The week of the 8th - 12th was Pete's last week of swim team this summer. He was dragging his feet that week and was truthfully "over it" after five weeks of swimming in a row, six seemed like too much for him.However, he went and did well and he's gained strength and skills in his swimming this summer! Pete also started his team workouts for Cross Country that week. He doesn't like the early hours, but he's been a trooper with all of his running with Austin this summer. That same week Kendal was also asked to water plants and feed Sadie's cat for a few days. She's a responsible kid when given a task and it was a good accountability for her. She's continued to run every day and has been working with her Cross Country team 2 x a week all summer. The other picture is me and Shaylah on one of our hikes this summer. Most of the weeks we were home I went with Shaylah to Dirkies to hike a couple of days and do walks in the neighborhood with friends one or two other days of the week.
There was a midsummer track meet on the 9th. It was for elementary all the way up to high school so all three of our kids went to participate. Alice did the long jump, shot put, and the 100 meter dash. She put in a good effort in the hot hot weather. Kendal and Peter did triple jump, 800, and 1500. Hard to put places to them all because the ages and stages of everyone involved was so varied, but they were happy with their efforts and so we are too.
Pete and Austin went boating for Young Men's on the 10th. They insisted on twinning and Shaylah and I love it! These two are hilarious.
The kids earned their library rewards from the Twin Falls Library so o the 12th we took them to pick up their prizes and then went out to lunch at Culver's.
July 13th was Good Neighbor Days. Kendal had to head out early to be a part of the set up of the 5k race that the Cross Country team fund raises with. Pete ran the 5k and did a great job. We "conned" Alice into running the mile race by not really telling her how long it was. She ran with Aunt Nessa and Naomi. Vanessa had to prod her along for a good part of it, but she did it and we were proud of her since she's refused to run that far in track for the past few years. After the race we took Pete and Alice over to play in the Disc Golf Tournament at the middle school. Alice had a harder time with how much she was having to throw compared to the rest of us, but she made it into a counting game and ended up having a good time. Pete and I won prizes for the youth and women's section. We made it back for the parade and then let the kids roam the booths and kid's area for a bit before we left for home to escape the heat.
We went out to Raft River on Sunday the 14th to celebrate Cheryl's birthday early. We were all able to make it out for dinner and the kids had a grand time hanging out with most of their cousins. (We'll see Cody, Mia, and crew this next month!)
Pete got to play at Gage's house on the 15th. Since Gage doesn't live close it's been a few weeks since they've all been together. They had a grand time and came home happy! Kendal had her first Driver's Ed drive the next day. She went in nervous, but did well in her town drive. She and her friend Becca get to be driving partners. Alice has found a new friend in a recently moved in neighbor. Her name is Atlas and they've been able to play together a few times.
I took Alice and Pete to Nat-Soo-Pah on the 17th. The Dansie's and Talbots were there as well. (Kendal was stuck with school work / Driver's Ed stuff, so she missed out.) Pete had a blast with Austin and the older boys that were there. Alice started out with the little girls, and quickly gained confidence (especially with the use of a life jacket) to go off the diving boards and roam around the deep end of the pool. The kids had a great time with buddies and the pool wasn't too busy making it even better! They went over to the Dansie's after we got home to watch a movie and have chill time before Pete and Austin headed out to YM's to go Kayaking.
Casey and I celebrated our 18th Anniversary the next day! 18 years on the 18th!! We spent the morning at home with the kids then headed out for an afternoon movie. We watched Twisters and then went to dinner over at the Sandwich Company in downtown Twin. Dinner was delicious and we ended our evening trying out Pickle Ball for the first time. While we don't recommend playing on full stomach's, 100 degree weather, and in casual clothes we still had a great time learning how to play together. We each won two games before we called it good. We meant to go out for dessert at a new place in town, but we were too full from dinner to add more so we went home to finish our evening with the kids. (Kendal had spent the evening out at Alycin's house with her pals.)
Kendal and Peter joined the Dansie's at a friend's pool on the 19th so I took Alice into Twin because she won the weekly library prize. They were having a dragon day so we did dragon crafts and a scavenger hunt that won her a new book! Casey ended her fun afternoon taking her for her ice cream reward she got from the fun run she did the previous week.
Our Stake always does a pioneer celebration in July. So on the 20th we went to the park and enjoyed dinner and the kids played games with friends for a couple of hours.
We headed to Logan on the 22nd for the week. We took the other route going through Pocatello and ended up in Preston to swim with David, Anica, and their boys at Bear River Hot Springs (Previously known as Riverdale). The kids had a great time in the water and Alice and Pete got so much joy out of going down the slides. We went to Big J's for dinner and made our way to my parents afterwards.
On the 23rd Kendal and Pete went for a run in the morning. I took Pete to play with his cousins for the afternoon, and took the girls to visit with Nana for a couple of hours that afternoon. The next day was Pioneer Day. Casey made Kendal and Peter run up at Elk Ridge park before the parade. We sat in our usual area to enjoy the parade. Alice spent most of the parade watching over a Rolly Poly bug. Afterwards the girls went with Casey and I to the park. They played a few games and then we waited in line for the girls to ride the pony's and pet some animals. Alice wanted a balloon animal and the line for that was a bit much, but she got an awesome unicorn and we got some yummy sour dough pizza. We spent the rest of the day at my parents and ended up with a cookout and fireworks with everyone.
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Thursday morning Kendal and Pete ran to Lee's in the morning. We met up with Anica and the boys at the park after lunch. We then went to their house in Smithfield to beat the heat and continue their play. Friday morning Casey had Pete and Kendal run up to Elk Ridge park and around it from my parent's house. Then Kendal went driving with Grandpa. Pete went to the shop with Grandpa and I took Alice to see Nana for a bit in the afternoon. We watched some of the Olympic opening ceremony and the kids had an Olympic themed Lego competition that evening.
It was a rainy morning yesterday, so Casey and David were cut off from working. Andy and Campbell were up throughout the week. They came up with their Razor, and so we all went to Cub River to ride Razors and Four Wheelers. The kids each got turns with Grandpa riding the Four Wheeler's. We came home late last night and are enjoying a relaxing Sunday going to church and watching some Olympic games this afternoon.
