Loveland Living Planet Aquarium

Last week we were able to go to the

 new aquarium with my mom.

  I was really impressed with the

new building and the kids had lots of fun.

 

 

Willow Lake Trail

This weeks hike was the Willow  Lake Trail up Cottonwood Canyon. 

 It was absolutely gorgeous up there.

 

 

 

 

 

Jim weekend

For the past couple years we have had a "Jim Day" to celebrate Father's Day. It's where we go to one of Jim's favorite places- the mountains.  Well this year Jim wanted a "Jim Weekend."  So we headed up to the Uintahs for a couple nights.

The kids were super excited to go fishing. 
Here is Afton with Ethan's Spiderman pole that he used when he was her age.

Group shot the first night. 
Yes, Lilly felt the need to wear a dress for camping :)

Jim and I were surprised how much the kids enjoyed fishing. 

We took up a big bag of cherries from the trees in our back yard. 
 As you can see, Afton thought they were delicious.

Beautiful girl ready to go do a little fishing.

Lost Lake

Jim was able to catch about six fish.  Ethan also caught one. 
The girls were very good at catching sticks, rocks and each other.

It is now a tradition to get a picture of Lilly by this sign each year.

6 year olds ready for a little fishing!

Lucky taking a break from saving rocks from the lake. 

 

Fishing with kids basically means spending
 60% of your time untangling lines and 40% of your time actually fishing. 
Here is Jim helping Lilly with yet another tangle :) 

Handsome kid by the water.

 

Girls Weekend/ Boys Weekend

Ethan had a scout campout on June 13th/ 14th at Goblin Valley.  Since Jim is over that age group in his bishopric duties, he decided to go also.  They left around 1:00 PM Friday and came home around 6:00 PM Saturday night.  That meant while the boys got to hang out together me, Lizzie, Afton and Lilly got to hang out together.

Girls Adventures-

Ours started off with a sick little girl. 

 She was sick all of Friday afternoon and Friday evening.
We went to the drive-thru of Kneaders that night and got some chicken noodle soup. 
Then we came home and watched a few episodes of Cake Boss.

BUT

By Saturday morning she felt much better
so we headed up to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point.

I just liked this picture of the goat.

Dose of 6 year old cuteness

They really liked the rabbits. 
 The fact that there were baby bunnies made it even better.

Perhaps their favorite thing about going to Farm Country.... being able to ride a pony.

Afton wanted to ride the biggest horse they had.

I liked this one because it looks like Lilly's hair is
 blowing in the breeze even though they were only going like 1 MPH :)

Boys Adventures- 

Welcome to Goblin Valley

The Scout Camp area. 

Getting some amazing pictures of the moon.

Jim and Ethan exploring Goblin Valley

Ethan with his the leader over Deacons in YM- our good friend Ted Sierer.

Beautiful!!!

 

Mini Golf

A few weeks ago for Family Home Evening

we went miniature golfing.

  It was a fun night together. 

 

 



Yes,  I realize my 12 year old son is now taller than me. 
A half inch difference.  I am 5'6" and he is 5'6 1/2"

Serious business for a 6 year old

Family selfie

Figuring out strategy with the 6 year olds.

Summer Days

Welcome to summer!!! 

 

 I absolutely love summer and it is my favorite time of year!!

  I say this every year but I love late nights, no school schedules, planning our days how we want, good summer foods, sitting around the campfire in our backyard, no alarm clocks, and I really could go on and on.  I know it may sound crazy but I also love having my kids home with me. 

I have finally managed to tweak summer plans over the years that fit us well.  We have a few things to do in the morning and then we have a fun activity planned for each day.

Each morning the kids need to do the following before we do our daily fun activity.  Plus it is good incentive for them to get these done knowing the sooner they get these done the sooner we can do the daily activity.

• Get Dressed and Brush Teeth
• Jobs
• Worksheet
• Reading

Then each day we do one of the following. 
Lilly especially likes knowing what happens on each day :)

• Monday- Library Day
• Tuesday- Outdoor Swimming Pool Day
• Wednesday- Field Trip Day
• Thursday- Cowabunga Day
• Friday- Science Experiment/ Art Day

Here are some pictures from our first week and a half of school being out.  It is hard to get swimming pictures so maybe those will have to come later.

Library Day

I am not exaggerating when I say this is basically how my kids are
 FOR THE REST OF THE DAY after we come back from the library. 

Lilly has become quite the little reader lately and tries to read anything she can.

The boy who loves to read.

Afton has found magazines at the library and always wants to check them out now.

Field Trip Day
For our first field trip day of summer we went up to the new Curiosity Museum at Thanksgiving Point.  Oh my gosh!!  Amazing!  We were there for over 4 1/2 hours and I had to pull my kids away.  It is a great place for kids to be kids and use their imagination.

HUMUNGOUS climbing area for kids to play in and explore. 
 My kids were in here for over 2 hours!!!

Lilly was a little hesitant at first so I went in
with her but once she got the hang of it she loved it!

If you look closely you can see Liz in her pink shirt.

This is in the water works section of the museum.

Oh how I love my Lizzie!! 

Going to market......

 

 

Science Day

Our first science day was doing Hot Rocks which have been a hit from previous summers.  Put a rock in the oven or on the grill.  Heat it up and then color on it with crayons.  The crayons melt while you color on it making a cool effect.

Grateful this boy still likes to do these sorts of things with us.

Cute little Afton!

Here's to many more days of summer adventures...... 

 Only 9 more weeks to soak it all in.