When the Olympics are going on it's the only time you'll see our TV on a lot (even during dinner). Casey grew up in all things sports; there's usually a game on on of the TV's when we visit his parents house. It's been fun to get into a patriotic spirit with the kids cheering on the teams and Olympians through it all! During the last Olympics we had a couple of family "events" so we decided to carry on the tradition.
We had Jem Monday the 26th so I took the girls to the school playground for a bit so Kendal and Peter could get their to do's done. That evening as well as Tuesday night we had a Wii "Olympics" competition as a family where we did Volleyball, surfing, skating, horseback riding, a triathlon, golf, fencing, and target shooting. In the picture below anyone with a star won gold, with 2nd and 3rd meaning silver and bronze.
Thursday morning we took the kids up towards the south hills and shot arrows. Casey got Gold and I got Silver in the adult category. Kendal got Gold, Peter Silver, and Alice Bronze in the kids category. Peter had his well check that afternoon and Casey piggy packed on the appointment and got his coaches physical done. That afternoon Casey took Kendal, Peter, and their friends Tayven, and Austin out around Kimberly looking for Geo-caches. Casey had an app that showed a hand full of hiding places and they spent a little over two hours ridding around town hunting them down. They had such a great time!
On Friday, Kendal and Peter went to their friends pool to swim. They did some competitions against each other in their own little olympics. That afternoon Kendal got to go to the Temple to do baptisms for the dead. The group went early and took a few pictures around the temple grounds.
Casey got to fly out to California that weekend with Nicole an Terry and surprise Cody and Mia for a visit and to be there for the boys' blessing. I was quite jealous that he got to go and see the boys, but I'm so glad he went. Brett and Vanessa were already in California on their summer vacation and Kenny and Cheryl drove out. So Cody and Mia knew they would be there. Casey, Terry, and Nicole managed to keep it a surprise. Mia and Cody were truly shocked and so happy to see them and spend time with everyone! Most of the crew went into San Francisco Saturday afternoon. They hit up china town and a couple of other places as well as Lucas Studios. They crossed the golden gate bridge, but it was foggy so their view from it wasn't anything great. Sunday everyone went to church and they were able to bless the boys! Andrew Allan, and Benjamin Cade Darrington!! The boys are such amazing miracles and continue to grow and thrive! They spent most of the day together then let Cody have quality time with his little family Sunday evening before he started a five week away rotation the next day. Brett and Vanessa left right after church, but the others ended the day watching Olympics in their hotel room. They flew home early Monday morning. It was a short trip, but a very important and wonderful trip!
Back at home on Saturday we celebrated Harry Potter's birthday. I made buterbeer drinks, wands, and broom stick snacks. The kids had Tayven and Austin over and we watched the first Harry Potter movie together while we snacked and shot out endless movie quotes.
Monday evening we went over to the middle school to continue or family Olympics. We started out with disc golf around the school. We didn't make it very far thanks to the sprinklers coming on, and the kids' endurance. Alice declared herself champion and was very proud of her numerous tosses of her Frisbee. Casey of course got Gold. Peter and Kendal tied for Silver, and Alice got Bronze. After that we went over to the track. Casey, Kendal, and Peter ran a couple of races. Casey 1st both times with Kendal and Peter taking turns getting second and third in each race. Alice and I raced and she won both ; ). We also did some long jumping. Casey won Gold in the parents category, and my knees regretted trying for Silver for days afterwards. Peter got Gold in the kids bracket with Kendal taking Silver and Alice bronze.
Tuesday we continued on our family Olympic journey and went swimming. Peter blew us away with his bravery. He swam across the pool twice without stopping to earn his bracelet to dive. He's never done it before and we were very impressed with his courage. Kendal and Peter went diving with Casey. Casey won for the biggest splash, Kendal for most style, and Peter for bravery. There was a floating run on the pool that Kendal and Peter spent a lot of time running across. It was comical to see so many kids loose their balance and fall off. Peter only fell a couple of times and Kendal a few. So we declared Peter the Gold in that event and Kendal the Silver. Alice won Gold for being brave enough to put her whole head underwater / and go down the slides by herself.
Last Wednesday Kendal's young womens group went on a hike. The started at Centenial park and made their way to the Cascade falls. They group got to enjoy a lunch out to Cafe Rio afterwards!
We had decided earlier in the week to go camping and picked Thursday to go since we didn't want to battle with weekend campers for spots. It had sprinkled off and on throughout the day at home, but we didn't let us deter us since overall the sky looked good. We headed out after Kendal's piano lesson with a full car and hopes the dark sky didn't hold a lot of rain. . . When we found a good spot to camp we set up the tent in sprinkling rain, and discovered we forgot matches for the camp stove. We huddled in the tent and ate Friday's lunch. The rain moved on so we got out and played a game of washers, and continued to unload the car. It got dark, and the sky was dark so we retreated into the tent. It rained some more as we went to sleep, but nothing we were worried about. . . until just after midnight. The sky broke free and we had lightning and thunder going on for the better part of an hour. Still not a lot of rain, but it was nerve wracking. Casey and I were ready to call it quits, but we didn't want to chance packing up in the dark during a storm. Kendal was fretting to the side of us, while Peter and Alice were oblivious to it all. Thankfully the lightning moved on and we only endured a couple more light showers during the night. The next morning Casey used the car to "jump start" the camp stove. We ate breakfast and looked at the smoke filled sky. It worried us enough that we thought about going home, the thought of fishing or hiking in mud didn't sound fun, nor did jump starting the stove again to eat lunch. We cut our losses packed up a soggy camp and headed home. Funny enough on our way up the canyon Thursday Alice talked about how she dreamed of camping and spent the time down saying she didn't like it anymore or being dirty. We found out the fire wasn't local, but it still was a bummer to have the air thick with smoke and smell these past days.
We decided to try and salvage the day and went to the movies. It's the first time we've been since before covid. The girls and I haven't been in a couple of years, and Casey and Peter went in Dec 2019 to Star Wars. We decided to go see the Jungle Cruz movie. It was a good mix of Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, and just some wonderful Disney fun. I splurged on popcorn and we all had a wonderful time watching the movie.
Saturday morning we went out to Northview and picked peaches. The peaches were ripe, and so very delicious. Casey also spent the day working on sourdough cinnamon rolls. Anything sourdough is a labor or love, and these did not disappoint. The kids talked us into finishing out our family Olympics with miniature golf. Kendal beat everyone, but we put it into kids vs adults so Kendal won Gold, Peter Silver, and Alice Bronze. Alice was so proud of all of her hits and making it into the holes. Peter was a bit heavy on a few hits and he had to chase a few balls. We ended our Olympics with a family reward of getting snow cones or as Alice called it the "puffy drink".
Casey headed out last night to Boise for another training for work. The peaches were calling my name today so I spent all afternoon cutting up peaches to can and freeze. Kendal and Peter started a basketball camp this morning that goes for a few days. We'll just do our best to stretch out these last days of summer before Casey and I go to work next week and the kids back to school the week after that!
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