End of Summer

This summer has been a great one.  We have done a lot of fun stuff and I just didn't want it to end.  I was feeling sad that our time of carefree days were over until. . . my kids decided to help push me in the "send them to school" mode.  They all of the sudden started getting on my nerves more than usual.  Maybe its because there is so much to do before school starts or maybe they are feeding off of my stress at having to be scheduled again  Whatever it is I am starting to see that it can be a good thing that kids go back to school.
In any case I wanted their last days of summer to be fun.  The first thing I did was have a End of Summer sleepover.  I invited all the cousins but only 1 family was able to make it.  that was really okay with me it just meant less work.  I ordered pizza and got a red box.  When it got dark we had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows for smores. I even let the boys pee on the fire when we were done.  It was their favorite part of the whole fire.  When the kids were full of sugar we started the night games.  Ghost in the graveyard is always the favorite. I reveled in the perfect night air at the sound of children laughing and squealing as they run in the dark.  I remember such nights as a kids and I loved them, I hope to bring the love of times like this to my own children.  When we were all smoked out from the fire and the sugar had worn off from the running around we headed back inside to work on the blanket fort.
Now this blanket fort has been in progress for days.  I have let my kids destroy create in my basement for the last week.  I haven't touched it.  they have built and rebuilt this massive blanket fort, rearranging the floor plan using all the linens and cushions in the house.  The neighbor kids even brought over some of their blankets to add to this massive structure. I took a picture of its final day after there was a battle.
After letting them stay up for as long as they wanted I let them sleep in until they couldn't possibly sleep any more (Ellie stayed asleep until 3pm!!) For those who weren't as deep of sleepers I had German Pancakes for breakfast, then I just let them run a muck doing whatever they pleased (within reason) When all the kids were picked up we headed off to Trafalga for one last hurrah.  The ticket gods saw favor in us and bestowed thousands of tickets upon us.  Peter played his first game and won 1000 tickets.  It seemed as every game played, each kid won the maximum amount of tickets possible.  It was a day to be remembered that's for sure.

my favorite kind of marshmallow, seriously give it to me flaming

night games

night games

after the battle

the one remaining structure

So good bye summer its been a blast.  Thanks for all the heat (yes I said heat I love it), sun, swimming, sleeping, reading, and just plain fun.  I hope to see you very soon.  I don't think I can ever go back to the cold.

Peter and his ticket winnings

library

One of my favorite places to go is the library.  I loved going when I was little and I still love it.  Am I a nerd if I say I love the smell of books. Someday if I grow up I want a big library in my house with wall to wall bookshelves and a couple of comfy chairs with huge windows.  Is that too much to ask? (okay maybe it is) This summer has been wonderful, I have read a plethera of books. The wonderful thing about this library is that is has a little temple sticker on the bind of any books written by LDS authors. What makes this so wonderful is that I know the books are clean and I don't waste my time on something I am going to be disappointed in half way through.  This doesn't always mean that they are churchy books.  So I have just gone up and down the isles looking for the stickers and putting them in my bag. Some are great some are fluff and some are just okay but I am never unhappy with any of them. I also love the first hour after coming home from the library.  The house is quiet books are strewn all over but my children are reading and excited about it, so forget the mess for now we are reading, and to me that is so much more important.

Joseph and the technicolor dream coat

Ellie has had a productive summer.  This year she decided to try a real play.  She got the lead in the children's choir surprise surprise.  Every night she has been at practice or the actual play.  She has loved it.  I am happy she found something just for her.  I am sure she will be so sad when its all over.  I on the other hand will be happy to have my baby sitter back. 

She was involved in Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat for the city of American Fork.  It was done in this beautiful outdoor amphitheater. Opening night turned out to be a success.  I have a few favorite parts. The first is after the brothers have sold Joseph and they are singing about one more angel in heaven, one less plate at the table. When they give the news to their dad its all somber, however as soon as the dad leaves the stage it turns into an all out hoedown.  Super funny.  I loved how Potifer came out in a golf cart cause he's the man.  Then there was an Elvis Pharaoh and they made Joseph  wear a jumpsuit too.  And my very favorite part is at the end they are singing about Joseph riding his gold chariot and he comes out on a little gold razor scooter with streamers,  I really laughed at that one.

more summer fun

As summer winds down I am starting the panic mode.  Did we do all the fun stuff we said we were going to do on our bucket list?  Are we ready for school to start?  Have we had enough summer?  The answers to those questions are yes, no and no.  Usually this time of year I am more than ready for my kids to start back up at school but this year is different.  I have had a really fun summer and I don't want it to end.  I have been loving the stay up late, sleep in late, feed kids when we get around to it.  If we decided we want to get ice cream or go swimming or DI we just go.  No real schedule just wingin' it. I think that the real problem is I don't want to HAVE to be responsible.
On that note I am squeezing in all the fun stuff that I wanted to do just one more time.  One of those was seven peaks water park. My sister Laura is moving to New York so we did a day to hand out with her.  Anything that has to do with water I am there.  Water parks are no exception. So we swam and played with Grandma, Laura and my sister Amy's family.  Poor Scott had to work this time.  We will all be happy when he gets to go down to 4 days a week.  (I know we have it so hard right.)  
The little boys body surfed in the wave pool.  We would go near the more shallow part and when the wave was just right I would grab their life jackets and glide/throw them across the water towards the shore.  they loved it and said it felt like they were flying.

Then we tried the racing slides.  Poor Peter went down with me who was more concerned about filming than preventing him from getting drowned. And yes Ellie and William were there but they go off and do their own thing so I never can quite get a picture of them.

Peter was so nervous about going down this tiny slide.  I have no idea why.  What  you see is literally all there is to the slide.

doughnut falls

my sister had to map out a hike for her Young Women.  She invited us to go check out doughnut falls up big cottonwood canyon.  I've never been so of course I agreed.  I am always up for a little adventure. Scott surprised me by coming too.  We pack a picnic lunch and drove up the canyon.  I love driving up any canyon.  When I was little we used to hop in the back of the truck and take a drive.  It is so pretty anytime of year. We found the spot and tired to park.  The place was quite crowded so we found a spot unfortunately it turned out to be a no parking zone. That we didn't realize until we had eaten our lunch and saw a cop trying to write us a ticket.  My sister Steph quickly stepped up and discouraged him from giving us the tickets if we moved the cars immediately.  Thank goodness we ate lunch first.  Once we found a more acceptable parking space we headed off on our hike.  It was a nice easy hike with a big reward at the end.
Doughnut falls is a water fall that pours through the rock.  All the water created a little grotto under the  rock so it was pretty neat.  We spent a lot of time climbing all over the rocks and splashing in the water.  Even climbing into the grotto. However when we got to the top all the little ones asked where all the doughnuts were.  Sorry to disappoint kids there are no edible doughnuts here.

 There was a fallen tree there that had become smooth and soft from all the water that ran over it.  Brennen noticed this and said "Hey mom this tree is so soft."  recognising a teaching moment I asked "Do you know why its so soft?" To which he immediately replied "yeh because of all the falling doughnuts."