Summer Fun, Part One

School is back in session, which leaves me some time to sit back and wonder what happened to summer. From swim lessons to family vacations and everything in between, summer flew by leaving us some awesome memories and wishing it would've stayed a bit longer!

Summer started off with three basketball camps right in a row. First Maple Mountain High School, where both Mac and Jaxton earned more medals and trophies than they could carry home, second was BYU camp, where Mac was named to the All-Star team, and third was USU camp, where Mac also claimed a spot on the All-Star roster.

Now that we're officially locals, we attended Springville's Art City Days and rode a few rides.

Swim lessons with Mark are always a big hit.  It was Jilli's first time with swim lessons and by a total of one hour of lessons, she was swimming the full length of a large pool.  Mark said that she's a "natural."

Kim's family came into town from OH and we had lots of fun cousin time.  Among other things, we spent the day at the Spanish Fork Reservoir,

played outside A. LOT. and made lots of messes,

and went swimming at the Provo Rec Center pool.

Before Kim and her family headed back home, we snuck in a quick photo session of the cousins.  What a great group of kids!

The Olsen reunion was a fabulous trip.  Our first stop was at Bear World.

We then made a stop at Mesa Falls

and then we were off to stay in a big cabin in Island Park for two nights.

We also made a stop in Yellowstone

and then we were off to Jackson Hole to stay another night.

Seven years ago was the last time that the whole family had been to Jackson together, so we thought it only fitting to recreate the picture that was taken all those years ago.  The kids have definitely changed and how lucky we are to have added three more to the mix since then.

*Notice that we tried to recreate every detail from the stuffed dog, to the dirty looks, to Beckam sitting in a carseat.

Fourth of July was spent with Nate's family.

It's not summer if you don't run through the sprinklers at least a dozen times.

And that only gets us to about mid-July.  Part two is coming very soon.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

I love baseball season! One, because it signifies warmer weather and two, because I'm a sucker for a boy in a baseball uniform!

Mac had a great season on the Cardinals. His team only lost one game and went on to the second round of the state tournament. Mac started most games as pitcher and then also played first base. He was a good solid hitter, with a beautiful swing, and was a very dependable player. Another mom with a son on the team said that he came home one day after practice and said, "Everyone on our team is pretty good, but Mac is definitely the all-star!"

Jaxton played on the Orioles team.  He played pitcher, 1st base and short stop.  Jax hit great, usually hitting doubles each time he was up to bat.

Beckam played up on the 1st grade Orioles team and did great.  He played a variety of positions and got to the point where he was consistently hitting triples pretty much every time he was up to bat.

Love my boys and love their desire to play team sports and be active!  I hope it remains a lifelong love for them!

Seattle

Nate and I have never been away, just the two of us, since our first anniversary (although once we went to Park City without our kids overnight, but we were only gone for 18 hours, so that doesn't really count). I never really felt bad about it -- our circumstances just didn't allow it since we always lived away from family. But, now that we live back by family, I jumped at the opportunity to meet Nate in Seattle after his work conference was over and my mom, bless her heart, agreed to keep the kids. My parents also offered to take me to the airport so that I wouldn't have to worry about parking and shuttling in. Long story short, between forgetting my luggage and having to return home to get it, two separate lane closures due to construction, lane closures due to a massive wreck on the freeway and getting dropped off at the wrong terminal, it was obvious that I wasn't going to make my flight. I pleaded at the check-in counter for another option and sure enough, the dirty scoundrel offered me one -- a flight that left the next morning and was going to cost me $500. That's when my dear husband Nate stepped in and saved the day. He called customer service, explained my predicament and the agent kindly put me on a flight that left an hour later for $25. It was amazing to me that my husband could bail me out even if he was hundreds of miles away. I love that I can count on that guy anytime, anywhere.

Once I arrived in Seattle, we had a great time. We slept in, went out to eat, toured the area, went to the movies, shopped and reconnected without any little people around.

I do love this man . . .

Hoping it won't be another 11.5 years before we get away again.