July is almost over and never slowed down

 The Monday after our vacation I spent the whole morning doing grades and sending progress reports. Zac had the kids work on cleaning up the house, which included putting away the laundry I had started. That was a huge weight off of my shoulders. Colten started football practice that night as well. He is excited to be back playing again. Colten also got a much needed hair cut lol.

Tuesday night was our Tuacahn night since the play got cancelled back in May. Since Colten had football practice Aspen was able to bring someone and she chose Tashlee. Aspen drove us to Tuacahn, well almost to the whole way (she didn't want to back up in the parking spot). We saw Paige and Ashlyn and Grandma and Grandpa Chris (volunteering) there as well. We were watching Wonderland, the stage musical for Alice in Wonderland. It was a cute show but one I don't need to see again.

Wednesday night we had our first football 7 on 7 game. There was also a lineman challenge so we gave Daxton a ride so he could go. And we had to borrow Brandi's suburban so we could all get there, Aspen was working though. The games were good. It was fun chatting with a few of the other football moms and made me excited for the season to start. SUNYFL had problems getting the equipment in so the season was postponed 2 weeks :( Back to the games, some of the boys were at a scout camp and couldn't make it so Colten played pretty much the whole time and it was a hot night. We played Dixie, Crimson Cliffs and Desert Hills. Colten got a total of 3 touchdowns and batted down 2 balls. I think we won against Dixie and Desert Hills but lost to Crimson. We also got to watch the lineman do tug-a-war against each other. Our lineman went first against Dixie and almost had it but some of our guys fell and couldn't get in sync. They won the next challenge though because they figured out how to work together. Dixie ended up winning the whole thing. They did a final game against Dixie where lineman were able to play. It was fun to watch for sure :)

Thursday I took Colten to the doctor to see what was going on with his finger he jammed back in May to make sure it was broken. Dr. Jocelyn was fun and joked with Colten. We tried to get his finger x-rayed to make sure it was still in alignment but they had someone in there that was still going to be an hour. So Dr. Jocelyn splinted it up and sent us on our way. Oh and our AC was having trouble so our house was not going below 80 degrees, making for a rough night of sleep that week. 

Friday we were supposed to go up to Podunk for the weekend but plans kind of changed. Colten had to go get his finger x-rayed in the morning then him and Aspen joined Angel at her uncles house for some swimming. I worked a little that afternoon but mainly lounged around in the hotness.

Saturday, the kids and I headed up to Podunk for the day. Aspen drove almost whole way up, except when Colten drove the last 6 miles on a dirt road. The kids have gone to Podunk at least a handful of times but it was my first time. Man is it gorgeous up there. The house is a former guard station but the forest service has fixed it up to rent out. My parents brought up their 2 ATV's and their side-by-side so we could spend the day out on the machines. We had brought Rocket with us so we had to tie him to the chair and let him enjoy nature. Because there were 3 of us on the 2 ATV's that meant that either I would be driving the red one or Colten or Aspen would learning to drive it. Colten reluctantly did it but became a fan of it. I rode on the back for a little bit but it was so rough that I switched to Aspen's, not really realizing that there was a padded seat. 

My parents took us up a trail that we ended up with views that looked like we were in Bryce Canyon National Park, but weren't. So beautiful and fun to take pictures. We also found some mud puddles along the drive. My dad loves driving through them but had Colten get off after the first one to show him how it is done. I did the same thing with Aspen and got lots of mud on my shoes and pants. After that, the machines got nice and dirty. 

After we went back to the house for an early dinner, we loaded up the machines and drove to Castow Canyon. Another beautiful canyon with lots of picture opportunities. Colten was disappointed that we didn't take the trail all the way up but due to the fact that we needed to get home, we just drove the pretty part.

Zac spent the day researching what we needed to fix our AC but the store in Hurricane didn't have the part. So we had to wait until the morning to get it but it has fixed our AC for the moment. The kids and I went to dinner at Hollee's on Sunday night and they played a few Nintendo Switch games before it was time to head home.

Monday, Aspen headed off for FSY up at Southern Utah University while the rest of us headed to St. George. Colten needed new cleats and church pants and I needed to pick up my mom's car for my trip to Salt Lake later in the week. Since the older kids in the ward were gone for FSY, the younger women wanted to do like a super activity...so they planned one and invited the Deacons to join. They started  with going to the Cedar Temple for baptisms for the dead. I sent Aspen a picture of her's and Colten's location being a mile apart...she didn't get it at first but then laughed. In the afternoon, the group went to Quail Lake play in the water and it was a hot day. They had a kayak and two paddleboards but everyone had fun. Then later in the evening, we had dinner at the Hardy's (Costco pizza) and what was supposed to be games outside but the rain forced us indoors. We play Big Bunny, the ring on a rope and misdirection game. The kids seemed to have a lot of fun. We had breakfast the next day at the Hardy's and then a hike. We had originally planned a flat but fun hike but it got closed a couple of days before so we had to change to the slot canyon one. Due to having one more person than seats and change of hike, I stayed home. Colten said it was the same hike the deacons did a couple of months back but it was still fun,

Now I am caught up on the words...I'll add pictures this weekend lol.

July never slows down :)

Fourth of July brought the parade and Annika and Channing were able to ride on the float for Dance Fuzion. Tashlee was there as well. Zac and I sat on the parade route next to Hollee's family. Aspen was in charge of collecting candy for Annika and Channing. The parade was shorter but perfect because we were able to stay in the shade for all of it except the very end.

After the parade, Zac took us to Rooster Run for brunch lol. And after brunch, we headed over to the city park to play on the bounce houses and do the boy scouts rope thing. Annika flew through it but had one "fall" while Channing had a few more "falls". They both did awesome. After we got done, the city was cleaning up and we headed home. If I remember correctly, Zac and I took a nap while the girls watched a movie. Annika and Channing went home with their mom when she got off. Aspen and I headed over to Hollee's when it got dark to watch their fireworks. We took Rocket at first but he didn't handle it so well so we took him home and came back to finish watching them. 

I think the rest of the week was spent packing and getting ready to head north. But I did make it a priority to make sure I made some caramel popcorn for the road trip. We were borrowing the Nissan Armada from Doug (yes we borrowed his truck last year) and so grateful it was available for us to use. We headed up to Saratoga Springs on Thursday afternoon and got to Doug and Melissa's early evening. The kids got started playing with cousins and the adults just talked. After dinner, we went outside to play CrossNet. Aspen did pretty good and eventually Zac and I joined. I didn't do great but Zac did. Annika and Channing had fun playing corn hole and doing cartwheels.

Friday brought Jasmine's wedding. We got up and out of there by 9:00 and I was able to go inside and watch the ceremony. I don't do too many sealings in my temple ordinances so it was nice to be reminded of them. I told Zac he needs to be at the next one. After we stuck around for the million pictures that were taken, we headed over to the luncheon. The groom's family did awesome with the luncheon. They had chicken, pasta and green beans with carrots. It was so good. Then the family went back to Doug's for a few hours before the reception. Doug and Melissa had wings and fries at the reception along with a soda bar where people could choose their drink and flavor. We were able to stay long enough for Jasmine and Matt to shove cake into each other's face and the bouquet toss. We didn't stick around for much of the dance since we needed to get up to Brigham City and Bear Lake. We grabbed Colten and headed to the condo. We didn't make it to the condo until about 10:30 and went straight to bed. Zac was bound and determined to do this trip minimal style. He packed Aspen, Annika, Channing, me and himself in one bag (yikes). Then we decided to budget to buy lunches there and not pack up a whole bunch of food and have to bring it back. It took us 5 minutes to unload the car when we got there...it was nice. Great thinking Zac!

The first thing the little girls said when they woke up on Saturday was they wanted to go swimming. So I took the littles and Colten over to the indoor pool to let Zac take his time getting ready. We had the pool to ourselves and Colten discovered the handicap chairs. That afternoon, after everyone else woke up, we headed over to Ideal beach to play on the beach. Zac had decided that on this trip we would budget to eat out for lunch so we didn't haul up a bunch of food to only haul it back home. So, that day the girls wanted to do Subway...go figure lol. Colten was having too much fun playing with his cousins at Ideal beach, and by fun I mean having ice cream too. That evening was the Stewart birthday party where Keith and Leslie were in charge. For those older than 14 we played Shock-potato and for those under 14, they played Drip, Drip, Soak. The potato game was what it sounded like, potatoes with electrical shock things. You pass the potato around and if you get shocked you are out. Aspen made it to like the last 6 players but Jay came out on top. His prize, a Mr. Potato Head lol. The Drip-Drip-Soak game was Duck-Duck-Goose but with a sponge lol. I am pretty sure the kids had fun with that. Then the evening was spent talking and catching up with family members.

On Sunday, Hollee and Darcee's family came over to the indoor pool where, again, we had the pool to ourselves. The kids has lots of fun with each other and the older cousins had little competitions with each other. After that, we went to Mike's to get some fried chicken for lunch and ate it at the cabin. Then we spent the rest of the day at the cabin playing games, taking naps and eating dinner. Hollee was in charge of dinner that night and did chicken tacos. She had left over tortillas so we played the tortilla game where 2-3 people fill up their mouth with water and take turns slapping the others in the face with a tortilla, until someone spits out the water and laughs. I played against my sisters, lost and against Colten, lost again.

Monday morning the family headed over to the east side of Bear Lake to go to my colleague's beach house, more specifically the private beach lol. Abby House was more than gracious and let us hang out on the beach while she cleaned her house getting ready for the next renter's. The east side beach is WAY better than Ideal Beach. Her neighbor's had a water trampoline with a blurp (not sure that is what it is called) where one person launches the other person into the water. Zac did all the kids that wanted to. It wasn't very deep where the tramp was so the kids didn't go too high. Although Oaklee got the highest. Annika, Aspen, Colten and Jeramiah were the kids that got launched. The boys also spent some time digging in the sand to see how big their holes could get. The girls, meanwhile, just built, I think sand castles. At lunch time, the rest of the family left to go over to get lunch and go to Ideal Beach, where my Uncle Keith had rented the water tramp. Zac talked to Tom, Abby's husband, about all sorts of things, while I talked with Abby about work things. We ended up talking for an hour (whoops) while the kids sat in the car playing on their electronics. When we did finally leave, we headed over to Los Primos for lunch. We hung out for a little bit at the cabin, got dinner and then over to Ideal Beach for some Bingo. None of us won but it was still fun to play. The kids did a little more swimming and playing at the playground. The adults talked until dark before heading back to the condo.

Tuesday morning was early for Aspen, Colten and I as we were heading over to Logan to do baptisms for the dead in the Logan temple. Darcee, Jeramiah, Alijah and the grandparents joined us. Alijah was able to baptize Colten for his first time, although no one other than Grandma and Grandpa witnessed it. And Darcee was able to do baptisms for the first time since she was a teenager. I did baptisms as well. The only down side was that I forgot to print temple names for everyone, so dad had some tricky names. But it was so awesome to do that as a family. I swear that I have checked to Logan temple a few times while we were up at Bear Lake and it was always closed for cleaning but was excited to finally get in. Of course, I told the grandkids to ask the grandparents for some Aggie ice cream, which they obliged. Aggie ice cream cones were HUGE! So much so, that none of us ate lunch. Tuesday afternoon brought us to Bridgerland Adventures and some tubing. Darcee and her boys came and went tubing with us, they also did the zip line. Our family did the tubing and Colten did the bungee trampoline. We had so much fun with the tubes, especially doing races against each other. After the hot afternoon at Bridgerland, we went back to the cabin for dinner and then to Ideal Beach for more swimming. Colten, Jeramiah, Alijah and George were trying to do 4-person tower but were unsuccessful. Jeramiah, George and Alijah were able to get a 3-person tower though. Annika and Channing had a lot of fun on the slide that they now have at both pools at Ideal Beach. They also had fun playing with Oaklee and Raven at the pool.

Wednesday morning we had planned to go to Minnetonka Caves and drove up there only to find out that their tours were sold out until later that afternoon. So we did a minor change of plans and went back to Bridgerland because Aspen and Colten wanted to do the ropes course. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Bridgerland the aerial activities were sold out to groups...a little upsetting. But Hollee and her family joined us on the tubes. Raven went down a bunch with Aspen, her mom, her dad and Kayleeya. She was sad when everyone was out of turns. Oaklee enjoyed the tubes as well. Darcee's family may have done the ziplining that day but either way, we had to encourage Darcee A LOT. Her boys bought her ticket to do it and she was scared at the top. But eventually with enough coaxing, she did the step off and did the zip line. We had hamburgers at Bridgerland for lunch and headed back over to Minnetonka.  I was nervous about being too cold but after the first set of upward stairs, Hollee and I shredded our sweatshirts and never put them back on lol. Everyone else kept their sweatshirts on. The cave was awesome as usual. My favorite part was when they turn off the lights so you can experience true darkness. Raven did awesome and held Aspen's hand for 3/4 of the tour and walked the rest of the way. My eyes played tricks a few times but I made sure to hold the hand rail, and my leg was starting to bother me towards the end but I made it the whole way. Again, we spent the night playing games, talking or relaxing at the cabin.

Thursday brought us the trip to Montpelier and the bank Butch Cassidy robbed. It was just the grandparents and Hollee's family that joined us for that adventure. Oaklee and Raven was riding with us every where we went lol. We had fun going through the bank and Aspen picked out a few souvenirs since she wasn't there last year. We then went over to Old Ephraim's statue for some pictures. And we had lunch at Dan's again. We then headed for our final day to Bridgerland, since we were told on Wednesday that they were less busy with groups on Thursday and the kids would be able to go. Well, Darcee had to work a little magic but got Aspen, Colten, Jeramiah, Alijah, George and Kayleeya a ticket to the ropes. Each kid wanted to try the full course...we called them crazy lol. We weren't planning on staying but we did have 5 more tube rides from Wednesday. Annika and Channing wanted to watch the older kids on the ropes course for a little bit before they went on the tubes. They also got to go on the train ride. Then Zac and I wanted to do the gigantic swing when Channing piped up saying she wanted to do it too. So Channing and Zac went first and Channing's face when the swing was released was pure terror lol but after the swing caught, she enjoyed it. Channing had wanted a countdown to the release and I said to do a surprise drop. It totally scared me while we free fell but it was fun. During one of the first swings Zac said "I love you" and I said "I love you...I think". But then totally owned up to the fact that I had chosen to do the swing. The older kids were almost done with the ropes course. Colten did the ball hanging thing on the last level and it was so fun to watch him. Zac gave him a big hug when he came off the course. So cool to see :)

Thursday night we headed over to Ideal beach for one last swim. While in the pool, a wind storm came up and the waves out on the lake were big. Zac asked Colten and the boys (and Kayleeya) if they wanted to go ride the waves. So they took off to the beach. I followed to take pictures, which was windy and I got sandblasted the whole time I stood there. Aspen came down a little while later and wanted to go in so I did too. Zac came and helped me as I kept getting plowed over by the waves lol. It was a lot of fun and everyone had fun.

Friday morning it was a quick pack up for us and on the road to Logan to get some Aggie ice cream. I was done with ice cream so I didn't get any but the kids got a mini and that was their breakfast and didn't complain. We stopped at the Pizza Pie Cafe in Layton because we only get it like once a year since the St. George one closed. We were making the whole trip home in one day so we got completely full and hit the road again. We stopped in Nephi for gas since we could get it for $4.68 thanks to my dad's Flying J card. And the kids and Zac went in to fill up their cups with soda and the attendant asked if they were new or refills. We said refills and she said "you are good...have a nice day". So cool of her. We stopped again in Beaver to get some ice cream at the Creamery. This time neither Zac nor I got ice cream, partly because we were still fill but mainly because they had raised their prices. Aspen took over driving from Beaver to home. It was her first time on the freeway and she did pretty good. We relaxed on Friday night and slept in our own beds :).

Saturday morning we got up, fed animals, picked up Tashlee and then headed out to Enterprise for Nash's farewell. When we got there, Sandy and her family were there already. So, we went to the store for lunch and a stop by a drink place, like Swig but cheaper. Then we spent the afternoon playing and talking. Colten and Zac went outside with Spencer and a few kids to play Kan Jam, which they totally loved. So much so, I went ahead and order the illuminated one for us. Doug and his family got there just before dinner. Colten and Ryan missed dinner due to not hearing that dinner was ready lol. Then we went over to the rec center for some spike ball, pickleball and basketball. Eventually a big game of dodgeball broke out. It was fun to watch. The cousins seemed to be getting along, so much so that they all slept upstairs after they got tired of playing JackboxTV. It was fun to see that as that is what happened with me and my cousins.

Sunday was a pretty calm day. We got everyone showered that needed to shower and headed off for sacrament meeting. Nash did an awesome job with his talk. The luncheon afterwards was amazing. I got a recipe for Elaine's salad she brought. We left shortly after everyone else to give the Palmer's some time as a family. When we got back to La Verkin we dropped the girls off to their mom's and again relaxed. Man we packed a lot into the first half of July.