Firework Pancakes

I forgot to mention that Cole was excited to make us Firework Pancakes on the 4th of July - he dropped food coloring into several little dishes of batter.  He's our little chef.

4th of July

Our 4th of July festivities were quite simple this year.  On the 3rd, we invited over Chris & Cherae's family, and our neighbors (Scott's family) and did a little firework show in front of our house.  Luckily, the neighbors across the street were also doing theirs the same night and they had some HUGE (expensive) ones that topped off the night.  We had some sparklers, tanks, snakes, fountains, and bottle rockets and it was a great night.  Somehow the boys decided it would be fun to jump over the fountains - yeah, I know that's not a good idea but it still happened despite disapproving looks from the Mommy.  \

Uncle Chris had a sore back and paid big bucks for the boys to massage it for him.  Seriously, he paid big bucks.  I hope it was worth it - the boys were loving the money, of course.

Scott's family

Dare-devil Cole

Carson got air!

I made a cherry pie that was to-die-for, FROM SCRATCH!  I pitted the cherries and made the crust and it really was the best pie I've made.  Now I know Chris' favorite pie.

On the 4th of July, Shayne took the big boys to a movie and I stayed home with Skyler for naptime (which was fantastic for me too!)  After naptime, Skyler and I moved the big boy bed into his room.  Pretty soon, we won't need our crib anymore - that thought makes me happy and sad at the same time.  That evening, we sat at a park closeby and watched the Thanksgiving Point fireworks with Nana & Papa - it was a perfect night!

Parades in June

In June we enjoyed Sunday night concerts in the park - watching Papa direct the band!  After the first concert I reminded my dad how I loved going to concerts in the park as a child and my favorite part was the children's march with the little America Flags.  That got the wheels turning and by the final concert of the month, my dad had purchased flags, made the holding racks, and Wa-Lah - we had flags for the traditional children's march!!  Even my big kids (and nephews) had to go do it (hee-hee).  I love it when my dad scoops up Skyler and carries him for the march too!

The next parade was our city parade - I have a new calling in church (Primary Prez) and I was able to participate in a few of the decisions.  Honestly - I did not have much to do with it, but my small role got Danny a spot on the float as the Lion (it helped that I had a lion costume too).  Only Hunter and Danny participated and it was a lot of work!  There was a parade on Friday evening and Saturday morning.  We had a huge amount of support, lots of kids participating, and it was a great float!  We've been out of town for the past MANY years when this annual parade happens and it was a lot of fun to be a part of the festivities.  Check out the tin-man, it was a spectacular costume.

Danny with his best friends, Ben & Jace.

West Yellowstone - the quick trip

We made a quick trip up to West Yellowstone to be with Shayne's family.  It was a week long event - we just couldn't stay the full week.  Due to lack of cell service while in the park, we got Grandma to ourselves for a whole day - that was sweet!  Love our family!  Just wish everyone lived next door - that would be oh so nice.

We saw lots of bears on this first day in the park - but our favorite was seeing two bears wrestle (play).  The camera makes it look really far away - it was plenty far away to feel safe out of our car - but really - it wasn't this far.  I zoomed in a couple pics to give you an idea of what we saw - that really was spectacular.

Summer kick-start

I didn't take very good pics of this event - but Cole had been saving all of his homework this year for an end of year burning event.  We went with our neighbors and cooked our dinner and then burned the pile of homework.  Cole cracks us up!

I also hosted Cole's group for our neighborhood kid book club for the month of June.  We read a simplified version of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and I had a great conversation with 6 young boys about the book.  We then built small rafts out of popsicle sticks and created a river down our driveway with tin foil.  My boys can say I officially did something cool this summer.  We had a great time doing this!

Swim Team

Hunter has done the recreational swim team for the past 3 years in our community rec center.  And of course, he wanted to do it again this year.  One week before tryouts - we somehow convinced Cole to try out too.  It really wasn't because of anything Hunter or I said - it was simply doable because his best friend, Connor, was trying out.  Peer pressure can be a great thing.  I signed up Cole for a couple of swim lessons to help him learn Breast Stroke fast!  The tryout consisted of 25 yds of 3 different strokes - he didn't know the breast stroke yet.  So, he swam and swam and practiced and practiced - he really worked hard.  If you know Cole well, you'll know that doing anything physical is a stretch for him - he'd rather not be like his big brother.  At his tryout - he passed the backstroke, the freestyle but last minute decided to try the butterfly stroke (he knew that the breast stroke was not working for him).  He actually did really well, but had some flutter kicks in there and did not pass.  He practiced again and was able to re-try his tryout the next week (a kind coach) - still no pass.  BUT HE TRIED!!!  He never complained about the practice or the lessons - he really worked hard.  I know that when Cole puts his mind to something - he's a hard worker.  It was such a joy as a mom to see this quality shine through despite the turn-out.  Maybe he'll try again next year - maybe.  The nice thing is, he's sleeping in till 9 or 10 every morning this summer - and that would not have been possible with swim team practice!  But the best thing is knowing that when he wants to work hard, he really works hard.

End of school

Danny has officially graduated from Preschool.  I'm a little embarrassed by the pomp and circumstance, but Ms. Heather did a fantastic job of making every kid feel SUPER special and loved.  I'm so grateful Danny went to her preschool this year!  He got to announce what he wants to be when he grows up - "a policeman, because they have cool weapons".  He also reminded me several times before the big event that just because he said that, doesn't mean he has to be that - he can change his mind.  He told me that he really wants to be a daddy.

Danny with two of his best buddies.

Here is a pic of the last day of school for the two big boys - they've all grown a lot this year!  Now let the summer begin!

Are you feeling sleepy yet?

This was at church - all 3 big boys had a late night at the drive-in theater with Daddy the night before!

Danny is too big for naps, but nearly everyday if he stops for just 5 minutes during the late afternoon, this is what happens...

This was a different Sunday - he fell asleep sitting in his chair during Singing Time, I picked him up and set him on the floor and he slept another 45 minutes (with the singing and all other chaos still happening!)