July '17- Week 3- Tony Grove Camping, Bethany Turns 2!, Parade Float Preview, Outdoor Movie, Backpacking, Parade,

Right after Patriot Camp ended, we had a picnic lunch in the park, then we headed north for our family camping trip!  Bethany loved helping Dan get the marshmallows for S'mores.  We stopped by Mantua and Wal Mart in Logan because I was a dummy and forgot my tennis shoes!  We got to camp around 3:30 and set up and explored.  

We left to go hiking and around the lake and it started raining pretty quickly once we got started.  So we took cover under some trees to wait it out and see if it would pass.  We thought it was letting up a little so we pressed forward, then it unfortunately started coming down even harder!!  So we kinda ran for it back to our camp.  

There was just enough of a break in the storm for us to start a fire and cook our dinner.  We had hot dogs, reheated grilled zucchini, and grapes.  We had planned to cook some crescent rolls on a stick but the thunder and wind was rolling in and we barely had time to eat and run for cover in the tent trailer.  

While we waited for the storm to pass, we told stories, sang songs, played with their stuffed animals and waited.  We should have had the kids bring in their entertainment bags from the car, but oh well.  Once it finally stopped it was way too wet to start a fire so we had the marshmallows plain.  We decided to go for a quick stroll to burn off their nervous energy and saw piles of snow still in mid JULY!  

We did manage to get the one family picture and a great shot of the beautiful scenery!  

We tried to sleep around 10 but Anna was coughing quite a bit and Ben came up from underneath around 12:45 and it was a rough sleep from there for me.  

Saturday Ben was up at 6:45am but the girls slept in till 7:30!  We ate breakfast and then started celebrating this big girl who turned 2!!  We love our sweet Bethany!

She opened her cards, a glitter light up ball, some new shades, and a mini beanie boo that she immediately called her "baby!"  

We also went ahead and gave her another jumbo marshmallow!

Everyone then got dressed and we packed up most of our stuff.  Then we headed out to try hiking again around 10:45.  It was clear blue skies and just beautiful.  We saw a fly fisherman at the beginning of the hike and he told our kids to come closer and watch.  He caught one fairly quickly and Ben got to help reel it in.  Ben even knew it was a rainbow trout because of a fish poster he got from the Mantua hatchery...3 years ago! His (selective) memory is amazing!  

The kids did great on this hike/nature walk.  It was probably close to 2 miles and we enjoyed the scenery and then stopped to throw rocks in the water at the end.  

We had snacks and packed up and left by 12:40.  The kids were all asleep by 12:55!  We had lunch at Cafe Rio in Logan, then stopped by Jake and Ailin's new place on the way home.  We finally got home by 5 ish and the kids were pretty grumpy.  We did showers and had leftoves for dinner and all kids were in bed by 8pm!!  Overall the kids said they loved camping!  We wish it hadn't rained, but it certainly made for a memorable time!  

Sunday Dan and Ben attended Pres. and Sis. Farnes mission homecoming then we went to our regular church meetings.  Unfortunately, Dan ended up coming home after sacrament meeting due to a "man cold." :(  Poor guy.  Mickelle stayed for dinner that night.  

Monday I ran 1 mile with McKenna (in 11mins.)!  She had been wanting to come with me and we finally did it.  She only needed to walk at .7 miles.  Pretty good! 

We packed a lunch to eat in the car and went to the Days of '47 Parade float preview! (Ben would not even stand in front of the BYU float.)

We saw the Stewart cousins there too but basically just crossed paths.  The kids loved doing all the scavenger hunts to get candy prizes.  

We got home around 2 and the kids just played and had some quiet time.  They also made/decorated these headbands with stickers that Mickelle got for Anna for a later BD present.  

That evening I went to my cousin Marianne's bridal shower.  It was so fun to talk to so many cousins! 

Tuesday we ate breakfast, packed lunches, got dinner going in the crockpot and let for the day to go to Mantua with friends for a swim day.  Ben also made this Lego golf bag and clubs.  Kylee Behunin, Meghan Johnson, Sarah Moulton, and Laura Lewis all came.  I love my time with my friends while our kids play together.  

We left around 5:15 and I listened to my book on the way home.  Dan had the rest of dinner ready for us when we got home.  Ben and Anna stayed up a little late that night because they napped on the way home from Mantua and just weren't tired yet.  

Wednesday I ran 2 miles.  I had a dental cleaning.  Then Bethany had her 2 year check up!  The three older kids played at Dan's office (just down the street) during the appointment.  

Bethany's 2 Year Stats

Height: 32 in (2.3 inch increase in 6 months) 10th percentile (she's growing!)

Weight: 23 lbs 13 oz (1.33 lb increase in 6months) 15th percentile 

Head: Still 50th percentile

Milestones between 18 months and 2 years

Bike practice for the day.

He loves to quote Maui from Moana, "I am still falling!"  

McKenne played at the Alexander's in the afternoon.  Everyone took naps later and then McKenna had Activity Days which was a water party at Karla Mortensen's house.  After dinner we did baths and had a dance party while we waited to set up for our outdoor movie.  

Bethany's favorite "Monkey Song."

"Cello Wars"

Since we weren't getting a great turnout from the youth, we decided to invite some families this time.  The Alexanders, Lewises, and Roths came...along with Quinn Paulson and Scott Schmutz.  We watched Storks and had almost 10 bags of popcorn!  Poor Dan was helping someone with a mental health emergency so he missed the whole thing.  Good times though!  

Thursday McKenna and Ben went to Grandma's Cooking class.  They made pizzas! 

That evening Dan took McKenna and Ben back packing with Uncle Brian and some of the Stewart cousins up to Rudy's Flat.  Once they left for the evening I took the little girls on a little walk around the neighborhood but it was quite hot! 

Dan said the kids did great!  The only down side was Henry threw up around 11:30pm and Brian had to give up his bedding and keep the fire going all night since he and Henry spent the night outside of their tent in case Henry threw up again.  

Ben loved finding that giant snake skin and was super mad Dan wouldn't let him bring it home.  

Friday morning I worked on a grocery list while Anna and Bethany played pretty nice together. 

Then Lizzie over to play.  Bethany enjoyed no one telling her "no" about the lite bright.   

Dan and the kids got home from backpacking around lunch time.  They unpacked and showered and ate. The kids got invited to play at the Alexander's and Dan and I passed out on the couch for a while.  We had a quick dinner before heading to the Bountiful City Handcart Days Parade!  McKenna walked in the parade with her Dance Studio.  

Bethany was adorable waving at everyone! 

Hard to see McKenna, but here she is walking by!

After the parade we went to Hokulia with the Roths and the baby girls lost their shirts so they wouldn't get stained.  ;)

July '17- Week 2- 10K, Patriot Camp, Dan's BD Date, Anna's Gma BD Date, Bedroom Before and After Improvement

Saturday was RACE DAY!!  This was my third 10K.  Not my best time, but not my worst either.  I did most of my training with my friend Kylee from the ward.  It was a big help for me to have someone to be accountable too; she pushed me to go faster for sure.  We stuck together until mile 3 at the first water station.  I stopped to walk just for a bit and she kept going!!  I did end up running most of mile 3 and mile 4, but mile 5 was rough.  I probably walked a total of .5 miles total.  I just felt like I was tired of being out of breath and really wanted to breath normal for a bit.  Not sure how to push through that sometimes.  It's such a mind game.  Anyway- overall I was still proud of my time.  I finished in 59:37 minutes!!  Just under an hour, which was my main goal.  I finished 42/53 runners in my age group (30-39).  I felt pretty good knowing I ran it 6 weeks pregnant too, though Kylee didn't know.  (I think Kylee finished in 56 mins.)    

Here's my race analysis from my Map My Run app.  You can see mile 5 and 6 were not great.  

It was so great to have Dan and the kids at the finish line cheering me on!  They're the best cheerleaders!  

After the race we ate breakfast in the park as part of Farmington Festival Days.  I went grocery shopping and then Dan and I took his car in for an oil change.  I felt so fine that I was quite mad at myself for not pushing myself harder and getting a better time.  We did some yard work and a Vivint salesman came by and I listened to his pitch for 45mins, which I was not too happy about.  I, unfortunately am not very good at turning people away till their "done".  After lunch, the kids played at the Alexander's and we finally hung up pictures in our bedroom since we painted back in March.  We gave the kids showers and baths and then picked up Hannah Kossin to babysit.  Dan and I went out that night with his parents for his BD date.  We ate at the Copper Onion downtown and then saw the new Spiderman--It was so good!

That night I felt so grateful for a healthy body that could run the 10 K in the morning and still feel great the rest of the day!  

*Sad story from the morning: Anna woke up at 6am for some reason.  So when I left early for my race, she thought I was just going on a run in the neighborhood and she decided to go outside and wait for me on the front porch.  We're not really sure how long she was out there but Dan woke up a little before 7am and heard faint knocking on the front door.  When he opened it, Anna broke down and cried and cried and was even a little cold.  Poor thing!  She couldn't open the front door by herself. :(

Sunday I wasn't feeling so well due to pregnancy.  The kids watched Beauty and the Beast before church and we made it just in time for the opening song.  Adam substitute taught in Gospel Principles and did great!  After Webster family dinner that night and kids were in bed, Dan and I spent some time in the hammock outside.  

Monday I felt yucky again in the morning.  McKenna and Ben started their week-long Patriot Camp.  I helped with registration the first day handing out t-shirts.  George Washington was their guest speaker that first day and Ben even volunteered to give the very first opening prayer!  

Later that day I did laundry and worked on finding Priesthood holders to come to girls camp with us.  I felt grumpy and irritable and unfortunately so did Ben at lunch time.  Not a good combination.  

After lunch Anna went on her BD date with Grandma!  Before they left Anna's only requests were Elena of Avalor sunglasses, and watermelon bubblegum.  They went shopping at Target and found lots of Elena stuff, but only regular sunglasses, which is just fine!  They had to hit up the dollar store to find watermelon bubble gum.  

They also went to Baskin Robbins for an ice cream treat.  Anna said she just wanted plain vanilla,  but Grandma thankfully talked her into cookies and cream. (You can't go to an ice cream shop and get plain vanilla! ;) ) She was pretty much in heaven with all her fun new stuff!  THANK YOU Grandma! 

That night Dan mowed the lawn and I took the kids to check their class lists at their school and check on the playground remodel.  

Tuesday I had a thyroid appointment and blood work first thing in the morning.  The doctor told me the results of my ultrasound which was that the overall size of the thyroid glad has shrunk in the last yeat, but there were still cysts all over.  Which is fine, they are benign.  The blood work didin't show a need to adjust the dosage of my meds either.  I went visiting teaching to Shelly and then Anna stayed to play with Lizzie for a bit.  I left there starving and shaking (due to pregnancy) so Bethany and I ran to McDonald's (of all places) and I got a smoothie and some chicken nuggets.  I then played outside a bit with Bethany.  And since it was 7/11 day, Brynn took M and B to get free slurpees on the way home from Patriot Camp.  

We picked up Anna from the Jaynes's and then had lunch.  McKenna got to go to the Leonardo museum with the Hilbig's.  Anna and Ben had Taggart Lewis and McKayla Searle over to play in the afternoon. This video is what the kids did after dinner.  :)  I love their little conversation about feeling like their going super fast.  

 Dan had long church appointments that night.  

Wednesday I felt kinda yucky again and laid down for a while.  Later I went to the church to make copies for girls camp certification.  I picked up kids from Patriot Camp, ate a quick lunch, and then went swimming at the Kofoed's with Brynn and her kids.  We babysat the Winegar's that afternoon and I worked on camp stuff.  Everyone napped that afternoon, except Anna.  Dan helped his brother Jake unload some stuff at his new house and after the kids had showers we set up for the weekly outdoor movie.  We watched the BFG and the Gunnersons and Southams came.  

Thursday I ran 2 miles.  After the kids got off to Patriot Camp I had a 2.5 hour meeting with Erica for camp.  Unfortunately, during that meeting Bethany was needy and whined a lot.  Anna had computer time and watched shows.  McKenna and Ben went straight from camp to sewing and cooking with Grandma Sibber.  They made smoothies and sewed little wallets which Grandma so kindly filled with $5! 

While Bethany napped I napped a little and worked more on camp stuff.  McKenna played at the Alexander's and Ben and Anna seemed to fight non-stop in the afternoon. :(  After dinner we packed a little for a family camping trip coming up.  Anna was unfortunately up late as she had just come down with a bad cough.    

Friday we spent the morning getting groceries and getting ready to go camping!  We were a little late for the final Patriot Camp program where they sang all their songs.  

But what we saw, they did a great job! 

They always love shooting off their paper rockets as well!  

This was all I got on video.  I'm so proud of them and all they learned!  McKenna even received the memorization award again this year!  

Because we just hung pictures in our bedroom, I'm finally posting the before and after pictures of our little bedroom improvement we did back in March.  We framed the windows, textured the walls, got new doors, new bathroom towel fixtures, new outlets, sanded and painted our closet door, and then painted the walls grey.  We love it and can't believe it took this long to do!

Before

After 

Before and After side by side

July '17- Week 1- Boating, Hiking, Midway, Aunt Joan's

Saturday, July 1st, I ran 5.5 miles in 51mins! Not too shabby.  After showering we headed up to Mantua with Adam and Grandpa and went out on the boat for the first time!  The Winegar's ended up joining us as well.  The kids loved tubing!  Even Bethany.  Uncle Jake was nice enough to get McKenna up wake surfing too!  

Bethany really loved the boat!  She loved helping Adam drive and even snuggled with Swa a bit.  My favorite thing was seeing the life jacket push up her cheeks!  We ate Subway sandwiches for lunch.  Anna and I never ended up getting on the tube.  Unfortunately, I felt pretty motion sick most of the time which was no fun, so for the last hour and half I played on the beach with Anna and Bethany.  

Around 4:30 we made a quick stop back at Mantua then headed home.  We picked up groceries then headed to Melissa and Jared Smith's house for a BBQ and outdoor movie.  While we waited for it to get dark enough, the kids jumped on the tramp and played red light/green light a lot.  

We watched "SING" but ended up leaving to come home around 10:00 cause we were so dang tired.  

Sunday before church the kids played with binkies and baby blankets.  After church we attended a double baptism for McKinley Ulmer and Kailee Jamison.  I let Bethany sleep in the car for 15 mins when we got home.  I tried to wake her up and go inside, but she found a soft spot to crash again.  

Dan spent some time in his hammock that evening.  

Monday I ran 3 miles, we all ate breakfast, then we went hiking as a family (and took Camille Roth) up Holbrook Canyon.  It was so beautiful and thankfully mostly shady! Anna even wore her fancy jewelry for the hike.  

Bethany almost fell asleep and I found some wild raspberries!  After the hike we ate lunch and then went swimming at the Gunnerson's!  

Everyone took a nap in the afternoon and we worked on laundry.  We went to Pizza Pie Cafe for dinner then worked on hanging Dan's BD gift (a giant world map) down in the basement.  We headed up to Grandma and Grandpa's cul de sac for poppers, glow sticks, otter pops, street fireworks, then we watched the big Eaglewood fireworks!  

Glow stick fun!

Tuesday was the 4th of JULY!!  

We did some organizing in the morning and gave Dan and Ben haircuts.  We left for Midway around 3:10.  

Anna was a little grumpy due to the heat.  And Ben makes great silly faces.  

We decorated bikes as soon as we got there and the kids rode in the bike parade! 

Then we played some fun games.  Jump roping with a cup full of water!  

I did fancy star hair on McKenna and there was no way to get Anna to ride in the bike parade. ;)  We also did the crafts!  

Bethany got to try the jump roping with Marjorie's friend, there was water balloon volleyball, and of course darling cousins (even matching)!  

We also celebrated July birthdays which was our Bethany!  

Bryson Miles brought his drone so we could get an AWESOME group shot of everyone!  

We tried to hustle out of there but Ben kept disappearing.  We then headed to my Aunt Joan's house for some visiting, street fireworks, then the great Sugarhouse fireworks show!  My Aunt Alyson brought a brand new kitten they just got and Ben fell in love with him to the point of tears and begging for a pet of any kind!  Sorry dude.

Another highlight of Aunt Joan's is the Sparkler Bomb!  Over 500 Sparklers rubber banded together and then lit! 

Wednesday the kids worked on their checklists in the morning (dressed, bikes, piano, reading) while I worked on cleaning off my kitchen counter.  The Alexander's came over to play in the afternoon.  After baths we got the kids to bed on time that night.  Dan apparently needed and pre-bed time nap.  

Then we set up for our first outdoor movie for the youth.  We watched the live action Jungle Book but unfortunately only had three people show up.  

Oh well, still fun!  

Thursday I ran 2 miles and had a girls camp meeting with Erica.  We had lunch and then went swimming at the Kofoed's.  The Stewart's came later and McKenna stayed to swim more with them.  Bethany took a late nap then I gave Anna and Ben showers.  Dan worked late but made it home in time for bed time.  Bethany and Ben were both up a little late that night.  

Friday I worked on a grocery list and order and girls camp stuff.  The kids played pretty well together and even had a tea party.  Anna also wanted to help put Bethany down for a nap but Bethany didn't love the idea.  

That evening Mickelle came to babysit while Dan and I attended the temple for an endowment session and dinner with some ward members (Judy and Bryce Olson, Jeff Novak, and the Moakes) in the cafeteria beforehand.