More July

 This was the biggest fort the kids have ever made.  It was big enough for 4 kids to lay under.

Look, there's one kid now!

Josh decided he would sleep in the fort with the little boys.  

I took terrible pictures while I stuck my phone under the blankets.

Josh was in his own bed when we woke up.  He said it was Waaaay too hot in there!

The boys have found a super cute way to create and be artistic.  They make diffent 3D items out of paper and tape.  I've been amazed at what their minds have come up with.  They never ask for ideas.  They just let their minds loose and the results are incredible.

The first 3 pictures are from when they made kight's armor for their stuffed animals, Wolfie and Swimmer.

Here they have made an entire world.  I can't remember if it's Minecraft or Pokemon.  I do remember that there was a zombie portal with a jail.

 Look at these adorable sleeping bags for the grasshoppers.  

We had a Primary lesson where the kids got to draw their own family.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of Caleb's drawing.

We had a long day of shopping at Kohl's.  We got 3/4 of Josh's required mission clothes and each of the younger kids got 1 shirt.

We went to Mrs. Cavannah's Chocolates for ice cream.  I had to promise Blake and Caleb something to keep them from a nuclear meltdown while waiting for Josh to figure out exactly which belt/tie/shirts/pants would be best for Brazil.

While we were there we had one of Utah's epic thunder storms.  It ended up being one of just two we had this summer.

Katie and Josh making waffles and scrambled eggs for dinner.  (I wish I could say that I make them do this every week but it's more work having them do it than doing it myself.  At least they do it every couple of months.)

The boys got to take care of our neighbor's chickens for a week.  They kept putting their sandals on their hands for "Chicken Armor" to protect their hands.

First Half of July

Derek's (Josh's friend) parents gave him a few nights stay in a condo and the gas to drive to St. George for his graduation gift.  He borrowed our van so they could take all 8 boys.  (Ben was late and didn't get in this photo.)

p.s. This is the day after the severe ankle sprain that started all of Josh's ankle problems.  You can see his brace on his right foot.  He had to hobble through all the hikes and activities they did. 

Sweet picture of bedtime reading by Kyle.

We finally made a trip to Orem's new splash pad.  Caleb lasted about 10 minutes before he walked up to me and asked to go home.  He did this every couple of minutes until Katie and Blake were ready to go.

We took another trip to Manila Pond.  This time, Blake got a ride on one of the kayaks.  Kyle said his ab muscles were sore after that ride.  Look how Blake was leaning against him the whole time.  

We were able to take Josh through the Timpanogos Temple in preparation for his mission.  

 Katrine and Jason came from Houston for a summer visit.  They reserved a group campsite up Payson canyon.  (Sadly, this past week we heard that most of the canyon was destroyed in the September wildfires.)

Baby Harrison was quite the hit.

Caleb and "His Holly".  (That's what he calls his cousin because Katie's best friend is also named Holly.)

 No one sleeps well the first night of camping.  Look at Blake's face.

Caleb, Max, Holly, Afton, and Jack.  

Baby Harrison!

Blake with my mother's dog, Winky.  

(and Harrison)

The ever popular homemade rootbeer cauldron.

Caleb, Holly, Mallory, Katie, Afton, Jack, and Kyle.  Cousins are the best for card games.

Caleb and Blake went on a few grasshopper safaris.

Blake, I mean Josh junior, got one.  I like how he needs to keep his eye on it while getting the picture taken.

Second Half of June Fun

There's a small stream that flows from Mount Timpanogos.  It is called Manila Creek.  A few years ago, Pleasant Grove decided to dam the stream and create a small pond.  They have flush toilets, a sandy beach area, fishing, and a fish cleanout station.  

It is our favorite summer hangout.

We went with our friends, the Bonneys.  They had just purchased two small kayaks and the kids loved practicing on them.

So CUTE!

For my birthday, I didn't want to waste any money on items.  I decided I wanted to get something that would help us spend more time together.  I got a membership to Thanksgiving Point.  

Here, we are taking Blake through the dinosaur museum.  Jeff and I took him when we purchased the membership but he wouldn't go further than the first room.  Josh, Kyle, and Katie were determined to help him get through the whole museum.

This picutre shows Blake getting ready to enter the room with the giant dinosaur skeletons and dinosaur sounds over the speaker system.  

Look at his poor face.

He asked Josh to hold him when they had to walk under the giant Brachiosaurus.  

The obligatory picture in front of the megaladon.  If I'm rembering correctly, Katie was angry because Josh kept monopolizing the chore of assisting Blake.

We took a Sunday drive to the Upper Provo River Falls.  It was quite a long drive towards the Uintas.  Believe it or not, it was Jeff's idea.  He always poo poos going on a drive.  The long Sunday afternoons with 5 kids must finally be a worse prospect. 😆 

We made PB&J sandwiches to eat with our chips and brownies.  

Joshua's Mission Call Opening

Josh's mission call came while we were in Colorado.  He was very patient and waited until we got home.  

We had a world map where everyone could put their name by the location they guessed he would go.  

He had a group of neighbors, family, and friends here to watch him open it.  Excitedly, he opened the envelope.  His eyes scanned the top, he gave an audible sigh, and started reading.

  

Rio De Janeiro North Mission

That was actually where his first guess was.  He assumed there were so many missions in that country that the odds were high that he'd go there.  I think he wanted Brazil so he could go on a bug safari every p-day.  (Sorry to his companions)

Breckenridge Part 2

It took some coaxing but we got Caleb to ride the free tram to another resort.  

We planned to let the kids ride the alpine slide, alpine coaster, or other attractions.  I figured that I might be able to get Caleb to ride the tram so I could pick what rides the kids could do and then, Caleb and I would ride it back to the hotel.  When we got there, he saw the alpine slide and remembered that he rode on one a few years ago.  He asked if he could ride it.  

MOST DEFINITELY, CALEB DEAR!

He had quite the clutch on my arm but I was able to get a picture of us.  

Katie and Madi jumping off the ski lift as quickly as possible so they wouldn't get hit in the legs.

Kyle was going to ride with Caleb and Josh with Blake but little kids had to be with someone 18 yrs or older.  Josh rode with Blake and I took Caleb.  Those little sleds were hard to navigate with a 40 year old mom and a 9 year old boy!

The bigger kids wanted to stay longer so we took a small trip with Gpa Carlson down to the city center in the tram.  

We pack them in for dinners!

Marcus, James, Josh, Kyle, JR, and Lucas planned a 2 night backpacking trip after the reunion was over.  They hoped to crest a "14er".  That's what they call a mountain with a peak over 14,000 feet.  James got sick before the trip and had to bow out.  Here is Marcus giving the hikers their safety & fun talk.  

 That's a pretty darn cute bunch of hikers!

We stayed in Colorado for an extra 3 nights so we could be the hikers' ride from the trail's end.  We booked 2 nights in a small condo near Breckenridge.  The next day, we went for a little day trip to Denver so Katie and the little boys wouldn't watch TV all day in our little condo.  We planned on going to the US Mint, some Botanical Gardens, and a Firefigthers' Museum.  On our way into Denver, we got a call that JR was sick and they decided to cut the trip short.  When we told them we were in Denver, they said we could take our time.  They'd wait at the trailhead.  

We quickly ate lunch at Raising Cane's (Thank you Denver for having one!) and headed to the Museum.

"Daaaaaaad!!!!  You're so embarassing."

 We drove back to the mountains and picked up the boys.  We slept that night with 10 people in a 4 person condo.  It was crazy!  We had a 15 person condo reserved for the next night because we knew we'd need the space for the extra bodies.  Before we could check into that bigger place, we went to a small lake so the kids could relax.  We set up hammocks, fished, threw rocks in the lake, and enjoyed God's beautiful work.