Peter's baptism, camping, etc.

Last week the Kendal and Peter got to go to the Tews basketball camp from Monday to Thursday. Casey said the kids did really well at the camp. During their waiting time Kendal and Peter read and did some writing. Peter enjoyed himself and had fun at the camp. Kendal liked learning new skills she hasn't done before.

A few photos from last week. Kendal and Alice chilling on the swing. Play dough girl. And . . . . After weeks of a wiggly tooth crusade I told Peter one night that if he pulled his tooth he got to stay up for 1/2 hr. Within two minutes he let Casey pull his tooth and he was thrilled to stay up with us watching a show.

Kendal got to have a "late night" with some friends last Wednesday. We are against sleep overs but have agreed to late nights when appropriate / earned. She got to go to her friend Adi's house and watch Scooby-do out in the back yard with a few friends. We let Peter stay up a bit and play video games with Daddy.

Kendal has worked hard over quarantine and earned enough money to buy a ukulele. It came last Wednesday and she's been picking up things here and there from Dad and online videos.

My parents and Katherine came late Friday evening to celebrate Peter's baptism the next day! On Saturday, July 11th Peter was baptized a member of the church. I got minimal pictures from the day because we were ushered out of the church after the baptism and I was enjoying family afterwards when we ate dinner at Brett and Vanessa's. Aunt Katherine played the piano for the baptism. Grandpa Loosle gave a talk on Baptism. He emphasized the path to the tree of life and how it begins with baptism. Kendal got to play "When I Am Baptized" on the piano; she did a wonderful job. Grandma Darrington and Grandma Loosle got to be witnesses for Peter's baptism. (So neat they could do that!) Peter said he had a wonderful day and enjoyed everything. (Casey said Peter jabbered non-stop after he got out of the water about how warm it was. Casey had to shush him a bit because there was another baptism going on.)  We were able to do a Zoom and have David, Anica, Elliot, Issac, Andy, Cody, Mia, Max, and Madi watch Peter get baptized and confirmed. At the baptism we had Grandma and Grandpa Loosle, Katherine, Grandma and Grandpa Darrington, Brett, Vanessa, and their kids, Nicole, Jordan, and their kids, Terry, Bryker, and Grady.
We are so very proud of Peter he is such a wonderful little man and we love him so very much!
Bonus pic - Grandpa in Short Sleeves ;)

Sunday afternoon we went out to Mermaid Cove Falls and then made our way through some farm land in the Jerome / Eden area. It was a nice and relaxing afternoon with my parents and Katherine.

The kids have been reading this summer and working towards earning prizes at the Twin Falls Library. They finished their goal and we got to go Monday to gather their prizes. Each kid got to pick out a new book, a treat certificate, and a parks pass. Kendal got a book called Smiles. Peter picked Dog Man, and Alice chose Fancy Nancy. Afterwards we took the kids to redeem their coupons at Culver's for kids meals. It's the first time in many months we've let the kids "eat out". We ordered and ate at the tables outside. I'm proud of my readers. Kendal devours books like their sugar. Peter is our reluctant reader, who vocally opposes books yet still finds books he loves and enjoys. Alice is happy to be read anything - especially if it involves princesses, or Fancy Nancy. We're over half way on our family reading goal of 100 chapter books this year!

We have Jemma a couple of times every week. I usually try to take Jem and Alice to the school playground or park to get some energy out. (Sometimes it's a lot of energy and noise for an apartment, and needs to be released elsewhere ; ) The first picture is a BIG deal. I've never gotten Alice to go down the slide on her own. One day she just decided to go and went over and over again!

Thursday we went camping up in Heglar Canyon with Brett and Vanessa. We left Thursday afternoon. Nicole and Jordan went earlier in the week and saved us a nice spot. We set up camp and the kids immediately found a hill to climb and get messy on. (Which they spent the rest of the weekend climbing.) It was such a steep hill we were worried every time they slid / skid / tumbled down it. They ended up covered in scrapes, bruises, and dirt, but mostly smiles and laughs. Kenny joined us that evening as well and camped with us. Friday morning after pancakes and eggs we went over the Sublette Reservoir to fish. Kenny lasted a little while then went home to clean up and take Cheryl out for birthday dinner. Casey caught two out of the three fish! The kids fished / played around. Peter was so excited to watch Brett clean the fish and had to poke and investigate it's insides. (Yuck) We headed back to camp afterwards. They boys cooked the fish and the kids played the afternoon away. Climbing hills, and getting dirty. Nicole and Jordan joined us that evening. They took the kids on a couple short four wheeler rides and we had a nice evening together.

Saturday after we cleaned up camp we headed down to Casey's parent's house. We were all getting together and to put up a basketball hoop. We cleaned up from camping and had some lunch then Casey got right to work digging a big hole and mixing cement for the post. I helped here and there where I could. Kenny and Terry put the backboard together. Jordan and Brett helped Casey. The kids played around, watched TV. Peter and Bryker helped a bit with the hoop but mostly it was a job for the big boys. We celebrated Cheryl's birthday (note the birthday cake frosting that Alice seemed to get everywhere!) and went home late last night.
  

I cannot forget that yesterday was Casey and my 14th Anniversary! We are imperfectly perfect for each other. We were so young when we were married and have become grown ups together. I wouldn't trade our life together for anything. We are lucky and blessed in so many ways. We have three amazing blessings we worked hard to get and an abundance of gratitude for all that we have in life. We have many hopes and dreams for our future. We'll continue to work our way there - continuing to grow together and forward in life. I'm so lucky to be married to my best friend - forever and always!

Finishing out June / July 4th!

On Monday June 15th, my friend Shaylah and I took our boys to the temple to take baptism pictures. I'm glad the grounds crew were around so we could take pictures at an otherwise closed temple. Here's a few of my favorites!

We ordered a climbing dome (and swing to go in it) for our backyard. We got it on a rainy / blustery day so we held off putting it up. The kids begged for us to put it up so we (Casey) built it the next afternoon despite it being another drab day. The kids were so anxious and excited! They've enjoyed it since, and even more now that we have a big swing in it to hold them. I even built a "fort" with it this afternoon.

Peter chose to have a friends birthday party this year for his extra birthday fun. The Thursday before his birthday we went to the city park and he had a handful of ward buddies join us for some pizza and fun. We did bottle rockets, played capture the flag, and mostly just let the boys enjoy their time playing around and seeing each other again since Covid hit. Peter's friends at his party were - Lincoln, Trace, Sam, Gage, Austin, and Deacon!

We went out to Raft River that Friday to spend some time with Casey's parents. Cheryl was super sweet and bought Peter's favorite pizza and a cake so they could celebrate Peter with us early. They gifted Peter his scripture set that he's been excited to get all year! Saturday we helped them clean up some things in the basement and the kids played around.

Saturday afternoon we made our way to Logan where we were spending the next week with my family. Sunday we got to celebrate Peter's birthday and Father's Day! Andy came into town with Campbell, and David, Anica and their boys joined us that afternoon to play and eat. I made dole whips and cake for Peter's birthday. The kids shared their videos with Casey and Grandpa. Casey got a ukelele as his Father's Day present this year. He's learned a lot on it and enjoyed learning to play it. The kids made a treat box with fun sayings for the treats that he got before we headed to Logan.
It was a great day to celebrate the amazing boys in my life!

Casey helped David with work while we were there and my Dad had some of projects around his house that the kids and I helped with. The kids helped paint trim boards on Tuesday and the fence on Wednesday. I also helped paint the house with my parents during the week as well. Katherine was awesome and helped with Alice / the kids most days so I could help with projects as well.

Monday we ran into Billie at the store and she took Kendal and Peter back to Tony's to play with her kids in the sprinklers. I took Alice at the end and she and Maggie had a ball together!
Wednesday afternoon we went out to Nana's house. The kids played the afternoon away with Emma. That night after dinner we went up to enjoy an outing to Aggie Ice Cream. Casey and I drove the kids around campus giving them a verbal tour of our old stomping grounds / happenings. We also pulled out the pool for a couple of days for the kids to play in.

Thursday David and Anica came over for dinner and we did bottle rockets with the kids. They had fun playing. (Alice would empty her bottle of water before it even got put on the launcher - so funny.)

 

Sunday after lunch we met up with David and Anica and went for a walk along the golf course river. It was a beautiful day and the kids enjoyed time with each other. That evening we went out to Nana's and the kids played with Billie's kids. It's always a good time in Logan - the kids are spoiled with love and sweets. We may not have adventured much given life's current situations, but we worked, played, and snacked ourselves silly.

The kids had their dentist appointment this past Tuesday. The office was backed up, but we made it through. Alice did great in the chair instead of my lap for the first time (Thanks to Frozen 2 being played on the TV). Sadly Peter's loose tooth remains intact; we'll get it out one of these days. All the kids are cavity free and did a good job. We celebrated with Jamba Juice afterwards! We had Jemma a couple of days this week (I think she's learning too much from Alice - see below pic with the t-shirt skirt, and doll down the top ; ). On Wednesday I had a YW's activity where a gal in our ward taught us to paint a butterfly.  Casey took the kids out to watch Grady and Bryker's baseball games that night in Filer. The kids had a fun time with cousins that night!

Kendal and Peter have worked hard reading the past month to earn a reading goal from Barnes and Noble. Casey took them Wednesday to get their free books and Peter's birthday treat. They're on track to earn the library's reward in a couple of weeks. Aside from reading and a chore we've kept expectations minimal this summer. After home school we just wanted a relaxing summer without pushing the kids. They have options to do more (school) things to earn rewards, but it's up to them.
This past week Kendal and Peter have been spent most of their lazy summer afternoons playing with friends. They leave for a few hours every afternoon and come home tired and sun kissed. There is a new bike park (aka a couple of mounds of dirt to bike over in a field) that they've enjoyed with friends this week. They sold lemonade and even got away with 3 popsicles in one afternoon (from different houses ;) ). Alice is stuck with us and Jemma most days. She's upset when the kids go, happy when they play here, and takes charge in play time when they're gone.

I won a giveaway for Putter's Golf so we took the kids out Friday morning to play. It was chaos as expected with some real play here and there; nevertheless the kids had a great time and that's what matters. After a while Alice would just take the ball and drop it near the hole to try and hit it in. We ended with a shaved ice and smiles all around. We met up with Kate and her kids at the school park for lunch that day. It's nice being able to do simple play dates again! I gave the boys and Kendal hair cuts on Friday as well. Friday night Casey and I got to watch Hamilton! Out of all of the Broadway shows it's probably one or two on our list of shows we'd love to see. So we were thrilled that Disney + put it out for our viewing awesomeness (especially since we'll probably never fork over hundreds of dollars to see the live show). We enjoyed the show and it was a good addition to our fourth of July weekend!

We opted for a simple at home Fourth of July this year. We went up into the South Hills in the morning and did a short hike to Ross Falls. The falls are low this time of year, but it was still a good morning together! We let the kids spend time with friends that afternoon. I made an apple pie and Casey made homemade coconut ice cream to go with it (DELICIOUS!!). We had burgers, and watermelon. Afterwards we let the kids watch the Great Mouse Detective and eat desert before heading out to fireworks. We decided to head into Twin for the fireworks (7 years here and we've never been around for the fourth). We picked our spot on the CSI campus, played games with the kids and watched fireworks. Alice covered her ears with her blanket the whole time, but in the end said it was "awesome"! Peter didn't like the noise after awhile, but also enjoyed it nonetheless. Kendal enjoyed it all! We came home late and put the kids down while still listening to neighbors partying outside.