We decided to go for a hike on a Saturday morning. We haven't been able to hike as much as we did last spring when school was shut down. We decided to do this hike called The Grotto and right at the trail head we saw a rattle snake so I was very cautious on the trail. We went one way up and it was in the heat with no real shade.

Then there was this climb down where you had to hold onto ropes and trees. They found this little stream and everyone stopped and was cooling off in it. Then I said the sign says only 40 more ft to The Grotto. So we decided to go on and after 10 steps all the kids at once exclaimed, "oh wow!" "this is so cool!" Glad we went the last 40 ft.

We had a little snack and hung out there for a bit before taking a different route home which was easier and more shaded thank goodness.

Another Saturday we went up to Snowbasin and did the Cirque hike off the Gondola. It was fun and 10 degrees cooler up there and we managed to find a patch of snow to play in.

 

Steve is trying to take Ellie mountain biking once a week and occasionally Lila goes too.

We've managed to go to Lagoon a couple of more times. We like to go right when they open and have a plan for what rides we want to do. This day Ellie & Steve went and did Cannibal while the rest of went and did Spider a couple of times. Ellie was nervous but as we got our stamp at check-in it said Cannibal and we told her it was a sign today was the day. I want to do that one before the summer is over. Steve and I went back late one night and did Wicked. He likes to now tell everyone he is the first one to do all of the big rides.

We have also been able to swim several times this month. We've been over to Grandma Sue's a couple of times with family friends, we had our neighbors over for dinner and then they invited us over to swim, and then we also swam at our camp prep activity. It's definitely a great way to beat the heat and the boys really enjoy it! So here's to summer fun!

With things more "normal" this summer I feel like a chauffeur. I drove 90 miles yesterday getting kids to and from activities and that doesn't include Steve having to get Marcus to swim lessons because I could not get Andrew and Marcus in classes at the same time or even the same place so I signed them up at separate places and they overlapped by a week, but it has been so good for the boys to have swim lessons.

this is where Marcus likes to sit after swim lessons to warm up (we have videos of the boys in swim lessons but no pictures to post)

Andrew's new violin teacher also offered a week of intensive lessons last week, you sign up for every day and get a big discount so I signed him up. We switched teachers in April to ensure he had a fall spot with this teacher (I've been on a few wait lists for over 2 years with Ellie for violin teachers and she's now lost interest) so I was happy to find Mrs. Clawson and she has been amazing with Andrew. The week was good for him to improve his form while playing. But it also was a lot! He has had 7 out of his 11 summer lessons already -- crazy busy! And his old violin teacher is helping him work on a song for his baptism later this year so we've been doing a lot of violin, but he loves it! Although Friday we went to the splash pad in Syracuse with some friends from the neighborhood that have been doing a Friday play group and he got stung by a bee on his finger and it started swelling so that was exciting to have happen right before violin, fortunately the swelling went down fairly quickly.

Ellie is continuing to do tennis once a week in the heat of the day. And last week she wanted to try summer seminary with a couple of friends so I told her I'd drive them one way if she could get one of the other moms to pick them up. She arranged that and had a good time. She also has sewing in the neighborhood that she can bike too and has been tutoring a special needs boy in our neighborhood once a week so she's busy. She drove to tennis yesterday and did pretty good, getting more and more experience. She decided to add the online Driver's Ed class to her schedule, I'm a little worried about her course load, but she's working hard and we made a goal to be done with all of the classes Term 1 work before girls camp which would give her a little more time towards the end of the summer to do Term 2 and finish everything up. She's a hard worker and it is fun to see her grow and learn.

Lila is enjoying WSU Prep and starting summer dance which took us a little finagling to get a schedule worked out. Last week they started some in person activities in the afternoon at a park in Riverdale. Fortunately I was able to find a nice Year 2 student who lives down Angel Street a little ways to carpool with, that has been a lifesaver! Yesterday, she was able to do the challenge course on Weber State Campus with all of the Year 1 students and today they are launching their rockets in the park. Steve was a great and helped her get it all fixed up Monday night.

Steve has really been a trooper helping me when necessary to get kids to and from, helping kids with projects, and doing little things I need done for girls camp -- yeah that's only two weeks away and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. Then we have youth conference the following week. Then my Dad has two brain surgeries the end of July and Steve's parents may be visiting some time then too. So July will be crazy in a different way. . .I'm not gonna lie some times I long for the days of last summer when things were more limited and we had less to do. I know I have some control over things my kids do, but I honestly feel like they are each making good and wise choices for summer activities and they really only get one extra curricular. I'm just at the awkward busy stage before I get a youth driver, yep that's a year away so I better just buckle up and drive. Seriously I need to get Lila to Projects in the Park. ;)

We went to Idaho for Father's Day weekend. We left Friday afternoon and once again let Ellie drive from about Tremonton on. This time we were in the van because we decided to take the bikes with us. She did really well. We arrived and just relaxed with Mimi & Grandpa for a bit then Steve and I took off with the girls for the Twin Falls temple. While the boys went to a Super Hero Adventure in town. I had a wonderful experience in the Twin temple, it was just what my Spirit needed after a rough week with a lot of high emotions. The temple was so peaceful and we didn't feel rushed (I love the Bountiful temple but they are so so busy that some times they make you feel rushed without meaning too -- lesson for me to stop and enjoy the moments when I can because I know I can be a task oriented person and I never want someone to feel rushed in my presence). The temple matron came in and visited with us before going in which was amazing. Her message invited the spirit and I was so grateful for her thoughts and the time she spent with us. We were finished a little after 7 and I asked if we could just go sit by the font again and they said, "yes! the hour is yours so stay as long as you'd like." So I went back and said a little prayer and just enjoyed visiting with Steve and the girls in that special place.

Meanwhile the boys were having a blast meeting super heroes and watching them conquer villains and even doing an obstacle course themselves. It was great to have something special for them to do while we were away.

Saturday morning we planned to bike out to the dam. We were hoping to get an early start but the boys slept in a little and then it just took time to get everyone ready to go. So we didn't get off until 9:30ish. The boys did great on the way there (it's about 11 miles each way). Then we parked our bikes in the shade and had a little snack that I had packed in the van that we shuttled out there for those that didn't want to go both ways.

Grandpa drove the boys home while the rest of us attempted to bike home. Unfortunately a head wind came up and I was having a hard time and when we finally took a break after about 4 miles I found out Lila was crying. So we called Grandpa to come back and meet us. He found us a couple miles farther down the road and we each took a hit of lemonade from the van again and we all decided to trek on. Grandpa stayed behind us for the next little bit to make sure we were all good. And we finally made it back to the house around 1pm. YAY! We all took a little rest and then we put up the slip-n-slide and hot tubbed and Steve worked on a project my Dad had out. It was a great day!

Sunday we decided to go out to the cemetery. My Dad likes to go visit his Dad every year on Father's Day and I miss going Memorial Day weekend as was tradition growing up, I have almost 5 generations of ancestors on both sides buried in the Rupert Cemetery. Grandpa packed pictures and we talked about the people and even read a short story by Grandpa Delbert Buckley my Dad was just given. It was a nice outing.

We left for home late Sunday afternoon. No one really wanted to go home, but we all knew we had stuff to do the next day. We got home showered and sent everyone to bed. I was feeling a little overwhelmed with the week and the state of the house (I did not get an opportunity to pick up before we left) so I'm praying my heart and mind will be able to focus on the tasks that need to be done and to enjoy the moments as we did this weekend.

We haven't even had a full week of summer yet and we've already made a trip to Idaho, gone swimming, and been to Lagoon. We decided last week to make a quick trip to Idaho after school got out. We left Thursday after Ellie got home from school. She went to get some signatures from classmates and it was her last day at Shoreline so she didn't want to miss it even though there were only 2-4 people in each of her classes. Andrew decided he didn't need to go on the last day which I was fine with. We stopped in Tremonton to charge for a few minutes and decided we'd let Ellie drive the rest of the way to Idaho. Steve sat in the back behind her to try and get some work done (he was really happy with the leg room behind Ellie - haha). Both of the boys were in the back watching a movie and after about 40 minutes something happened with the tablet and they asked for help so Steve reached over the seat to get the tablet and Marcus said, "Wait! Who's driving?" It was hilarious.

Steve fished with the boys for a bit while I relaxed (I had been fighting a headache all week) and Marcus caught a fish pretty quickly. I bought a slip-n-slide to take and was glad because when we got there it was boiling hot so the boys played on it for hours after fishing. Lila even got in on the action for a bit.

It was nice to getaway and it just happened to coordinate with an inspection trip to Boise to see our rental properties. So poor Steve got up at 5:30am on Friday and drove to Boise with Jake and my Dad. It was good for him to see the properties and I greatly appreciate the sacrifice he made to do that. The boys saw a deer in the trees near the house and thought that was great. 

Then we played the card game Skull King with everyone and relaxed for a bit then the boys went outside to do the slip-n-slide again. Then Uncle Kirk next door invited them over to play on the big bounce water house he had up so they spent an hour over there while I picked up and packed us up to head home. Lila had a swim party with all the 6th graders she was pretty excited to attend. We got a little later start driving home than I wanted. I drove so Steve could work. I was praying we could make up some time and not have to stop for charging so Lila could get to the party on time. There was definitely some divine intervention because the trip estimate at the beginning was 3% battery life (which is cutting it close) arriving at 7:16 (her friends were picking her up at 7:15). As I kept driving with a little prayer in my heart the numbers kept getting better and we made it home at 7:07 with 9% battery life. Thank you! Lila had a fabulous time at the party.

Saturday we had a lot of little things that took up most of the day. Lila had a breakfast brunch with her dance team and then I took Ellie to get her 2nd vaccination and we shopped at Target for a bit because she got another $5 coupon. We got home about the same time Lila did and so I had Lila log on to listen to Mrs Gray's last message to her 6th grade class and to figure out Canvas for Weber State Prep she would be starting on Tuesday. Then I took her to get her 2nd vaccination. She picked a cute hair accessory with her $5 coupon and we were in and out fast and picked up pizza for lunch on our way home. Then she had a dance swim party that families are invited to so we decided to take all the kids for a bit. They swam and swam for an hour then we headed home. Andrew didn't want to get out of the towel to buckle up but then he couldn't unbuckle himself when we got home.

I was a little worried about how the girls would feel on Sunday. The most common side effect to the vaccine is fever and chills for a few hours about 12-24 hours after the shot but they were fine. Ellie even lead the music for sacrament meeting again (it's her new calling). Then later that day she showed me a little bump on her neck and I kind of worried about blood clotting so I googled bump near neck after vaccine and found several articles about lymph node swelling near the collar bone or arm pits on the side you get the shot which is exactly where hers is. When I told Steve he said oh that makes sense the lymph node has just tried to absorb the vaccination to protect the body as it figures out a defense plan (good thing my biomedical husband understands, it brings extra comfort). So we're just monitoring it for the next couple of weeks.

I realized Monday morning no one really had any commitments so I thought I'd take the kids to Lagoon right as they opened for a few hours. The kids were excited. I was excited and a little nervous, I didn't want to fight crowds. But it happened to be a great a day. We rode 11 rides in the 2.5 hours we were there and we were able to go around together and do a lot of big rides. It was so fun!! We even rode the sky ride from one side of the park to the other.

Today Lila starts WSU Prep. I'm excited for her to have this opportunity and a little grateful it's a mixture of virtual with in person fun park activities. I think it provide a little flexibility for her first year.

Andrew claimed my favorite spot on the patio as his new favorite morning reading nook.

Ellie is downstairs working on finishing up her online Health class before her summer online classes start. And Marcus and I are chilling. I'm looking for some fun books to read out loud to the boys this summer. So there you have it our grand opening to summer.

Marcus had preschool graduation last Wednesday, May 26th. Miss Jessie is so cute and always does an amazing job. They sang songs, spotlighted each preschooler, and had dessert. His best friend Ollie woke-up with a stomach bug that morning so he participated via zoom, they sang a song from Toy Story, "You've got a friend in me" and he would point at Ollie on the computer screen. He's going to miss him. When I picked him up on Monday all the kids came running out and said, "see you in kindergarten. have me over on your birthday." It was cute, I'm sure Miss Jessie had told them to look for each other and to keep being friends.

Yesterday was field day at the elementary school. Andrew was so excited!! I never officially signed up to volunteer, but they've been sending emails saying they still need volunteers just show up. And Andrew brought home a paper with his time slot and was like, "Mom please come during my time." So I got a bunch of stuff done that morning and hurried up there, got checked in, went outside and the coordinator sent a volunteer in front of me to a station where she was just standing there with three other volunteers in case they need her. She sent me to human foosball because someone was leaving early so I went over there and there were two people and the one doesn't need to leave until next shift which I wasn't planning to stay that long and really the station could be run by one person. . . So I found Andrew, took a picture and came home.

Lila had a drive-by graduation from elementary school today. She was excited to see Mrs Gray in person. Mrs. Gray told Lila to keep in touch via email, I hope they do stay connected this has been such a great year for Lila. She's truly blossomed and I hope it continues through jr high next year. Keep up the good work girl!

I'm ready for school to be out but I don't know that I'm ready for summer. Ellie is still working on finishing up the online class she took this last semester. She is planning to take 3 classes online over the summer, while Lila does WSU Prep. I have the boys signed up for a session of summer swim lessons and then between girls camp, youth conference we hope to go to Idaho a lot to visit.

Over the weekend we finished the backsplash and as I was putting things back on the counter I decided to trade out the kettle for the ice cream maker so we made some strawberry frozen yogurt on Saturday. Here's to summer! 😎