Summer Recap {a long post}

I like to get the kids an end of school year gift... this year I decided on this huge inflatable ball from Costco.... just wanted them to have something to play outside.  It was fun for awhile (until it split at the seam and couldn't be repaired)

The boys also got new battery operated squirt guns.

The first weekend of summer, we went hiking on the Dixie hill.  I had accidentally left my phone at home, so I have no pictures to share... while we were gone hiking, my van window was broken and my purse was stolen.  Not a very good start to our summer.

 Brenner joined the summer swim team.  He had practice 4 days a week for an hour and attended 2 swim meets.

We tried to have weekly outings with our friends.  This is the first one... to Ivins reservoir. (We only ended up going there twice)

 

Another outing was the skim park.  The boys have a good time there.

We went camping at Tropic reservoir with Lucas and his family, Grandpa and Grandma Blake and Craig Degen's family.

 We bought passes to 7 peaks, so we headed up north.  We went to a park in Daybreak.  We also went to a BBQ and saw lots of friends from our Oquirrh Park neighborhood.

 The boys had a blast at Lowes with their cousins.

Another friend outing to Veyo Pool.  We spent as much time swimming as we possibly could this summer.  We also went swimming a lot at a lady's house in Ivins.  She would let us use her pool every Wednesday afternoon.

 For the 4th of July, we went to Kanarraville.  Our theme for the parade was "America is Sweet"

 For the evening, we headed back to Ivins and set off fireworks at Grandma and Grandpa Blake's house.

 On July 9th, my sweet mom passed away.  She had been battling cancer for 5 years.  Her body just couldn't fight it any more.  Even with Chemo, the cancer was growing rapidly and had spread into her brain as well.  I think this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.  I miss her so much every day.

 Since we had family in town for the funeral, we had a Sunday BBQ up in pine valley and grandpa took us fishing.

 Another outing with friends... bowling!

 We headed back up north to spend another weekend with cousins.  We went to the Discovery Gateway children's museum.

 We also went to 7 peaks again.  I don't have any pictures because I didn't want to carry my phone around with me.

We have always loved the day of 47 parade float preview.  We were able to go to the preview before we headed home.

I was in charge of our ward's primary float for the 24th (that's the reason our 4th and 24th floats were relatively the same). 

 We had our annual Scholes family reunion in the city of Tropic, UT.  We mostly got rained on all weekend.... but when it stopped raining, we were able to get a couple of hikes in near Bryce Canyon.

 Rain=muddy 4-wheeler ride.

 The day we headed home, there wasn't much rain.  We were able to stop at Red Canyon and go on another hike.

 We got home from the reunion and had a day to pack for our surprise trip to Disneyland!  We hadn't been to Disneyland since before our kids were born, so it was about time we go:)  We spend 3 days in Disneyland and had a blast!

 We were able to hit the beach on the day we headed home... wish we could have stayed at the beach longer.... the kids had so much fun there.

 Now, school has started again... I'm grateful to be back to routines....

4th of July

Since we've moved back to Southern Utah, we've kind of started the tradition of going to Kanarraville for the 4th of July.  Last year we had the kids decorate their bikes for the parade.  This year, my cousin Summer and I decided to go all out and make a float.  

Our theme was "Our founding fathers are the real super heroes" and we had the kids dress up like superheroes.  (Details of the float can be found on my craft blog)

We like to say we won!  They gave the top 5 prizes in no particular order (I say we won:)

After the parade, we went to the program.  We ate lunch at the cobble crest.  Then we ran to Cedar to get a few things for Granny's house.

The kids had fun doing the races... no one won, but at least they all ran.

They had a dunking booth and the big boys really enjoyed that.

After the activities at the park, we went to Cash's house for a family BBQ.  The kids had fun playing with their cousins.  I had fun with my cousins too:)

We headed home to watch the St. George fireworks with the Hammons. 

Good times with good friends.  The St. George fireworks were pretty cool!

4th of July

I thought it would be fun to have the kids go to Kanarraville for the 4th this year.... that's what I always did for the 4th as a kid:)
Sunday night we decorated their bikes for the parade.
Brenner and Joren both won in the races.

(Terek was too shy to race)
Don't they look handsome in their patriotic t-shirts? Super fun weekend!

Fireworks!!!

The 4th of July was rather fun this year. Brenner was so excited for fireworks (as long as he didn't have to hold them and they weren't loud). He especially loved the snakes that grow and the flowers. He would even let Ryan light them in his hand so that he could throw them out in the street and let them spin. He had a hard time waiting for it to get dark to light them. Joren didn't quite understand the concept of fire and I think he got mildly burned a few times. But he loves any activities that involve him being outside.