Dog Days of Summer

AJ has discovered the joy of a popsicle on a hot day.

On July 10th we went into Korinne's ortho appt expecting her to get some of her braces taken off, but after looking at everything her Orthodontist decided she was ready to get all of them off instead.  Korinne was one happy girl. The braces are off just in time to start middle school in August.

One last picture of Korinne in her braces.

Jameson and AJ wanted to watch the action up close.

All done with braces forever!

Britton joined a new club soccer team this summer with a lot of the kids from his high school team.  They competed in the Cache Cup and played well, but lost in penalty kicks in the semi-final.

Britton borrowed a kit from one of the boys who graduated last year and is on his mission.  The jerseys had last names printed on the back and it took me a long time to figure out what name was on his jersey.  Turns out he is Britton "Wolfenden" this year. Ha!

The boys loved the new car set Adam purchased from a sidewalk sale last Saturday.

My friend Abby rented a big inflatable water slide for her kids' summer birthdays and invited us over for a few minutes before the crowd arrived.  Korinne and AJ were the only ones home at the time so they got to take advantage of the opportunity. 

Korinne loved it, but AJ couldn't decide if he loved it or hated it more than anything.  He kept flip flopping between the two extremes.

AJ thinking about going down again.

When we got Lagoon season passes for Christmas we had NO IDEA that 6 other families in our neighborhood got them, too. One night last week we had a Lagoon night just for adults and had 6 couples together with NO KIDS.  I don't know when I've ever laughed so hard.  We hit Rattlesnake rapids TWICE until every single one of us was soaked!

Adam, Erica, Dave and  Hilary on the Roller Coaster

We had 9 brave people and 3 scaredy cats in the group so our finale of going on Cannibal with all 12 of us together in one car was the perfect ending to a very entertaining evening.

A few days later I was back at Lagoon with Jenna, Korinne, Jameson and AJ for a play group with other adoptive families who had season passes.

Jameson, Almira, Gigi, Issac, Eli, Sophie, Korinne, AJ and Eli

The boys really enjoyed meeting new friends.  Jenna and Korinne took the older kids on bigger rides while the moms stayed with the little ones. It worked out really well.

AJ and Eli

 The boys got out our Pie in the Face game last week and were having the time of their life.  AJ was hit in the face the most and it made him laugh every time.

Adam and Britton went to High Adventure this week up at the Wind Rivers. They used canoes to get to their camping spot and enjoyed a few days being at one with nature.

The campsite

Britton C. and Britton P. on the canoe

While they were gone we hit Lagoon and enjoyed some play time at the park.

One thing I really appreciate about Jenna and Korinne is that they aren't "too cool" to play at a park with little kids.  They jump in and have fun, too.

Korinne hiding during the hide and seek game.

At church today I was just starting to teach my youth Sunday school class when the fire alarm started going off in the building. In all my years of going to church I've never had this happen but we all obediently left the building and waited outside while the fire department came to investigate.  Since no one actually pulled the alarm Adam (the Bishop) was very dutiful to keep everyone out until they could determine what triggered the alarm. We could tell it wasn't a fire, but it very well could have been carbon monoxide or something else.

A firefighter in full gear investigating the building.

After searching the attic area and looking through everything they found that it was simply a faulty sensor in one of the ducts so they cleared us to go back in. Needless to say, there was NO Sunday school today. Ha! We went right into the 3rd hour.  I was just glad this happened in July and not January and that it happened during Sunday School and not Sacrament Meeting. That would have been a mess!

Adam with the boys after the all clear was given.

After church the kids randomly decided to make bread.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the bread turned out so well, but I admit that I was.  They put cinnamon chips in it and it tasted just like the cinnaburst bread from Old Grist Mill or Great Harvest. Delish!

Happy 4th!

Gramma and Grampa came to visit us on Sunday evening and were able to stay until Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday we had a picnic lunch at Merlin Olson Park and the kids enjoyed playing with Grampa and Dad on the playground and wading in the stream running through the park.

 With all of the cousin fun and late nights the week before for Jameson, and AJ's struggle with unstructured time in the summer the boys had a rough few days while Gramma and Grampa were in town but we were able to drive out to Porcupine Dam on Monday night and see some beautiful parts of the valley.  On Tuesday Adam, his parents and the boys went to see Incredibles 2 at the theater before they left around 3:00 p.m.

On the 4th of July we headed to Hyrum for the parade.  Jen, Will, June and Preston were able to come with us.  Jameson just happened to choose the shirt Uncle Mckay gave us last year to wear to the parade.

June and Jameson

AJ waiting for the parade to begin

Jenna and Britton

Korinne

 This was AJ after the parade with his big bag of loot.

Seriously, so much candy.  I don't love dealing with post holiday candy hangovers.

Later that afternoon we all went to the splash pad for some water fun.  For awhile we had the place to ourselves.

We have really enjoyed have Jen and the kids staying at my parents house for a few weeks.  Jameson LOVES having June and Will to play with every day.  Jen even made us this delicious homemade cherry pie from Mom and Dad's cherries! So yummy!

In Town

Jameson was invited to go boating with his friend Beckett on a Saturday in June.  The last time we took Jameson on a boat he absolutely HATED IT, so I was a little nervous to let him go for that reason.  Jameson was so sure he would love it but just as they were getting ready to leave he started to get nervous.  Since the family that invited him are our friends and neighbors they invited Adam to come along, too, so Jameson wouldn't be so nervous.

With Adam along Jameson was able to relax and he ended up really enjoying the experience. In fact, he was even more brave than Beckett for a few activities.

On Sunday, June 24th family started arriving from all directions. Taylor and Jen decided to have their baby, Preston Taylor, blessed that afternoon at my parents house.  Heather came down from Idaho, Tiffany and Abigail arrived from Texas the night before, and Mckay and Tricia were in town from Pennsylvania.  Jen's parents and grandparents and also her sister and family also came to see the blessing so my parents had a very full house.  While my parents weren't physically present they joined us on Facetime from their mission in Independance, MO.

This is the most common look I get from baby Preston.

Our side of the family after Preston's blessing.

Hilary, Mckay, Heather, Taylor, Heather, Tiffany

For a brief 24 hours there were 5 out of 6 siblings together

The cousins always have a lot of fun together creating theatrical productions to be filmed or performed live for a family audience. Here they are dressed up like Clue characters. (Miss Scarlet, Crnl Mustard, etc.)

Korinne, Jenna, Jessica, Elsie, Abigail

Taylor and Mckay getting ready to ride

Heather, Taylor, Mckay, Tricia, Jen, Tiffany, Hilary

On Monday the adults went to lunch.

Some of the older kids started their week at Patriot Camp.  Korinne went back this year as a teen volunteer and helped as a group leader.

Cousins: Quinn M. Korinne, Abigail S., June P., Elsie M., Jameson, Will P.

Jameson, Thomas P, Quinn M.

Heather and Taylor flew out on Tuesday morning to separate destinations.  Taylor went back to China and Heather went to Nashville with her husband Aaron for a conference.  Later that night Heather texted us this picture:

Libbie and Heather

Heather and Aaron were leaving a restaurant to walk back to their hotel in Nashville and she looked at people crossing the street and saw Libbie, our sister who lives in South Carolina!!  What are the chances?!? Libbie and fam were in Nashville on their way back to South Carolina after a church history trip. Neither one of them had any idea that the other was in town so it was a mighty big surprise for a sister who lives in Idaho to bump into a sister that lives in South Carolina in the middle of Nashville, TN. Wow. That is one for the books!

 The next day Mckay and I were able to go on a bike ride to Mt. Sterling.

And everyone who was still in town headed to the Aquatic Center later in the afternoon.

It was nice to watch Jameson in the big pool without a life jacket swimming around confidently. He has come so far from last summer. 

Jessica, Tricia, Thomas, Mckay and Cameron P.

We don't get to see our Pennsylvania cousins very often so it is always nice to spend some time with them.

Jameson on a hike in Prov Canyon with Will and June.

At the end of the week all of those who participated in Patriot Camp got to be involved in the final program. I enjoyed the patriot songs and skits. It is definitely a camp that is Kristen K. approved. 😁

It was a great week and the kids were spoiled having cousins to play with 24/7.  By Friday everyone was gone except for Jen and her kids who will be around for a few more weeks.