July 2019

The fun didn't slow down for a single day in July. It just kept happening!

We decided it would be fun to make our very own Waffle Wednesday T-Shirts. Then everyone who came to waffle Wednesday could know who to ask for help. Really though, it was an excuse to use up old t-shirts and it really helped motivate the kids to get out of bed to help setup for the morning.

 We went across the street to Grant Storrs birthday party

 The activities did not disappoint!

 I was nominated as "volunteer of the year" for the City of South Salt Lake. Dean and I got to go to a luncheon with the mayor as well as have our own "float" in the city parade. If you're looking for a parade that will give you lots of candy and you don't have to compete with other kids, I'd suggest going to the beginning of this route!

 Some of us dressed up like superheros! Marissa and her kids came along and Dean rode in the cab with Ezra.

 We missed our neighborhood parade, but made it back for the end of the carnival.

 Then we headed to Jodi's for a pool day. We had the place to ourselves!

 I've trained Ezra to keep his binki and blanket in his bed as a motivation to help him want to go to bed for naps and at night. Sometimes, the little sneak gets away with both of them.

 As part of our "get out pass" we had a day at Lagoon. Dean took a day off so we could go on a weekday and avoid some of the crowds.

We started the day off at the kiddie rides. All the boys were all smiles. 

Except for Ezra. He hated every bit of it! I was most excited to watch him, but he was not in the Lagoon mood that day.

We had some cute friends from the neighborhood who came along. They are 10 year old twins with season passes and they were AWESOME to have along! They gave the boys some positive peer pressure and encouraged them to ride real rides. Lincoln gave in and loved the bigger rides most of the day. It took Oliver until 7:00 that night to "dare" to go on a real roller coaster. Thomas went on everything he was big enough to go on and was a good sport when they didn't let him on. I assumed we'd be out of gas by 5 or 6, but these boys had SO much fun all day! We didn't leave until we got kicked out at 10:00. 

Ezra finally gave in and accepted his term in the stroller for a little R and R.

 We have an overly kind neighbor who gave Lincoln a gift card to the spaghetti factory for his baptism. Lincoln got to treat us all to a nice meal. 

 And a trip to Trolly Square. with at least one who had too much lemonade with their meal.

 These two are such good buddies! Oliver is always thinking of how he can play with Ezra. And Ezra trusts Oliver over his other brothers. This is a shot at Liberty Park playing at the "canyons" the boys love playing hide and seek here.

 Lincoln's first fight. Kind of. I wanted to document it because this is the only picture that reminds me of the violin class Lincoln got to go to for a couple of weeks in July. He was invited to attend a free summer program where the kids learned music theory and then played in an orchestra. Lincoln loved the lessons and atmosphere. He went to the program for 3 hours every morning for 2 weeks. They had recess between classes and a kid pushed him down when he wasn't looking at one of the recesses. He got a nice little shiner to tell the story with.

 We used our pass more this summer too! Ezra had NO FEAR, always going head first down the slides. 

 Dean and I celebrated 10 years together on July 11th of this year! We celebrated in Payson Utah. We decided that because we hadn't saved any money for a big trip, we would have a big staycation and use some things on our Get Out Pass.

We started the weekend at a gun range. Dean is a sharp shooter, and it turns out I can't aim with my right eye, hence I cannot hit a target five feet in front of me.

 We went to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo.

 I must say I'm better at throwing knives than I am at shooting a gun.

 But Dean was pretty good too.

We also went ex throwing and bowling a couple of times. We were on a lane at Fat Cats and I was bowling the game of my life. I think I had 7 spares in a row, then they turned off the lanes on us because they thought we were part of a party. Well, about a half hour later we got to start over, and my game was never recorded. I definitely got cold and had a far worse game.

 The next morning we got an early start and headed to the trailhead of Mt Nebo. 

 I hiked this trail over 15 years ago with some friends and didn't remember it being terribly difficult or long.

 I must have hiked a different trail, because this was a long one! It was beautiful, but it kept going and we finally ended up in a glacier that was too big to pass without any type of end in sight. So, we ate our small lunch and headed back to the car. Nowhere close to a summit, but enjoyed the beauty, and company the whole time. We'd both like to try to tackle that one again on a year with less snow, and a better understanding of what we're getting into.

 On our last day we went to a cherry farm and picked cherries to give to all of the nice people who helped us with the boys while we were gone. (I know, we are quite generous. LMK if you want to watch my boys sometime)

 Then we stopped and did a round of golf... turns out, I'm not much of a golfer. But I did better at the driving range where I could just hit it as hard as I could without a destination. We ended our little trip stopping to see Aladdin at the theater on the way home. It was a perfect little get away!

 This guy will melt your heart if you let him. Even when he gets food all over himself and the wall behind him!

 Holly took us to an awesome new climbing spot up Big Cottonwood Canyon. This Lincoln is turning into a great climber! He has no fear, and he's good at it too!

 Ezra is always the wild card in these adventures, especially if he's feeling like I'm the only one who can help him.

 But the kids usually find a way to entertain themselves and take turns climbing when they want to.

 For one of our Service Wednesday activities we went to a park and handed out otter pops. It was a perfect HOT day for everyone to get a little treat.

 Crazy that this is the only picture that I got of Carson and Khari day! Jodi threw another awesome event that every kid loves! Bounce houses, snow cones, pizza and swimming. Everything great July has to offer.

 We put on a "block party" this year and we had a good first year showing! The Kimball girls across the street were awesome helpers!

 We forged our way back to the rope swing only this time it had been properly hung! I don't have a picture of Lincoln, but he was the most excited and wanted to be the most brave and show everyone how it was done.

Thomas wins the prize for the dirties little boy.

 We even got Dean to try it out!

 Kyle's family was in town, so we're always looking for excuses to get together. Kyle's toy was a drone, so everyone liked to see themselves on it.

 Our big family trip this year was to Capitol Reef National Park. I had never been to the park, and it was a drive into the middle of nowhere, but it did not disappoint.

This kid got an extra treat with sprinkles on his ice cream.

 We picked apricots every day we were there. 

 Oliver was anxious to climb to the top of these sand dunes. After climbing on them, it was clear they were not sand dunes, but dunes that were not meant to be climbed on.

Our friend told us about a six mile hike down a slot canyon in a river. I was a bit skeptical because it was such a long hike for the boys, but they did awesome and we all agreed it is our favorite hike we've ever done as a family! The first two miles was walking in a dry riverbed, and they boys didn't exactly love that part. 

 But just in time, we found "Sulfer Creek". Every step for the last 4 miles was in the water and we LOVED it!

  I thought these boys would certainly run out of energy after only a mile or two in the water... but the happy playing, splashing, sliding, running and swimming in the water lasted until about the last five minutes of walking. It really was an amazing hike, and a perfect day for it!

 The next day we were going to try to explore a slot canyon one day, but stopped for lunch before the dirt road. While we were eating, a giant rain storm came in and the rangers hurried down to close the canyon and get everyone out. We had left the fly off our tent and I was certain we were in for a long last 24 hours with everything we brought drenched. We were blessed in so many ways! The rain came before we went into the slot, and as we drove back the eight mile road, the clouds cleared and we found that not a single drop of rain had landed on our campsite. 

  

 We just had to document where we spent our summer vacation...and Ezra fell asleep on the way to the sign, so it was a win, win.

 We hiked Hickman Bridge and found some cool spots to climb along the way.

 This is pyramid rock...if you use your imagination, you can see it.

 What's a camping trip when you're one without a good scrape on your forehead.

 Wild life! Wild Turkeys!

 The campsite next to us had three little boys from France. They were just ending a 2 year stay in the United States. Our boys loved playing with them! They played tag, and koob and soccer. It was fun to meet them!

 We took the long way home to explore Little Wildhorse Canyon. The clouds were ominous and I was a bit nervous, but not enough to not go in. It was just what we needed for a stretching the legs break from the rest of the four hour drive.

 These are all pics of Little Wildhorse Canyon. It was hard to pick just a few, so I picked a whole lot!

 And a nice stop at McDonald's to finish off the trip! Camping with this group is AWESOME!

 We took a day and went to Bingham Copper Mine. I've been so excited to get the kids up there for years and it's finally opened up to the public again!

 We used our Get Out Pass to play on a jump park at Jordenelle. I invited the Birds very last minute and they came too! Then we saw a bunch of families from our ward too. It was an awesome short get away!

 My mom has been setting up a big Poll Family Bike ride as a fundraiser for Operation Underground Railroad (OUR). All of the kids got to earn money to be a part of it. I hope it's everything she wanted.

 That's a lot of Poll's!