July- Week 2- Upstart Grad, M and D Leave, Night Run, Camp Stuff Sorting

Friday my dad took these cute pictures of the baby girls.  My parents also attended a funeral for my Great Uncle Don.  He was the last of my Grandpa Thompson's siblings alive.  

The kids played really nice most of the day!  

In the evening we attended Ben's Upstart online preschool graduation and assessment.  Anna just couldn't stay awake any longer.  

 Way to go Ben!  I cannot say enough good about this program!  Ben is fully reading and I know I had very little to do with that.  

After the graduation, we went to a birthday party for a neighbor of ours.  They go all out for their one year olds, including this bounce house/water slide!  I love that Ben is flying! 

 This was the last evening we had with my parents before they went back to Florida.  I needed to document that Bethany made great progress the few weeks they were here on pulling up and cruising.  After the kids went to bed that night, we played "heads up" with my sister and parents.

 Saturday I ran 5.5 miles and my parents left.  McKenna went to a birthday party for a school friend and the rest of us ran errands.  We did some yard work in the evening.  

Sunday Ben and Dan finished the Harry Potter Knight Bus.  The one on the right is what the kit/set looks like.  Dan looks up the instruction book online and then finds comparable pieces in the huge Lego collection we have.  

That evening we hung out with the Monica and Dave Munson.   Dave was one of Dan's roommates in college.  

Monday the weather was a little cooler, so I started sorting all the items I've collected for the Stake Girls Camp Missionary Suitcase service project.  The kids were good helpers.  Bridget Moulton came over to play in the afternoon.  After dinner we had to take advantage of family night and 7/11 day by getting free slurpees!  

Hanging and playing outside post slurpees.  

Dan's parents came over that night after the kids were in bed so I could do a night training run with Dan.  He rode his bike beside me on the Legacy trail and was such a great cheerleader.  

 Tuesday, the kids had Summer camps and the sorting continued.  

The kids also had play dates with friends.  In the afternoon the kids all took naps to be ready for our outdoor movie night.  We watched Space Jam! :)  

Wednesday Ben went to his preschool friend Annie's BD party.  McKenna realized that after playing at a friends house for half the day made her kind of home sick.  I had a camp meeting that evening.  

Thursday, the kids had summer camps, and I went visiting teaching.  After lunch we went swimming at the Winegar pool.  Our home teachers came over in the evening and taught a lovely pioneer day lesson.  

Last day before she turned 1!!

July- Week 1- Patriot Camp, Midway 4th of July, Visit Gma Jeanne, Russian Sailor Dance

Friday McKenna had her last day of patriot camp.  They performed the pledge of allegiance, sang a song about the pledge, and recited the national anthem, preambles and more.  

McKenna also won the memorization award for memorizing 6 documents: The Pledge of Allegiance, National Anthem (1st and 4th verses), Bill of Rights, Preamble to the Constitution, Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of the Constitution!!  This was such a cool camp.  They helped the children learn how God had a hand in the founding of our great nation.  They also had guest speakers like Ben Franklin and George Washington.  Grandma came to watch her grandkids perform during their camp closing.  We had a picnic lunch in the park and then Grandma took us all to Hokulia!  

The kids had friends over in the afternoon.  McKenna has been asking for SO long to do a lemonade stand.  Since it was was shady across the street, I decided to finally let her (and Phebe).  They made about $3 in one hour.  Pretty good considering it was only 10 cents for a small cup. Many kind neighbors said "keep the change."  :)  As we were waving to potential customers, we also saw a deer walk across our lawn. 

My parents came to babysit that night while Dan and I got taken out by Dan's parents for Dan's BD!  We went to Ruth's Diner up Parley's canyon.  Then we did some shopping at the outlets in Park City.  We came back to our house for some treats after.  Thank you for the spoiling!  

Saturday I went for a longer run (5 miles).  Dan went shooting with my dad, brother, and uncle Davey.  Then Dan came home and rushed off to a baptism.  After lunch, we went swimming next door.  

After dinner, we gave the kids baths and I painted all the girls' nails!  Then we headed up to Dan's parent's cul de sac to watch the Eaglewood fireworks show!  

Sunday after church, we packed a dinner and headed up to Park City for a hotel night with some of the Websters.  

Because the kids slept from 5-6pm on the drive up to park city, no one was tired until 10/10:30.  Ugh,  That didn't make it very easy for us grown ups to play games.  But we played "Heads up" and had a blast once the kids finally went down.  We had kind of a rough night as a family sleeping in the hotel.  That's kind of always how it goes.  Anna fell of the bed at 3 something.  Then Bethany woke up at 5am and normally at home, we would have just let her cry it out and put herself back to sleep.  But instead I got up to rock her and to make a long story short, neither her, nor I, got back to sleep.  

Monday morning Dan left to go golfing with the men-folk bright and early.  Then I showered, got the kids dressed, went down to breakfast.  Grandma took Amelia and McKenna to shop at a near by fabric store while the kids watched shows and I tried to nap.  The kids then made little bead necklaces and I took them to play at the little park at the outlet malls.  When the guys were done golfing 18 holes, we met them at 5 Guys for lunch.  Then we went swimming at the hotel for a bit, packed up, then headed to Midway for the Nelson Family 4th of July reunion! 

The bike parade was first, then crafts and games, and an amazing dinner!  

We also celebrated Bethany's 1st Birthday with the other July babies.  

We stayed this year through the fireworks show and made it home by 11:30.  

Tuesday McKenna had Gma sewing class.  She had them make pillows to match their bandanna quilts they made last summer.  

That night we hosted our first outdoor movie night in our back yard for the youth.  We watched Star Wars: Force Awakens.  

Wednesday we closed on refinancing our house.  

In the afternoon, I took the kids, with my parents, and went and visited my Grandma Jeanne.  She was at my Aunt and Uncle's house that have a little pool.  The kids had a blast swimming and playing while we visited with my grandma.  

I went straight from there to a dinner with my sister and two of our best friends from VA, Bonnie and Becca!  We ate and then talked for 4 hours!! It was such an awesome little therapy session for all of us!  I love these girls so so much and I feel like I'm a better person just by being around them.  

Thursday we all went to Mickelle's work and had lunch.  Then she took us on a tour of her building where they manufacture medical pumps.  Very cool place and she is loving this company!

Having Grandma in town is so fun for McKenna to play piano duets with!

Russian Sailor Dance 

After that, we went to visit my Condie Grandparents.  We had tacos for dinner then came home and played outside a little.  I gave Dan a haircut that night.  

June- Week 4- Patio Room, Hokulia Luau, AC Broken, Anna's and Dan's BD

Wednesday I was feeling a little "off."  I was kind of grumpy most of the day.  Most likely because our AC was broken and I was HOT!  The kids had fun playing in the kiddie pool though!  My mom came to babysit while I went for a Thyroid follow-up.  

After I got home, we picked up my dad and went to dinner at Zupas.  Then we walked about the Gilgal Gardens.  Really interesting sculptures with poetry and scriptures carved into rocks as well.  

After the gardens, my parents let us hang out with them at their hotel for a bit since they knew my house was so HOT!  Dan worked late that night then supported his brother, Sam, by attending the Salt Lake Hokulia shack opening luau.  

Thursday I ran errands in the morning.  Our patio room was finished that day.  We had quite a bit of water damage due to a leaky roof which needed to be repaired.  The carpet and subfloor was so gross.

The roof got fixed, drywall repaired, new subfloor in some places, mold treated, concrete wall and step epoxy painted, and new carpet squares.  The kids love playing out here now and I love not being worried about mold!  

We swam at Winegar's in the afternoon.  We ate dinner and gave the kids showers in our basement to try to stay cool.  After the kids were in bed (all sleeping in the basement), we hung out outside to try to stay cool.  

Friday we went to the Literacy Program where the U of U chemistry department did come cool experiments and made ice cream for the kids.  Afterwards, we hung out at Swa's house, again to stay cool and out of our hot house.  We ate lunch, played in the swing set, and the kids jumped on the tramp with the sprinklers going.  We went home around 3.  My parents babysat while Dan and I went out for Greek food and the Temple.  After that, we took the kids and my parents to the Bountiful Hokulia shack for their opening luau.  Several of us got up to dance with the real dancers.  

And because I dressed the part, I got to pose for pictures.  Bethany loves selfies! 

That night, because our AC was still broken, and to have a little fun, Dan slept in our patio room with the three older kids.  It was cooler out there than inside our house.  

Saturday the weather decided to cool down a bit, thankfully! I went running in the morning.  Dan did yard work while I tidied up inside.  We ate lunch, then went to the Foxboro splash pad to celebrate Anna's 3rd BD the next day!  Because the weather was about 10 degrees cooler than the day before, the kids were too cold to play in the water much.  They spent more time at the park.  But once we added some Creamies into the mix, everyone had a great time!

Bethany kinda stole the show with her cuteness (and eating grass)!

Knee chub!!

We had a nice canopy for shade.  I used the concrete to warm up.  Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Mickelle came as well!

After the splash pad, we went to West Bountiful Park and had a pizza picnic with two of my roommates from BYU, Katie and Heather!  I love these girls! I love that Utah is a home base for them and I get to see them most times when they come to town!  

Sunday I found Bethany in her new favorite spot.  Under the table is the best!  I'm pretty sure I have a picture like this of all my children.  

Sunday was Anna's 3rd Birthday! We got her some cute little Anna and Elsa dolls that she always plays with in the grocery store check-out line.  She looked at them but wasn't really pleased until they were out of their boxes.  

After church my parents and Aunt Mickelle gave her some more presents.  Mickelle got her some finding Dori stuff and my parents got her a tricycle!  The blurry pictures is a little happy dance! 

Then we headed up to Dan's parents for the Webster family June BD party.  Here's all the June babies. 

Opening presents. 

We sure love our Anna Gayle and her cute little developing personality.  

Anna’s 3^rd Birthday Interview 6/29/16

What is you favorite color? Purple

What is your favorite toy? Ponies

What is your favorite fruit? Oranges

What is your favorite TV Show? Barbie

What is you favorite movie? Rapunzel

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  Bologna (Not really, says mom.  Any fruit)

What is your favorite outfit to wear? Princess shirt

What is your favorite game to play? Go Fish

What is your favorite snack? Fruit Snack

What is your favorite animal? Dory

What is your favorite song? Temples (I Love to See the Temple)

What is your favorite book? I love You Stinky Face

Who is your best friend? Desi, and Mom!

What is your favorite cereal? Treat Cereals

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play Frisbees and balls

What is your favorite thing to drink? Milk

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Blanket

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Treat Cereal

What do you want to have for dinner? Mac and Cheese

What do you want to be when you grow up? A Big Kid

What is your favorite thing to do with our family? Read books

What is your favorite thing to do in school? ----

Monday McKenna started attending Patriot camp with the Stewarts and Whitney. This was a Paul Revere relay race.  

Ben also went to the last week of his Balls of Fun Summer camp.  

Bethany learned a new trick. : /

We got our new air conditioning installed as well!  The big kids went to play at the Alexander's in the afternoon.  

Tuesday Anna went on her birthday date with Grandma Sibber!  They ate at Chick Fil A, shopped at Target, and then had Hokulia.  She had a wonderful time and truly felt spoiled! She got more ponies too!  What more could she ask for? 

Cousin Katie came over to play after lunch.  Then we went swimming next door at the Gunnerson's.  

Wednesday McKenna had a playdate with Whitney.  I took the other three kids shopping for Dan's BD presents then Taggart came over to play with Ben.  My parents and Mickelle came over to hang out in the evening.  

Thursday was Dan's BD!  We gave him presents in the morning.  It was Star Wars themed. :) 

After McKenna went to camp, we took the little three for a bike ride, walk/jog.  The girls did not do so well sitting together in the stroller.  So it wasn't as successful as we hoped.  Dan played Legos with Ben then worked half a day.  My mom helped me make the BD dinner, steak, kebabs, corn on the cob, PDQ balls, and olives.  Then my parents babysat while Dan and I went to a Bee's baseball game!  It was one of their worst games in the last 6 years.  They lost 23-3! :(  So we left after the 6th inning.  Still, we had fun!  Love this birthday boy so much!