Family Visits

Nelson and I both have 2 brothers that live out of State. We definitely do not see them enough. Over the past 2 weeks both of my brothers were in town for quick/short visits. Unfortunately I did not get pictures with my brother Mike. We were able to spend a few days with them and loved every minute of it.
My brother Greg was in from Oregon and our kids played non stop. Greg has a little girl that is 2 months younger than Max and a boy that is 5 days older than Asher. It is crazy how well the kids played together. I was not surprised when they crashed at night because they played super hard. So grateful that we belong to a family and get to spend time with them (even if it is never long enough).

Chase(5), Tristan(6) and Asher(6)








Nelson did not want to have to deal with the mess of the fire pit so we had to improvise. We ended up making smores over my dads grill. Not sure my dad was too thrilled about that but the kids sure loved it. Maybe since it was unique it will be something they will remember.
Asher and Tristan were making up dances non stop this is Asher jumping over Tristan. If you ask me Tristan is one trusting kid.









Nelson and my sister hanging out in the backyard chatting.








Max(9), Casidy(9), Taelyn(10) and Reagan(9)

Blah

Lately I have been finding myself feeling kind of "blah". I am sure there are a lot of different things that contribute to it. Probably does not help that I start my morning out reading the news on KSL. Reading regular updates on drownings, accidents etc.. Reading updates on all the things that are causing people/families heartache day after day. Can't help to thinking of the people that are going through hard times.

I am sure the constant back and neck pain I feel does not help much either. I have decided that I think I have just become numb to the whole thing. Just have gotten good at pretending like I feel great even though half the time I feel like I am in a cloud and not all there.

Luckily the last few days I have noticed the tender mercies of our loving Heavenly Father a lot more. I have had a glimpse of understanding that we need to feel the heat in our life to make our weakness strong. If I relied on my Father in Heaven more for my weaknesses I would grow more from them.

Even though I can have blah moments I never walk away from them without learning a much needed lesson. Grateful for the lessons that can be learned daily! There is good out there and much more I can be doing to avoid those blah moments.

Is it time??

As I viewed what was happening in my kitchen I laughed and wondered if it is time to get our kids out on a summer camping trip. As the pictures may indicate we have not had time to make it camping yet this year. Seems time is getting past us with all the many things we want to do.

The kids started getting creative as well as resourceful. They roasted pretty much anything and everything. Some of their selection included: smores to start, pickles (yuck), gumballs, gummy bears, goldfish crackers, Cheetos, fruit snacks and cherries. Their favorite was pickles and cherries. Looks like I really do need to get them out more if roasted pickles ended up being the favorite.
Asher roasting his marshmallow for smores:

Max, Asher and the Halls getting creative:

My last question- is it time to stop letting the kids play their DS in the car?? It is funny to watch the lengths they go to just so they can still see the screen to play. (Max and Asher are both tucked up under the blanket playing)

This day has been brought to you by the letter...G....

Awhile ago I saw something about picking a letter in the alphabet and doing as much as you can around that letter. The kids dumped the first 13 letters of an alphabet puzzle in a bowl and picked out a letter. We ended up with the letter G. We than sat down and started brainstorming everything we could do with the letter G. It was amazing the kids came up with things I had never thought of.

To start the day we had to wear either green or gray. We headed off to Asher's "Gymnastics" which is really tumbling but they are the same right??

After "gymnastics" other activities included a quick trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa, said 3 things we were Grateful for, played Games, made green goodies for Gaylyn (lady in our ward) and for a grandma. We made Gak:

Luckily (for me) Garage and Garden start with the letter "G" because we really needed to do a little bit of work on those.
For dinner we had Goolosh, Grapes, Goober and Grasshopper shakes. We watched "Got" talent and ended the night.
The letter selection worked out perfect for Asher. As much as he tries to be "Glad" he ended up showing a bit of his "grumpy" side. Good thing the different emotions fit in perfect for our Letter of the day!!
He did start to loosen up a bit after I started snapping pictures of his little fit:

If we had more time we would have tried to fit in golfing, get air tramp park or the gateway in SLC. Max already selected another letter for the next day we do this. I guess that means the kids liked it.

A "Sweet" Day

Yesterday my mom, sisters and I headed down for a tour at the Sweets Candy factory. It is something I have been wanting to do for a long time, but just never set it up. It was one of the coolest tours I have ever been on. It included a 45 min tour with samples during. It was neat to see the machines and all they do to produce the candy. Of course it ended with a trip to the candy store to pick out some candy for the ride home. It was well worth the trip.

The kids with their cousins:








For some reason the kids loved their hair nets they had to wear. They were convinced they were going to keep them forever. Needless to say that wore off quick and the hats did not even make it in the car for the ride home.









The boys and I before we left:












Of course the day would not be complete without a trip to the stores and fountains at gateway. It was way fun watching the kids just play in the water. Before I know it they will think they are to big to get out there and have fun.
Asher hanging out:












Max enjoying the warm ground and water:












I do have to admit I sure think my kids are cute!!













The cousins hanging out being silly








It was such a great time spending the day with my family. Hope we can do it again soon.

4th of July

Our family tradition for the 4th is running the 5k in Riverdale. We usually meet my sisters and their family as well as my parents. We all take part in the race. This year both of our kids were determined to run the whole 5k. I was a little nervous about Asher because he is still young and that is a far way.

This was my first time running with Max. If he had it his way he would have ran the whole thing by himself. He is 9 so I am not that comfortable sending him on his own yet. He is fun to run with, he has something in him that just keeps him running even if he is tired. We just sat and chatted the whole time.

This was Asher's first 5k ever. He was determined as ever to run the whole thing. Nelson ran with him and said he did great. He was able to run the whole thing without walking. I am so grateful we are able to get out as as family and just enjoy sometime together.

Our little family after the race:

My family, my parents and my sister Brenda's family:

Asher ended up taking 3rd place in his age division:

Max and I both took 2nd place in our age divisions

It is also tradition to go spend the afternoon in Huntsville at Aunt Darla's. We have a family hang out with all of the Bowens. this was our first year ever we went to the park in our neighborhood to watch the fireworks. It was a great day spent with the family.

Get air

Our friends parents opened up a new trampoline park close by called Get Air. We have had the chance to go hang out a few times since it has been opened. This place is any kids dream. It is wall to wall trampolines. Ok don't let me fool you it is any grown up boys dream as well. My boys (husband included) spent hours playing around. They had so much fun. They played so hard that their faces were constantly red and covered in sweat. Here are a few highlights from our adventure:

Nelson doing crazy tricks into the pit:

Asher loved running up the wall and back flipping off it:

The kids and I hanging out after jumping into the pit:

Max spent lots of time on these tramps jumping into the pits:

I have been loving the summer and all the time we have been able to spend together. I am going to have a hard time letting my kids go back to school.