Bottoms up - end of Summer

The first Monday in August was school registration. I helped with the ptso booth for a couple of hours then signed the kids up for school. Kendal will have Mr. Zunino in fourth grade. She's excited to have a few ward buddies in her class, and is ready for school to start! Peter will have Mrs. Williams in second grade. We've heard great things about her and we know he'll have a great year.
We also watched Jemma that day. She wasn't thrilled when I left for the school and Casey tried his best, (she just likes Auntie M more ; ). We've watched her once a week this month. She's a sweetheart, but I'm the only one she'll deal with. Sometimes there's a lap battle between her and Alice, and Alice sometimes treats her like a doll. Other than that it's been good.

I decided to dive into potty training with Alice that first full week in August. She's had enough signs that I decided the time was right. Well we went full force with her and had a lot of hard days in the beginning. She's a strong willed girl! I was back and forth between calling it off a few days in. (She's by far been our hardest to potty train) I'm pretty stubborn myself and I wasn't willing to loose all the progress Alice has made so we've pushed through the rough days. Alice has grown leaps and bounds from her first week, and we mostly have good days. Her accidents are scattered and mostly happen when we are distracted. She's done amazingly well on all our outings the past couple of weeks! We'll get all the way there in time. (I think I feel like an Olympians Mom. So much work behind the scenes for your child's success.)

My friend Carrie was getting rid of things and offered her son's old bike to peter. He's thrilled to have a bigger bike with brakes. Casey has taken him on some rides the past couple of weeks.

I went and did baptisms with the youth the first Wednesday of the month. Casey took the kids to the dollar show at the movies. They saw wonderpark. (No accidents from Alice!). We were homebodies that week. Kendal and Peter even came up with stuffed Animal plays to pass the time Friday. Saturday Casey took the older two peach picking at Northview. He also took them to get books from some money Aunt Peggy gifted them. Funny enough they got books about Dragons the same week uncle Nathan's dragon book came out!

I wanted to end Casey's last week of summer on a good note and after a week of being a homebody we filled this past week with lots of fun.
Tuesday I took Kendal to get a hair cut. She got around six inches taken off. She loves it and it's nice to have less tangles to mess with. That afternoon we took the kids to see the Lion King. Casey bought a bunch of 99c cereal and we got free movie passes with them. It was a good movie (can't compare to the original, but we liked it). Alice decided to spend the second half of the movie taking potty breaks. I think we hit up the bathroom near ten times (she went three!) but the rest were for toots / fun. : / We were a bit DONE with her when we got out. Since the peaches were nice and squishy I decided to be nuts and can the peaches late into that night.

I finnished the last of my peaches on Wednesday morning then we took the kids to the splash pad. Kendal was invited to a ward buddies birthday party and we tagged along for fun. The kids played more at the playground than in the water. Kendal got to pal around with some school mates. Peter got to spend time with Holland. Alice discovered the rope swing and was on that for quite a while.
Wednesday night I took Alice to my beehive activity and Casey took Kendal and Peter to the Cassia County Fair. They ran into Rhett, Aria, and their family. They ate some burgers and went around the 4H and animal barns. Afterwards they grabbed some maple bars and went and watched cow cutting. They had a fun evening together!

Thursday I did an overhaul on the kids closets and clothes and took Kendal and Peter shopping for pants. They're both in between the typical store sizes so we had to go to quite a few places to find things that fit.

Friday we took the kids swimming at the city pool. It was nice and not to crowded. Alice braved the slides this time! Kendal passed the swim test so she could go in the deep end and off the diving board. Peter was into diving for toys and going all around. That afternoon Casey made some homemade ice cream with some of the peaches. The kids devoured it and were very happy with the result!

I wanted to squeeze in one last adventure in last week so we ventured out to Box canyon Saturday. It was more of a hike than I thought and the path was surrounded by poison ivy. Luckily we escaped with only a few scratches. It was a beautiful area and a nice time together enjoying God's lovely earth. After our hike we stopped in Buhl at their creamery for some ice cream.

Sunday the kids wanted to experiment and make slime. So much mess, but they love it a lot.

Kendal has had a goal of sewing something this whole summer. She's played so hard and we've had so many fun other things to distract our time that we put it off. Kendal has outgrown her apron and wanted to make another matching apron set so we finally took the time this week to make them. Monday night I took Kendal and Peter to a friends house. They threw and end of summer movie night in their back yard. It was a very late night (got home at 11:30), however the kids were in heaven paling around with their friends, and enjoying treats.

I got to go to a Bunco night with some ward friends on Tuesday night. It was nice to get a girls night out after so much potty training lately. I took the kids to the splash yesterday with a large group from our ward. The kids had lots of fun with their buddies. Alice even got brave and went into the water at the splash pad!
Last night I was over mutual. I made a tree of life with a "rod" of lights leading to it. We did the activity with just the Christmas lights on. It was a series of questions that if answered yes they progressed towards the tree, if no they didn't. I talked about the tree and what it all means along with how their choices big or small affect where they'll end up. After that we played human battleship that Kristen put together. It was a good mix of spiritual and fun.

Today Kendal's at a play date with her school friend Hannah and we'll have back to school night later. Only a few more days and were back to routine and school life!

Lot's of happenings.

After a long hiatus from loose tooth territory Peter lost a tooth on July 14th. He's currently working on his front two teeth.

On the 15th I went with the youth to the Steadman's slide. The kids had a fun time at the slides. I wandered around taking pictures, playing volleyball, and even braved the slide in my regular clothes. (Thank you tubes with a bottom!)

Casey and I took the kids to Gemstone climbing for our family anniversary outing. Casey learned to belay so Kendal and Peter got to do a few new walls. Kendal did great going up and down everything she came across. Peter was great when he let his fears go. Once he looked down he'd let the height scare him to come down. (He'll get there ; ) Alice didn't want to climb, but just ran around and played in her own way. She loved the harness and shoes (dress up doll!) and bouncing with it on. After we fed the kids lunch, put Alice down for a nap, and put on a movie for Kendal and Peter; Casey and I stole some time away for a date. Our goal is to try new places when it's just us going out. So we went to Blaze pizza. It was a simple date, but much needed and always enjoyed time out with my love.

Happy 13 years Casey! Lucky to be in love with my best friend. Lucky to be in love in every way. . .

Saturday the 20th. We took the kids to play hoops at the school in the morning before it got to hot. They showed me their skills they've worked on this summer at their camps. Both are doing great and enjoyed themselves. Alice sat in a puddle and insisted on taking her skirt off.

That night our stake had our pioneer dinner. Casey, Kendal, and Peter biked to the park and home that night. We enjoyed the company of our community, while our kids had fun with friends around the park. The kids watched the races, and played in the bounce houses and playground.
Monday the 22nd I had a busy day preparing for girls camp. Alice was my shopping "helper" while Casey took the older two to see the Lego movie. They enjoyed the movie and time out with Daddy.

Tuesday I headed off to girls camp for the week. Our camp was up in Alturas Lake area. Tuesday we ate lunch at the lake, got settled into camp, and we put on skits (that I got to help plan), and played bunco that night. Wednesday we went on a hike (long and physically rough on my weak body, but good), then we spent some time in the afternoon at the lake. That evening the girls made dream catchers and we did a faith walk that I got to put together. (The faith walk was a neat experience to plan. I had stations that the girls went to to listen and talk about Christ. They learned about being a beloved daughter of God. How Christ is our Rock, North Star, and Light, and we can be all those things to others, and that we all hold attributes of Christ that make us unique and we get to share them. I got to begin and end the journey with a short speech. It was a very spiritual experience, one I'll never forget!)
Thursday morning I took one of my sweet beehives part way home and made my way back to camp. We made bracelets, and went to the lake again. That night was testimony night. I had the opportunity to help out my little beehive Aubrey (autistic). She was overwhelmed with the emotions and I talked with her about how there was nothing scary, people where just sharing what was in their hearts, and sometimes when we share what's in our hearts tears come out too. Friday we packed up camp and spent some time at the lake before heading home. To say I was exhausted (emotionally, physically, lack of sleep, etc.) was an understatement, but it was a wonderful experience that I'm grateful I could get to know my girls better and see their hearts and beautiful spirits come out!

While I was away Casey manned the house with the kids.  He had to take the kids to the doctors Tuesday morning for Alice and Peter's well checks.
At 2 and a half Alice is 37.8 in tall, and she weighs 28 lbs.
At age 7 Peter is 47.2 in. tall, and weighs 47 lbs.
They got to spend a couple of days playing at Aunt Vanessa's while Casey had a work conference Wednesday and Thursday of that week. Alice still has her love hate relationship with James, Peter played Lego's with David, and Kendal happily had Becca to play with. (I asked Casey if he had anything to add about that week ("we survived" - Casey)

Poor Casey tried to force my tired / spent body to bed Friday night, but we had to pack and such to make our way to Utah Saturday morning.
On Saturday we left bright and early to go down to Springville for Madilyns blessing. All the Darrington's were able to make it to celebrate. The kids were loving Mia's parents back yard and toys. Alice and James pushed around the little cars endlessly. Peter was all about the cars, teeter-totter, and playhouse. Kendal did it all and had a fun time with cousins. Later that afternoon we all went to the splash pad with the Darringtons. The kids got to enjoy more time with cousins and family. (Alice just kept dragging her towel into the water : / That night we stayed at a hotel along with Casey's parents. Our intent was to go visit Cody and Mia again Sunday, but Cody had to leave to do a residency so we didn't.

We chose to take the kids to temple square Sunday. We got to see the visitor centers and listen to someone play a couple of songs on the organ in the tabernacle. Alice was done being good so we didn't get to the anything else.

We made our way to Logan that afternoon. My sweet Nana was in the hospital because she had a stroke and other health issues. She then got moved to a care facility. We were able to visit her Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday while she was there. It was hard to see her so unhappy, but thankfully she got to (demanded to ; ) go home Wednesday. I hope and pray her recovery continues and she improves in health.

Monday we ran a few errands with the kids and then took some lunch out to the boys. Afterwards we picked up some chocolates to take to Nana. Monday night Anica sweetly ushered Casey and I away for a date while everyone had our kids back at my parents house. We chose Tandori Oven for dinner and stole a few minutes shopping.

Tuesday was an easy going day at my parents. Tuesday night I had to jet home because I was scheduled for jury duty Wednesday morning. I went in Wednesday morning just to have the guy go in and confess his guilt before we even finished the "welcome to jury duty" video. (To say I was grumpy about it was an understatement, driving 4.5 hours and taking time out of my life for 20 minutes of service was ridiculous! Note to criminals reading this, - save your fellow peeps and plead guilty before your trial!!) Katherine and my Mom were awesome and watched the girls for me while I was gone, and Anica was a champ and took (a rocky peter) for the whole day. That night we made it easy by having pizza and treating ourselves to Aggie ice cream as a family!!

Thursday I took the kids to the splash pad in Smithfield. We weren't there long (Alice didn't want to get wet and the other two's excitement wore off), but it was a good time nonetheless.

Friday we took lunch out to the boys and visited Nana. She was busy with nurses / physical therapy etc. but it was nice to be around her and her home. The kids got to visit with Aunt Peggy and Linda while we were there too. Peggy spoiled them with some money for books. That evening we made our way to the other end of the valley to eat dinner at Big J and go to the Preston parade with David, Anica, and her family.

Saturday we ended our trip with a home depot build, and some four wheeler rides at the shop. The kids always enjoy doing those things in Logan. Kendal and Peter even get to ride the four wheelers on their own which they love!  I ditched Casey with our crazy / emotional kids last night to go watch Nacho Libre with my YW buddies (when it's quoted non-stop at camp we had to have a girls night to watch it) Pretty much I married an amazing man!!