4th of July and Trek

We returned home from the long road trip to news that our neighborhood was about to undergo a big change.  The kiddo's that live across the street from us announced they are moving. These kids have spent hours at our house, which has been awesome.  My kids will miss having these built in playmates a lot.  They organized this 4th of July parade up and down our street. We did make it to the parade downtown, but we were super late, and it was really hot, so not terribly memorable.  It was fun to do fireworks with friends that night.

 Having a few weeks between vacations was a nice break, and we enjoyed doing activities closer to home for a while.  

We took some time to visit the down town farmers market.  One of our favorite summer activities.  We love to buy kettle corn, and wander up and down the streets.  This year i found some apricots to make jam with.  Yum!
Maren is always up for a dare.

We took a fun hike on the Mesa to lost lake, and didn't get lost.  A few brave souls braved the freezing water.  Amanda invited her friend Kylie to come along.  We had a scare with a granola bar and Jacobs tree nut allergy, but luckily everything turned out OK.

We invited some friends over for water games in the backyard.  And I taught them how to play water balloon volley ball.  One of my favorites.  I think the best thing about when your kids get older, is teaching them fun things you liked to do.  I tried to play with them, but kept getting pulled away by the boys.

The boys got creative with the pool this year.

 Jacob celebrated his 7th birthday in style with this LEGO cake he designed himself.  He is such a great little guy.  We sure are lucky to have him around!

Dave and I were asked to be Ma and Pa's for our stakes pioneer trek this summer.  We had so much fun.  Our "kids" were so fun to be with.  They worked hard and played hard, and everyone felt included and had a great experience.  We had a kid that is on the autism spectrum with us, and had really low muscle tone.  It was exceptionally rewarding to see the kids rally around him and help him succeed.  My favorite part was watching him walk into camp knowing all his hard work had paid off.

 Amanda had an equally amazing experience, and made it through both days of walking.  Very much a miracle with all of her ankle issues.  She had worked hard to be in a position to be able to hike the entire way.  And the smile on her face was so cool when she pulled in that first day.

The stake did great job planning lots of fun activities for the youth.  Square dancing was a highlight for sure.  Along with awesome food, great firesides, and amazing vignettes along the way.

Just some of the beautiful scenery along the way.

And a huge thank you to Patty to coming and staying with the kids for the three days we were gone, despite being in the middle of a big move.  We came home to a clean house and happy kids, which is the best when you come home tired and dirty.