Thanksgiving Point- Josh's Towel - Blake Haircut

Just quick visit to Thanksgiving Point Farm because Blake  has never been.

Horse Drawn Trailer Ride

Blake was pretty nervous when they assigned him the tallest horse.  He was very alert during the short ride. 

This is one of my favorite stories EVER! 

Josh learned 2 lessons.

1. Don't underestimate the mischievousness of you younger brothers.  #heshouldknowbetter #hehastrainedthemfortheirentirelives

2. Wearing just a towel after a shower is now risky business.

I heard a commotion upsairs and was worried a light hearted argument would take a dangerous turn.  I headed to my room and this is what I saw.   

I don't know who came up with the idea but they had ripped the towel away from Josh.  Josh was hiding in my closet trying to get the towel back without revealing too much.  

The little boys got the towel and ran downstairs.  

I took the next picture with their victorious prize.  

We left Josh in the closet for a few minutes to teach him a lesson.  

I took Blake to get his first "non-Mom" haircut.  They did a great job and I had to take a picture of the new "do" with his eyes shining in the front room's light.

First Day of School - Work Party - Blake's Allergies

First Day of School 2018

Kyle 9th Grade

Katie 7th Grade

Caleb 4th Grade

Blake Mom School

(Josh said it was wierd to watch everyone leave for school and he got to stay home in his PJs)

I wanted to include this picture because it tells a different story about family life.  

Our upstairs toilet is miserably weak and leaves poopoo in the bowl.  I got sick of taking care of the remnants and embarassed for unsuspecting company who needed to use the bathroom.  We told the kids if they hold the handle down for a minimum of 10 seconds, it will do a complete flush.  A week went by with no change in behavior.  So, I wrote this note on the bathroom mirror.  It mysteriosly disappeared the first day so I wrote it again while they were at school the next day.  That message, too, got erased very quickly.  However, now the #2 problem usually only happens once a week now.  

Jeff's brokerage hosted a summer picnic for all the realtors.  They had a delicious BBQ and fun for the kids.  

 We noticed Blake was having a lot of symptoms like Josh and Kyle did when they were young.  I took him to an allergist for testing.  Just like his brothers, he is allergic to a handful of things.  His are identical to Kyle.  All grass pollen, cats, weeds, a few trees, and mildly to dogs. 

His back looks painful but it is a simple test with a very small prick with the allergen.  He was a trooper and loved showing the marker numbers to everyone for weeks.

Young Women's Camp & Thomas Family Visit

 I was given the calling of Camp Director this year.  I have never had a calling in Young Women or gone to camp since I was a Laurel.  

I was overwhelmed but had a great committee and I was very happy to be with Katie for her first year.

Here she is getting ready for one of the races they hold on the lake.  Her partner didn't have any experience in a canoe.  They ended up stuck in some reeds and ended in last place.  

I was so proud when her partner kept blaming Katie for the problem and Katie just held her silence.  

We have more photos that were taken by another leader but I can't figure out how to get them here.  

We did an exhausting service project watering new pine trees with 300 gallons or water.  Then, we had to go to the lake and refill those 300 jugs in the lake.  We were all dripping with sweat and exhausted.  Of course, they had the hike planned for the time slot directly after the service project.  We were not happy but trudged through the hike with as much patience as we could.  

The Thomases came from San Antonio for a summer visit.  The Bonneys came over and we only had 2 glorious days with our trio of families but we made sure to fill every minute.  

The adults went to see Oklahoma at Sundance Outdoor Theater.  Jeff kept asking me what the play was about.  I knew he would be miserable since it's one of the weirdest and girliest musicals I've ever seen.  (We enjoyed the movie in my childhood but do you remember the dream sequence?  WEIRD!)

Jeff made some hysterical comments that made the experience funnier.  My favorite was when the girls are singing, "Many a New Day" while dancing in their underwear.  Jeff said, "Is this play called Oklahoma or Payson?"  I laughed so hard people started turning around.

The kids started playing their favorite card games as soon as they walked in the door.

Kyle and Matt quickly moved to the Playstation to play Fortnite.  They have been playing together long distance through headphones but they were so excited to play in person.

 We headed out to Manila Pond.  

Tami got brave and started a water fight with Caleb and Blake.  Caleb was an excellent sniper.  He learned to aim well so he could stand as far away from the action as possible.  Blake, on the other hand, had no problem getting right into the action.

 Eventually all the moms and dads got into the water.  (Even this mom.)  

The girls took some time to make a sand castle.

The boys made a "Hot Tub". 

Mark and Matt caught some of the small Sun Fish.  We kept them in a bucket while we were there.  Before we threw them back into the water, Blake wanted to hold one.  It took him a while and after dropping him a few times, (that explains the fish's appearance) he was so proud to hold him.

We went to Ken's work break room for free sodas, bagels, and adult conversation.  

The bagels were delicious but you'd think I'd learn to swallow my mouthful before taking a picture.  

 More card games.  This was after they pulled an all-nighter.  Mark was the only one who ended up staying up all night but slept for a few hours after everyone woke up.  

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.