Let's Catch Up, Shall We?

Wowza... how am I two months behind already?! Yesterday was the first day of school for Tianna and I am still on June posts. I guess I better take advantage of some quieter days with school in session and GET CAUGHT UP!

Tianna took swimming lessons during the last 2 weeks of June. She is quite the little fish! She was in the second level and did a great job keeping up with the older kids.
Sadly Adelia did not get to take lessons this year. The website was really confusing as to what age classes were allowed. There was a mommy-me class for 6 months - 3 years and then level 1 required the student to be 5. So............. that means no class for 4 year olds! Or so we thought. Apparently they do have pre classes (like putting your face in the water and blowing bubbles) for 3 and 4 year olds but we didn't know that until Tianna's first class. By then, it was too late to sign her up at that same time. (oh well. what she would have learned didn't seem worth the $40 anyway)

Luke's New Obsession

This summer Luke has acquired another hobby-- Rappelling. He has gone on quite a few fun little excursions with his buddy, Blake. Sometimes the girls and I have gone along to take pictures and support our favorite guy in the whole world. 

June 25th-- Rocky Mouth Waterfall near Sandy 

This gigantic squirrel tried to steal our dinner.  Adelia said an animal was by our food and in trying to figure out what she saw I asked how big it was. She said it was like a cat. She was right! 

 First down the waterfall was our new friend, Joel

 Next, our very own LUKE took his rappel.

 The girls were cheering for their daddy like he was a super hero! They were so glad when he "landed"

 Last, but not least, Blake came down.

Linaya loved the waterfall. As soon as I walked close to it she started to giggle and kick her feet excitedly. 

I'm so glad when we can spend time together as a family and support each other in those things we enjoy. 

Book Club Excursion

We read the best book for book club. The author lives in Wellington and it's a story based around the events of the Winter Quarters Mine explosion of 1900.  It was such a great story! I didn't want to put it down but yet, I didn't want to read it fast either because I didn't want it to end. 

Since Winter Quarters is right by Scofield, I thought it would be fun to take a field trip up there to see the sites...what's left of them anyway, and visit the cemetery and the museum in the old School House as well as have lunch at my parent's cabin.    

It was such a fun little trip. I'm pretty sure we need more "book club field trips" 

Our Father's day and Mother's day

MOTHER'S DAY

So, I don't know how I ended up with no pictures of Mother's day, but I was truly a wonderful day. Well, weekend.  On Saturday we went to Salt Lake. Luke  and I attended a travel-club presentation (so we could get a free trip!) and my brother, James, and his wife, Val, watched the kids for us. Afterwards we went to their house to hang out and ate dinner at a Chinese place. It was great as always to visit with them.  

Also while we were up there we made a big purchase---something that I have wanted for 8 years but always found something else to use the money for. We bought me a nice SLR digital camera! Pictureline in Salt Lake was having an awesome Mother's day sale and we jumped on it! The package deal came with an extra lens which has proved itself very worthwhile already. 

I am still really trying to learn how to use it, but so far, we have LOVED it! it's been so fun having pictures take right when we click the button and have the quality we have always wished for. There are a lot of bells and whistles I need to figure out, but even just in auto-mode, it's a huge improvement from what our old camera would produce. 

It was a wonderful "Mother's day" gift :D 

On our way home Tianna decided she wanted to serve me breakfast in bed the next morning. I told them we would have to stop at the store for eggs and milk if they wanted to do that. So we stopped and Luke went into the grocery store for eggs, milk, and a bag of rice. We waited, and we waited and we waited. Finally he came out and he had flowers for me and a lot of groceries bags. (I had no idea all what he bought)

The next morning was perfect! Luke took the kids out and let me sleep in while they made breakfast. Well........ turns out, when given the chance, I usually can't sleep but enjoyed lounging in bed without people begging me to get up or whining about being hungry. After a while I took a nice shower and then stayed in the bathroom pampering myself..... painting my nails.... getting ready for church in quiet........... ahhh. it was really relaxing! 

All the while, I was thinking it was taking a really long time to make that breakfast.

When it was finished, I asked if they would be sad if I didn't eat in bed and instead ate at the table with everyone else.  (i am not sure why breakfast in bed is considered so luxurious anyway. eating alone, crumbs in my bed..... syrup on my pillow........ doesn't really appeal to me)

So anyway, I came out to the kitchen to find a feast. And I mean, A FEAST!

(since new camera was charging, no actual pictures were taken...but trust me, this doesn't do it justice)

Luke had made sausage and cheese country potatoes, scrambled eggs, bacon, waffles from scratch using his great-grandma's recipe, fresh sliced strawberries, raspberries, whipped cream, fruit syrup............ Oh my! I about died--no wonder he spent so long in the store! 

And yes, it tasted every bit as good as it sounds. (making myself hungry!) 

Then we went to church. Adelia was set and ready to give the talk in Primary. When we got to Sacrament meeting they announced that due to the strong fumes from the floor being refinished during the week, all meetings besides the Sacrament were cancelled.  

Totally surprised, we went home really early from church. 

That evening we had been invited to go with our good friends, Evan and Melissa Price to Melissa's aunt and uncles house in Orem for a huge family dinner.
They are Brazillian so the food was different that we are use to eating, but it was delicious! 

It was a great ending the a FANTASTIC day. 

I couldn't ask for a better family! 

FATHER'S DAY

So after Luke's grand breakfast I had to step up my game a little ;) 

We made him "eggs in a basket" a new food our brother-in-law introduced us to awhile ago. We are starting to find it restaurants now too. You cut out the center of a piece of bread, while it toasts on the griddle you cook and egg in the cut out spot. Then you dip the toast piece in the egg. It's quite tasty. We got creative with the cookie cutters too.  It wasn't ALL out like my Mother's day breakfast was, but hopefully he still knows we love him. 

While I cooked, my helpers made pictures for Daddy.

Since Father's day was the day after we got home from our St. George trip we kept it pretty low key. We attended church where the girl's sang with the Primary to all the fathers and then all the men got to eat PIE after church. 

We then came home and ate a nice dinner and ate even more pie ;) 

Since the kids loved the play, "Mary Poppins" so much, after dinner we decided to show them the movie since they had never seen it. 

There were lots of cuddles with daddy and a quiet, nice, relaxing day. 

I can't speak for him, but I think he enjoyed his Father's day too.

Oh yeah, and he got Rappelling gear in advance for his f-day gift..... he was pretty happy about that too! 

We love you, Luke. You are a wonderful father.