July 30, 2023
We started this week off with a fun visit to T&Ns with the Kays. The kids had a blast running around playing with water balloons, hose, and such. Trent found a miniature basketball hoop he let Greyson play with and then keep. He has been BEYOND excited about it and played every day for at least an hour slam dunking and shooting. He enjoys us turning on Space Jam music or tunes from Dude Perfect videos as he runs around with the ball. He only will break to draw/paint pictures of the NBA or to watch Scooby Doo or Tom and Jerry. Hinckley went to "space camp" on Wednesday. It sounds very much like when I went back in the olden times in which you are placed in a simulator with other kids and basically play out a full Star Trek episode. They have actors and special effects and everything. Hinckley came back with many stories of epic adventure and joy. Addie did a lot of playing with friends and declared that she loves to have a clean and organized room.
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| Camping in the backyard |
Kassie and the kids had some fun adventures this week while I was at work. They went to a chocolate factory in north Salt Lake started by a woman back in the day after her neighbors liked her relief society treats so much (Mrs. Cavanaugh's). Also they hiked to a waterfall on Pioneer day and made it through some tribulation before reaching the very beautiful and rewarding falls. Greyson and Addie made ice cream at an event at a park while Hinckley was at space camp. And on Saturday we went to the movie theater to watch Go West (old Studio C cast) and the kids spent nearly all their allowance on nachos and treats. Good times.
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| Tribulation on the trail |
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| The glorious ending |
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| Making ice cream at Discovery park |
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| Chocolate factory |
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| Cute (or creepy) chocolate guys |
July 23, 2023
This week the two older kids had an acting camp while Greyson went to a Ninja camp. At the acting camp they learned songs, lines, and some dance moves each day and then ended the day with swimming at the Lehi Rec Center. On Saturday they performed at a local park and did a great job! At first they were both a little unhappy with it all, but by the end they were asking if they could do it again last year. We got some Macey's soft serve afterward to celebrate (and cool off, it was insanely hot!)
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| Addie, in pink |
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| Addie in the back right, pink |
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| Hinckley in purple on the left, Addie purple on right |
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| Hinckley, purple in the middle |
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| Acting kids |
Greyson has been feeding his basketball obsession every day by drawing pictures, coloring pictures he demands to be printed from the computer, and playing basketball nearly every spare moment. He created a "court" in our front room with the small indoor hoop, complete with a sign in sheet for those coming to play. He can't get enough basketball. He also had some fun time with Kassie at a splash pad with friends and going swimming in American Fork.
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| Morning routine: shooting hoops |
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| Preparing the indoor basketball court |
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| Basketball book |
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| Splash pad fun |
The long awaited day came and we went and saw Dude Perfect in SLC at the Delta Center (I didn't realize it had been bought back by Delta and is once again "Delta Center"). The kids enjoyed it and cheered their heads off. Everyone was thrilled and Hinckley said it was better than he thought it would be. On Saturday I took the kids swimming at the Lindon pool and Addie started complaining about stomach pain. After we got home she was screaming and crying so I took her to the emergency room at Timpanogos. After some tests and such they sent us home, just some tummy pain...maybe too much frozen pizza? Anyway, it was a memorable experience.
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| Ready to see Dude Perfect |
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| In the nose bleeds |
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| Dude Perfect |
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| Getting checked out that the ER |
I finished reading a few interesting books lately, including How Minds Change. It is amazing how complex the human brain is, especially when paired with social interactions and experiences.
July 16, 2023
We had a wonderful time with everyone in Bear Lake this past week! There was something for everyone and it was amazing to connect in different ways with various family members. Before we left for Idaho we went to Splash Summit (7 peaks) to take advantage of the PTO I was taking from work. We only did a couple slides as the kids wanted to spend most of the time in the wave pool and lazy river. We had fun together and got our sunburns started early.
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| Splash Summit |
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| Greyson and James playing basketball |
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| Hinckley and Logan video games |
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| Greyson and James at the lake |
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| Hot tubbing with cousins |
Greyson and James really hit it off and I think this summer has been great for fostering their relationship. They had a lot of fun shooting hoops and playing on the playground. Addie sang “Million Dreams” for the talent show and Kate danced along behind as she sang which was really cute. Hinckley and Logan played a lot of video games and such and one of his highlights was playing king of the mountain with the older boy cousins on the trampoline out on the lake. Kassie and I had a fun time playing Kubb at the lake, pickleball, spike ball, and a variety of card games with everyone. It was all so much fun!
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| Girl cousins |
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| Girl cousins at the beach |
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| Addie on the beach |
Coming home was a little rough but we managed. Addie and I had a "Ties and Tiaras" dad/daughter dance for our date on Thursday night in Sandy. They had an artist there who drew a picture of us, a 360 degree photo booth, a DJ with mist, lasers, and lots of great music and games, and lots of amazing treats and a soda bar. We had a blast. Addie said many wonderful things like, “This is perfect” and “I’m so happy!” and “I love this so much!” I nearly cried while dancing with her on a few slow songs. I’m very grateful we could go. She is growing up so darn fast.
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| With our art work |
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| Royalty |
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| Ready to dance |
On Saturday Kassie and I had a temple date with dinner at Aubergine afterwards. The kids did ok with the babysitter. We watched the final Harry Potter 7 movie with Hinckley in the evening and he is ready to move on to finishing the Star Wars movies. I went up to the Utah Capitol building for a tour with the Strenuous Life men's group which was a good experience. I've never had the time or space to just look around there and explore.
July 9, 2023
We had a very full and fun 4th of July week this week and enjoyed time with many of you. For the holiday we had a slow morning and enjoyed donuts from a local bakery. We then went to some of the Colonial Village at the Scera but were too late to watch Cries of Freedom (full) so we went to 1220 to prepare for swimming. Everyone seemed to have an enjoyable time at the Provo Rec Center, and then setting off fireworks with cousins afterward. Kassie made a tasty fruit pizza for dessert. We ended the evening with a neighborhood firework show that was the real deal. We literally had shrapnel and ash raining down on us as we strained our necks looking at the explosions overhead. The kids lost their minds with joy.
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| 4th of July donut breakfast |
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| Addie and I with the British |
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| Firework tank batles |
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| Sword firework |
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| Sparklers with Kate and Sadie |
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| Long wait for the epic neighborhood firework show |
We have all been enjoying Kassie's goal of learning to make macarons. She has made some wonders! Hinckley had a fun early birthday celebration with Nana and Grandpa to get some fries from Arby's and later at home with our family on Sunday. We had some cousins over at our house for a summer slip and slide and also saw Lucy and family after their visit to the Saratoga Springs temple.
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| "My best batch" - Sunday July 9 |
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| French toast dinner with birthday candles |
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| Birthday celebrations with Nana and Grandpa |
Saturday we went down to Payson to the Scottish festival. There were some seriously hardcore Scottish folks/fans there. The highlight was the kid area where they could try out 3 different activities and it was really cute. They battled a guy wearing a helmet and threw heavy objects etc. I think all three kids enjoyed that. Then we got some dip and dots and watched a few other competitions (throwing a heavy ball and dancing) and heard a ton of bagpipes.
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