End of July

I can't believe it is the last day of July. Where has the summer gone? It is funny that we say the end of summer is July but when school is going to start in 2 weeks, the summer is officially over.

We have had a good summer. We have been busy and have enjoyed the sun. We got to enjoy the 24th of July Pioneer Day. The day starts at the church with our Stake breakfast and Primary parade. The kids decorated their bikes and scooters this year and had a ball riding around the church. Matthew was determined to ride his big bike and he did great. He looked so big in that parade. Then we got to watch the Logan parade. We had a lot of fun because the cousins that live in town all joined us. It is great to have so many cousins live nearby. Then after cooling off at home for a couple hrs, we headed to Brian's brother's house in Tremonton for dinner and fireworks. More cousins and lots more fun. It is a long day but the kids have a great time.

Our other big news this month of July was our new purchase. Brian and I decided this year that we needed a van with our new addition arriving later in the year. We both bought our previous vehicles in December and learned that is a major expense to register at a bad time of year. So we were determined to find a van in July. Well after much research and looking around, we came across a nice Dodge Grand Caravan SXT 2008. It is the perfect size and we love it. It was a little heartbreaking to give up my 4runner but a van was needed. We have enjoyed every minute of and can't wait for when our baby arrives.

The pregnancy has had its moments this time. I had a scare with high blood pressure so we made sure to eliminate all stress out of my life (well as best as we could) and it helped a bunch. The sad thing was I had to give up my Primary Secretary calling. I can't believe how long I have been in the Primary. Kimberly was in nursery when I started. It hasn't been too bad being in Relief Society and Sunday school. I just miss the kids in Primary. Maybe in the future I will be back in the primary one day.

Here are some pictures:

Tell me he isn't cute. Sometimes he is a goofball in the bathtub.

Kids meal toys that the kids thought were so funny. They are pretty goofy.

Waiting for the 24th parade. We did great finding shade. haha

Our new van.

Next month: Ultrasound on baby, dr appts, family campout, and school starts!

Fun 4th of July

What a fun 4th of July weekend. Because of the 4th falling on a Sunday, we were able to celebrate Friday thru Monday. Friday around noon, we took the kids to my parents for the weekend. Grammie and Grampie wanted to have the kids for a couple days and this was the perfect weekend. The kids didn't even make it in the house... they went straight to the backyard because Grammie and Grampie had their swimming pool and a slide pool blown up. They were so excited. We hurried and put on swimming suits and watched them have a ball. Brian and I left and drove back home by way of Bear Lake. It was a perfect day to see the lake and have a famous shake. That night we watched Logan's fireworks from our truck. We haven't been able to do that in years due to Kimmy not liking fireworks and Brian working. They were great!

Saturday Brian and I did some major kid room cleaning (one of the reasons they stayed at Grammie's house) and checked out the Cruise-In. It was so peaceful in the house and we enjoyed every minute of it. The kids were having a great time too. They got to play at the parks and then hit the big Soda foam. Every year Soda's fire crew make a big foam pit for the kids to play in with their swimsuits. Matthew didn't last long. Some little boy threw foam on Matthew's head and he was done. So him and Grampie cleaned up and went and had free watermelon. Kimmy was enjoying the foam and Grammie finally was able to pull her out to get some watermelon too.

Sunday was pleasant. We haven't been to church without kids in a long time. I actually caught myself telling Brian to take just one of the bread. haha. I guess I am just used to having kids around. The kids got to visit with their Great Grandparents and have a good rest day.

Monday Brian and I zoomed up to Soda early for the big festivities. Soda starts their morning with breakfast and then the fun runs and then the big parade. For a few years I had the enjoyment of dodging horse droppings while marching in the parade. This year was a treat because we got to see my dad march. My dad is a VFW member from his time in the Army in the Vietnam war. We were pretty proud to see him right behind the flags carrying his rifle. What an honor. Of course their is lots of candy and it helps to know people in the parade. We definitely have our summer stash of candy now and it is just the start of parade season. Matthew wasn't too fond of the loud noises of the parade and spent most of the parade covering his ears. Kimberly went thru the same thing but this year she was very brave and was running everywhere getting goodies. She even got her and Matthew a couple frisbees. It is important to wave to everyone in the parade... and it helps to be extra cute. After the parade, there is a bunch of stuff to do in the park: eat, shop, visit, train rides, carnival games with toys, big boucy toys, mini ferris wheel, snow cones, etc. There are even basketball tournaments, volleyball tournaments, and softball tournaments that go on all day long. Lot of fun.

That's my dad in the middle!
Notice Matthew covering his ears... the end of the parade was still going on.

The train ride was a big hit.

Brian had to work that night so we hurried home in the afternoon but we did stay up to do some fireworks of our own. Kimberly used to love snakes but now they aren't very exciting. Poppers are always a favorite and this year the kids found out how much fun it is to throw them in the road and wait for cars to run them over. haha. But we watched some fun fireworks and enjoy visits from the neighbors.

I tell ya... it took us a couple days to recover from our busy weekend but it was sure a lot of fun.

Can't wait till the 24th.