swim lessons

Summer isn't complete with out swim lessons.  Emily learned the freestyle, backstroke, side stroke,and breast stroke.  The back stroke is definitely her best.  She had to swim the entire length of the pool and back which she is very proud of.  It was really tough for her but she did it, even with people making huge waves from diving board.  She is really trying to learn to dive and she is very close.  Next year is the year.

Jake passed level 3 this year.  He loves the water and doing cannon balls and "twirly wirlies"  off the diving board.  He learned the front and back stroke.    

Hiking

In early July Emily invited me to go hiking with her activity days group.  We hiked this same waterfall in  Nebo Canyon a few years ago but with all the water this year it was even more beautiful. The river was running right next to the path and scenery was spectacular.  It reminded me of camping as a kid in CA. We had to cross a couple of streams and we tried hard not to get wet.  When we got to the waterfall there was still snow and we had to climb up the snow to get to the waterfall.  

The water fall had made a path under the snow and made a cave tunnel.  So we climbed down and went through it. As we did the snow was melting and dripping on us and we ended up quite wet.  It was the highlight of our hike.  I was proud of Emily for being so adventurous!  On the way back we walked straight through the streams because we were already wet.

4th of July

The 4th of July started on Saturday at the carnival at the park. "The best day in Nephi"   This year we spent all our time playing games and earning tickets for prizes.  They earned more than their arms could carry.  They rode on a couple of fun rides, had snow cones, and Emily got a flag painted on her cheek.  It was fun having Aunt Terri hang out with us since Dad was busy helping things run smoothly.  

Monday we left Dad at home and headed to Aunt Jill's for a LaDue party and Fun.  The kid's enjoyed playing on the water slide and the Fire works show.  Robbie and Aaron enjoyed lighting the fireworks and Paul had some illegal rockets that were slightly out of control at times.  Jake almost became a casualty.  It was a great fireworks display.  I still dislike sparklers though.

Camping almost at 6 Mile Pond

At the end of June we planned a camping trip to our favorite camping place at 6 Mile Pond and we couldn't get to it because the road was blocked by a glacier of snow.  There was snow and water everywhere. Lots of little waterfalls.   It was very pretty and soggy.  So we camped lower near a different lake.  A lot of ATV trails were closed but we managed to find a fun one and had fun getting a little wet and muddy.  It was fun to have Aunt Terri come even though she got a little sick.

We were a little bummed thinking we probably wouldn't catch any fish but Devo's pole worked like magic.  It was the only one to catch fish. We had to have a little more patience than at 6 mile but we caught and released 4 fish. Jake did a great job this year with putting them back in the water.  There was know crying at all.  Paul I mean Tommy caught a fish too!  The fish seemed to bite when it was sprinkling on us so we didn't mind getting a little wet now and then.  By the end Jake was wet up to his knees trying to catch water striders.  It's all about the bugs!

It sprinkled on and off while fishing but the real thunder and lightning came half way through cooking dinner.  Paul and Devo tried to keep the fire going for the chicken with a towel and Jill bent over the potatoes with a coat.  It was crazy.  Then it started hailing.  The boys heroically suffered through it to cook us some dinner.  The chicken didn't turn out too good but the potatoes and Cherry cobbler with ice cream was spectacular.  We discovered dry ice!  It rained off and on through the night and I'm so glad we didn't have the tent.  We put vents in the trailer and slept in it, so much nicer than spending an hour putting up and taking down a tent and a lot dryer too. At 6am it started a down pour.  We felt bad for Tommy because it was his birthday and Jill had so much fun planned.  It was just miserable the mud stuck to your shoes 2inches thick it was a work out just walking around the campsite.  We decided to pack it up and go home a day early!  We celebrated Tommy's birthday in his tent  trailer with donuts and presents.  

Baseball

Jake loved playing "coach pitch" baseball.  He improved a lot from the first game.  In the first game he was tagged out and he started crying and didn't want to play.  He didn't really know how to react.  It is a big change from T-ball.  By the end of the season he was okay and just walked it off.  He is a really good hitter.  He's getting better at catching.  In the last few games he was able to catch the ball and get some players out and he really enjoyed telling us all about it.  He liked playing first base or any base.  Devo got to help out at practice and the games and Jake really liked having Dad out there.  Emily enjoyed being the bat girl.  She was very helpful.  She may try softball next year.

Cousin Fun

In June Sammy and Tommy spent a week with us.  While Jill and Paul got to vacation in Cancun.  We had a lot of fun at the beginning of the week.  We went on a bike ride and had a picnic at the park.  Jake and Tommy had fun feeding their lunch to the seagulls while trying to catch them. Sam loved the swings.  We also had tons of fun on the slide and slip-n-slide.  They have become dare devils by jumping and do flips down instead of just sliding.  Crazy!  

Sam was content with the squirt bottle.  He asked for a paper towel and said he was cleaning the outside of my house. He did play in the sprinklers with Emily and actually got wet later.  We also went to the Provo Library and saw a Movie (Kung Fu Panda).  The last part of the week Tommy and Jake were sick with a sore throat and stomach ache so we watched a lot of TV. We love hanging out with our Cousins!

Jake's kindergarten graduation

In May Jake graduated from kindergarten!

They had a fun little program singing songs and reciting an alphabet poem.  Jake loves singing songs. 

Jake received the Reptile Specialist award from his class.  He was very pleased with that.  He knows a lot about snakes and crocodiles.