JULY: a recap

July went by like a flash.... but I couldn't leave it undocumented... if you want to know what we did for the bulk of our summer, here's the highlights...
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Cam and the boys spent the night in our backyard sleeping in a tent just before he left for TDY. The boys LOVED it! I joined them for indoor s'mores and a game of Uno. They were on their own after that! They still talk about the scary ghost story Cameron told them - he got 'em good with that one.

The first week of July the big boys were in summer Science Camp. I thought it would make the no-dad transition a little easier. It went 5 days from 8:30-5:00. They had so much fun and pretty much ate dinner and went to bed after they got home every night - they were so tired. They went to the sand dunes and made valcanoes and sand candles. They went to an Elk Refuge and then swimming in a little lake. They went to the Discovery Center in Boise. They did an egg drop (Landon has plans for a parachute on his next attempt!).

we spent a LOT of time swimming this summer

I got to experience my first set of stitches - okay, it was actually Isaac's first stitches but with three boys I'm surprised it took this long and I'm sure it won't be the first visit to the urgent care for stitches. We passed the time waiting for the doc with a sticker puppet, practicing writing I-S-A-A-C, and a phone call to Cameron. Luckily, I have a great neighbor who took the other kids to her house, gave them dinner and entertained them so I didn't have to drag all the kids with me.

We headed to Utah. Our first stop: Lagoon. Cameron's mom watched the little kids so I could focus on the big ones. It was so fun to do something with just them. I really enjoyed the time I spent with them, watching them have so fun. Austin took his first ride on a roller coaster and it was pure thrill. I love that I got to see it.

next on our Utah agenda was, of course, spending time with Cameron's family. As always, good food and good company.

My dad spent an entire day with my boys. They helped him with yard work and then worked on some of Landon's scout requirements. He helped Landon build a bird house and took extra time at Home Depot to show him all the tools and what they do so he could pass that off in his book too.

After a day with a great friend from highschool - it was so fun to see Lara again and I wish I had a picture - we headed to Park City for a week. We stayed at the base of the alpine slide. The kids looked out the window of our condo every morning anticipating the "rides". They were so excited to be there. We spent a lot of time swimming, hiking, walking, and even a little time on the "rides" (if you can call a bungee trampoline and rock climbing rides.)

We spent a day on the Jordenelle with the boat. We spent a morning at the Farmer's Market at the Canyons. Landon went around asking for free samples. We went on the gondola at least three times. The kids thought it was, yet another, ride. My mom's cool like that and let them ride it as much as they wanted.

Our last night there we went to a disney concert that was so fun for me - music from Lion King, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast... you know the classic disney shows that we watched before Pixar and Hannah Montana took over. Seriously, when I told the kids what we were doing Landon asked if Hannah Montana and Zack and Cody were going to be there!

Also, while we were in Park City our Little Miss Ella learned to sit up on her own. At first it lasted just a few seconds but by the end of July she was a pro.

Last, but not least, we met up with some friends from our Iowa Days. Oh so fun. I'm wishing I had at least one picture. I saw a couple girls I hadn't seen in a year or two. It's as if no time's gone by. I love that.

Then back home to Idaho to wait for Daddy to get back from California. It really was a great summer... I can't believe it's over, but I'm excited to move on to my favorite time of year - Fall!