SWIM

My kids love the water. From the bath tub, to the sprinklers, to swimming pools, even Adam cannot get enough of good old H2O. Many of our summer days have been spent getting wet at some point and with many more summer days ahead, I don't see that changing. Swim suits are often my kids' outfit of choice.The kids favorite water spot? Grandma and Grandpa Hubbard's pool, hopefully with cousins.

This year, with their courage and their ability to listen growing, we did swim lessons. For two weeks my kids woke up every morning excited to go swim and then even more excited to show dad their new moves. This was such a fun experience.

Noah Lessons

Chloe Lessons

Fourth Fun!

We had a fun full 4th of July this year. Our first activity of the day was to head to the Riverdale parade. Joe, who had to work the whole day, was kind enough to lay a blanket out for us early that morning. I am kicking myself for never taking a picture of all three kids together in patriotic attire, but I did get a few of them as a they somewhat patiently waited for the parade to begin.

The kids ended up with quite a bit of candy, but still their favorite part was watching the motorcycle cops (Joe's co-workers Trent and Nolan) ride up the street with lights and sirens flashing. Never gets old.

I was amazed at the parade at what kids (and several parents) would do for a few handfuls of candy. I later told Joe that I think that people think that they live in the land of the free candy and the home of those brave enough to run in front of cars to get it. Either way, my kids enjoyed it and ended up with a fair share of candy from a safe distance.

We also jumped on the bandwagon and, following Family Fun magazine's recipes made some red white and blue strawberries. The results were not photo worthy, but the kids had fun and they tasted good.

No 4th of July is complete without a swim and BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa Hubbard's house. Playing with cousins is always a highlight

So much fun in fact, that instead of heading back to Riverdale for their fireworks we stayed in Pleasant View, lighting sparklers and watching the show from the backyard.
As we headed out for the parade, Chloe commented that she had been waiting for this day to come all year, I think it was a day that lived up to her expectations. Happy Fourth America!

Dinosaur Park City

Today is Friday, the day we try to go on a hike as a family. I don't yet know where we are going, but I know that if we are as creative with the term "hike" as we have been the past two weeks then we are in for an adventure.

Two weeks ago our fulfillment of this goal was to hike around the Dinosaur Park in Ogden. The day was beautiful, the dinosaurs were huge, and we had a great time.

In between hiking days we stayed busy playing outside on grass, cement, and in any water we could find, including playing at cousin Allie's first birthday party

(Below is a further example of why it might be haircut time for Adam)

Last Thursday, Joe decided we needed a quick family vacation and took us all to Park City. We had so much fun getting away for a couple of days. We acted silly

We slept on drives

The boys got bored and funny while waiting for us girls to finish exploring the outlets

We relaxed and played (note ANOTHER exmple of Adam's awesome, won't lay down to save my life. hair)

Our babies became little prunes with all the time we spent in the pool
We just enjoyed being together all by ourselves with no other commitments or worries.

Our Friday "hike" in Park City consisted of hiking around the Park City Mountain Resort and up to it's Alpine Roller Coaster. Chloe and Noah were a little nervous as they looked at the track extend up the side of the mountain. But when we made it to the head of the line, they were both brave and loved every minute. I'm proud of them, I'm not sure I would have tried it at their age, but I was always kind of a wimp.

We had a great time and returned home to again resume our play, water, play routines. We tried to mix in some yard work, but ended up back on the water phase of our summer.

So another beautiful day is ahead of us, with a hike of some sort waiting to be made. With the promise of a treat at the end of every hike, the kids can't wait to go, and I can't wait to spend another day with my favorite people. I love summer.