We have done more swimming than ever before this summer. Above, we are swimming with friends at the Bangeter's backyard incredible pool. When summer swim lesson signups happened, both kids said they wanted to pass on lessons. I learned my lesson. Next summer I won't ask for their input. There was a last minute cancellation and I snatched it. I'm glad we got in! Izzy needed a confidence boost. At the beginning of the summer, she seemed to have forgotten everything she has learned in the water. Lessons did the trick. After the first day back at lessons, I got this text: "Isabelle is doing so amazing! I'm thrilled!" Let it be known that both kids asked if we can do more swim lessons. Huh! They savored every moment they had in the pool the week of June 17.
We have been swimming a handful of times at Jessica's in-laws pool in Eagle Mountain. Big thanks to the Crandalls! It's like swimming in our own private pool. It's extra fun when Chris' sister Kelsie and her family join. Our kids get along well and are similar ages. We spent the 4th of July there and had a scrumptious BBQ.
Izzy went to Cantrelle's birthday party. She went last year too and they rent out the entire Riverton pool. It's a blast. At first, Izzy was too scared to jump off the diving board. I dashed home and put on my swimsuit. Last year, I wore my swimsuit and didn't need to get in. This year I came prepared with a good book. Didn't get to read that but it was oh so worth it. Once I had my swimsuit, I basically had to pry Izzy into practicing jumping in the deep end. The rule at that pool is that you cannot jump off the diving board with floaties on and you have to be able to swim to the side on your own. I'm so glad I pushed Izzy to do this. She went off the diving board over 30 times! She's is such a fish! After, Cantrelle's mom texted me commenting on Izzy's skills! James tagged along and he went off the high dive at least 30 times. No fear! Swim lessons are worth every dime. That evening at the Riverton pool was a delight.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Skate Park
James and Taft are buds. They thought they were so cool at the skate park on their scooters. They also thought they were professionals. James came home saying he could do all the hardest jumps. He was dripping sweat. He had the time of his life. He sure is growing up.
Gymnastics
Izzy has been wishing she could try gymnastics. I told her she could do gymnastics this summer. Her friend Rosie in our ward is in the same class and we carpool. Isabelle goes to go to gymnastics on Tuesdays for an hour. Isabelle only has a few weeks of gymnastics left. It seemed like Izzy was really loving gymnastics, but the novelty has worn off. I wasn't too sad to say goodbye. I had only intended it to be a summer thing anyway.
Track
James did track this summer along with Taft. Track lasted for 6 weeks and was on Tues/Thurs evenings for an hour. The heat was blistering at times but James didn't protest. In fact, he lived for nights he got to run. It was the perfect energy outlet for him. There were 3 track meets and watching James race was glorious.
One of my favorite parenting moments to date was watching James at his last track meet. He won all 3 of his events! He won the 50M, 100M, and 400M. I cheered so loud my voice was raspy. James also won the 100M at his 2nd track meet at Taylorsville High. (He only competed in 2 races that week since we had to leave early for a party.) My boy has talent. I was sad to see track end. We will absolutely be signing James up for track again next year. The best news is that Papa will be around to support him at his meets. I sent some videos of James running to my parents. I'll admit, I can't stop rewatching and reliving that sweaty morning at Herriman high where James kicked butt.
3 Mrs. B Camps: Science camp, Beach camp, and Olympics camp
We're not ready to say goodbye to Mrs. B. Isabelle and James had a fabulous time at 3 camps at her house. She lives close and the camps are such a bargain! Camps are 3 days long (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays) and are usually 2 hours each day. The cost is $35 per child. Every time the kids come home with a craft. This year, Olympic medals were a highlight. The camps are the perfect break for the kids and me. Apparently 3 camps wasn't enough! The kids begged me to sign them up for another, but our schedule didn't allow it. (And she has a waitlist!)
Inside Out 2
We met my Grandma, sisters, and their kids in Lehi to see the new movie Inside Out 2. We went on $5 Tuesday. Penny surpassed my expectations and behaved during the movie. Popcorn obviously was a part of the experience. After, we attempted to go to J Dawgs. To celebrate their anniversary, since they were giving out free hot dogs. After seeing the line wrapped around the building, my sisters and I drove away. We couldn't even find a parking spot. Grandma stayed and waited in the beating sun for 2 hours. Then she passed out and hit her head. Things were scary. It brought back emotions from when my grandpa (her husband) passed after a fall and brain bleed. Grandma was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She had a bad concussion, stitches near her eye, a fractured wrist, and lots of bruising/bleeding.
Rock Concert
For our birthday gifts this year, we chose experiences. (remember the cooking class?) Andrew chose a concert by his favorite band, Yellowcard. We got tickets to this event months ago. Yellowcard was the second opening band for Third Eye Blind. They performed for about 45 minutes. Full disclosure here-- I was not a good date. Poor Andrew. It had been an emotionally taxing day with Grandma's fall earlier that afternoon. Penny also was screaming her guts out for my sister and I felt bad about that.
Things were looking up for grandma and she was discharged from the hospital, so we felt okay to go forward with our plans and attend the concert. While we were there, grandma took a turn for the worse and had to return the hospital. I was a hot mess. We ended up leaving immediately after Yellowcard's set and didn't get to see Third Eye Blind. I went to the hospital. I'm glad Andrew was surrounded by other hardcore Yellowcard fans who sang their hearts out because I was not in the mood. Sorry honey. He was very understanding and lost his voice belting the words. I've never seen him jump so much or so high for that matter.
.jpg)
.JPG)
Outdoor Movie at Thanksgiving Point
We don't keep our kids up late often. We stayed up to see "Kung Fu Panda 4" at Thanksgiving Point. Our kids hadn't seen this movie before. It was scarier than I expected, but that didn't stop us from having a good time. The movie began at 9:15pm and we got home a little before 11:30pm. We were watching Daisy for the weekend, so she tagged along too. All children slept hard on the drive home. I got 6 monstrous bug bites. Like the biggest and itchiest things you can imagine. They took awhile to heal. Next time, I will wear pants or bring bug spray. The experience was worth being night owls and I savored sleeping Penny in my arms.
Hiking Bloods Lake
I was in a Bunco group briefly. One of the girls in the group mentioned her favorite hike in Utah is Bloods Lake Trail. I have had this hike on my list to-do for a year! It's a popular hike! Many reviews on All Trails say that the parking lot fills up quickly. To avoid this, we opted to leave at 7:30am to beat the crowds. The empty spots were plentiful when we arrived around 8:30am. When we finished the hike around 10:30, there was a line of cars waiting to park.
It is critical to bring bug spray on this hike!! I've never seen so many mosquitos. Who knew they could bite through my pants, but they found a way. The lake was serene and peaceful. There was still snow! There was a steep part near the end and it took a team effort to make sure all the hooligans made it safely. The trailhead there says it's 1.4 miles to the lake. That was an underestimate. All Trails says it's 1.8 miles each way. By the time we finished the hike, we had walked 4 miles, so it was closer to 2 miles each way. The kids did an outstanding job! On the way there, I got an extra workout in carrying Daisy in the hiking backpack. Utah is beautiful! There's no better way we could have spent Andrew's day off of work.
Basketball Camp
When James grows up he still fantasizes about being an NBA player. I'll be his biggest fan! In the meantime, I signed James up for a basketball camp at Sports City. The camp was 1 hr in the morning for 8 days. It was kind of a lot. Izzy started dreading basketball camp (Ditto) and it often interfered with Penny's nap which complicated things. I wasn't very impressed with a few things one being the ratio of adult to children. One day I counted and there were 17 young children who dribble uncontrollably and 1 adult. Other days, there were fewer kids. Today was the last day (Yippee!!) and there were 11 kids. James had a good time and that's what matters! James got new basketball shoes and now he looks the part of an NBA player. We'll see how he plays during junior jazz basketball this winter. Maybe he got Nana's genes. Nana played college basketball!
- Go early! Our tickets were for 10am. It gets extremely hot and there isn't shade. The bus is also warm.
- The bus leaves every half hour, so plan your arrival time accordingly.
- Pre purchase your tickets.
- If you have young kids, go before they turn 6 years old because they're free!
- Trying the restaurant "Sauce Boss" for McCall's birthday dinner. I'd eat that chicken again and try some different sides. (Skip the greens and mashed potatoes.)
- Reading Harry Potter 1, 2, and 3 with the kids. After we finished each one, we watched the movie. We got drumstick ice cream cones to eat during the first movie and donuts during "The Chamber of Secrets." The movie theater near us is showing the Harry Potter movies for a short time, and we'll take our kids to see "The Prisoner of Azkaban" in theaters in September. Andrew should seriously consider being an audio book reader. His voices are phenomenal as he reads aloud to the children. He gets so into it. The kids started to get scared while we were reading the 3rd book. James came in with nightmares about Professor Quirrell and Izzy was terrified of Dobby. We will be retiring the series once we finish "The Prisoner of Azkaban." After taking a little break, the kids don't seem as afraid.
- Many game nights! We had the Thoman's from the neighborhood over, Cori (my friend from high school) and her husband Steven over. Later this month the Jensens and Bradshaws are coming over too.
