)

Well, this concludes the chapter of "What We Have Been Doing This Past Month". Please check back for more thrilling recaps of 12th anniversaries, roommate visits, school starting and more!

**Water Park with the Ashton's!!**


We were invited by our best friends the Ashton's to go to Ross Park last Thursday. It was a really nice day to go and the kids had SO MUCH FUN!!!!!

Cambree and Sadie got to have a water slide wrist band and they did a really good job going down it alone.
The boys were pretty good for the most part...is it ever fun to take a 2 year old ANYWHERE?!? Here they are sharing and enjoying snacks together.

Brinlee and Tess got to go around the lazy river a few times alone and they were feeling pretty big. Little Piper was my big helper for the day and she helped me babysit Aidan. I paid her a whole quarter...that she ended up leaving in my car...

It is quiet around here this week. My kids are "vacationing" in Utah with my sister "Mi-Mi" and my dad and brother. (My mom is at Girls Camp and I am going to our Girls Camp tomorrow.) I am enjoying the quiet and freedom that is mine this week, but I sure do miss C, B and A!!

Cam and Brin's Minute of Fame!

**And other random stuff....**

Cambree and Brinlee were in the 4th of July parade and it was so much fun for them. Brin debated back and forth whether or not it would really be worth it...you know, because it would be sacrificing a chance for LOTS of candy!! In the end, we explained that chances of being in a parade aren't very often so it is something that she should do while she could.

This was the float from our stake and the one that Cambree rode on. The theme of the parade was "Sweet Land of Liberty". Our float won "Best Theme".
Brinlee rode in the car that leads the "Ray's Crew". (The Ray's crew dances in the parade every year and it is a big crowd pleaser.) She was able to sit in the back next to Santa and throw candy. When they ran out halfway through she said "Santa, did you eat all the candy?" She can't remember what he said back to her.

This is the Ray's Chevron crew. They dance with drying mitts on and put on quite the show. It is hilarious!

These were the shirts the girls wore in the parade, but since it was something like 58 degrees or so and windy, they had to wear jackets and sweatshirts. I wanted a group shot with Aidan...but we know how that doesn't work out EVER! A-Dawg's shirt says Mr. Independent... You think?!?! Last week my friend Rhonda brought her cute kids over for a little water fun--slip n' slide action. While they were here, we got this nest out of our tree that we thought had been abandoned and it had an egg in it. It was fun for the kids to see.
Last week, Mike was a little stir crazy, so we rode with him to a nearby lake where he could put a line in and fish a little. The kids loved it and it was a beautiful day. This is across the lake (pond?) where they took a little walk to. I was instructed to sit on my chair and read and watch the pole in case it moved...It never did... :)
Summer is flying by and it feels like we have had 2 nice warm days. :( Today is 73 or so but it has a cool wind going. Maybe it will warm up again?? Hope so because I saw school supplies being sold today and it made me sad....

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRINLEE**

Brinlee is now 7 years old! Her birthday was on Sunday (Father's Day) and we celebrated it on Saturday/Sunday. She was asked to speak in Primary on Sunday so it was quite the eventful birthday for her.

Here is Brinlee and MJ on Sunday. She is sporting her birthday headband and MJ is wearing his Father's Day ties he received from the kiddies....
Sunday morning we had to get up and open presents immediately!! On Saturday MJ's mom came for a barbeque lunch and gave Brin a new scooter. It was a hit!!

All Brin has ever wanted in life is a snow cone maker. In kindergarten she wrote a little story that when she grew up she wanted to be a snow cone seller and has never let the dream go. Now, she is in "business". She would like to sell snow cones daily for 25 cents. (She looks thrilled doesn't she?)

This was the cake I "attempted" on Friday. It was supposed to be for our party on Saturday, but the cones kept falling over and the repair work was too hard so I gave the cake to the kids to eat on Friday night.... They loved it. (Then on Saturday I made a "Sand Pail" cake off of the Family Fun website and it was a succes!!)

These are sunglasses that our neighbor got for Brin's big day. The kids thought they were hilarious!
And, to finalize this post...I have waited and waited and waited for the weather to cooperate so I could take pictures of my kids in their Easter clothes...Yep. That is right: Easter clothes. The weather has been terrible pretty much forever here. So, after church I tried really hard to get just the right pic of the children. Aidan once again foiled these plans. Here are the results... (Brinlee's is at the top of the post...)

A face only a mother could love.... :)

Yep...It was super fun....
This was actually at the beginning of the photo shoot.... It was all over before it began!