4th of July Week

This year for the 4th of July we decided to go spend it up north with Brent's family. On Thursday we spent the day at a park in Provo Canyon. I have been to Vivian park lots of times but never realized that the road goes back way far and there's more than one park. We went to an almost deserted park and played all day, first picnic, then soccer, then a pretend hike, then sat in the grass and played games. Anyway the weather was perfect and it was great....other than Creed not leaving the water spicket alone it was perfect...
Friday we had our annual American scavenger hunt in search of breakfast. It took longer than expected because papa's yard is much bigger than ours...The kids then spent the rest of the morning strategizing for the annual attack Brent/other adults brave enough to go outside water fight. They hid water balloons at strategic locations and had the hoses stashed in just the right places. They  filled water guns and buckets with sponges. The were very prepared this year. They even had a plan that involved three kids bonking heads and needing their dad to help them to get the dads outside just where they wanted them...Basically it was pretty epic. That night we watched fireworks and set off a few of our own. It did start sprinkling during the festivities but it felt and smelled so good it didn't stop us.
Saturday we went bowling and just hung out. Sunday we went to church and were sad to leave.
Here's a thousand pictures in absolutely no order....

The older kids are getting smart about their attack 

Creed was into it for exactly one water balloon. He threw one and got sprayed once and this is him walking out....I guess it is good to know when enough is enough...

The adults whipped out a surprise of their own by manning the hose from the deck and spraying terror down one the kids....

Jocelyn was old enough to really enjoy it this year....

Yes Brent is running for his life away from a 4 year old...

Grass games after a fun day at Vivian Park...

Picnicking

Creed getting in on the soccer action to keep him away from the water spicket....

Glory Days....

Taryn really wanted to go for a hike so she could use her Camelback that she got for Christmas. We did try and hike but apparently the trail ended at the park where we were so it was a short lived endeavor.

More picnic and cousins...

After the water fight was over the slip n slide was busted out. And new high velocity thrusters were enlisted....

Brent showing us all how REAL men slip n slide....

More picnicking....

Girls Camp 2014

So I was asked to be in charge of girls camp for the girls in our area this year. I was sort of scared because they require skits and teen age girls have hormones and I hate being cold and the camp is WAY cold and going meant leaving all my own beautiful kiddos for the week...Luckily I had 24 GREAT reasons to have fun.

We focused a lot on being brave in the world today, particularly as it relates to communication. We talked about how we will be held accountable to God for the words we choose to use and the way we use them to love or hurt. We talked about being involved and present in our relationships and in the activities we are doing. (hard to do while txting etc...)

All the girls of course worked on camping skills like lighting fires, using compasses, and recognizing constellations. Actually our girls pretty much rocked it and all but two finished every activity necessary for certification (the two who didn't finish were sick so that was OK). 

I delegated all the skits and the girls were unbelievably funny. Seriously I wish I had video of their skits they did such a great job. 

A couple girls got sick (total bummer) and one bed roll went flying down I15 on the way home (also bummer but it was retrieved by a very brave lady and returned)....And while it was cold I still have all my digits in tact....

While I was gone Brent took a lot of time off work (during the day and worked late nights) and the kids also spent a lot of time playing with cousins....SO overall camp was a win win. I did come home and sleep for a solid 12 hours as sleep was a rare commodity up there but it was all good....Anyway here's a few pics....remember it is camp and personal hygiene of any sort is optional....

Our very own Dundee awards on paper plates...

Lutze Time 2014

Whenever our Lutzes's visit we play hard. They came down for several days in June and we watched The Wizard of Oz at Tuachann, watched Cami play in the summer games, went boating, watched the Lego movie, went to the downtown splash pad, had an adults night out, and celebrated Father's Day with Brent, Fred, and Papa Weight....So here's the evidence in no particular order and please forgive the crazy picture coloring-some little 4 year old lady knows how to change camera settings on my phone....

My mermaid girl.

Creed superman swimming just like at swimming lessons only here there's only 2 inches of water...

The cousins...

Cami being crazy....

Tuachann pre play-they are also showing the little mermaid-but we saw The Wizard of Oz....Jake, Cami, and Taryn...

Jake, Natalie, Cami, Taryn...

Taryn, Rachel, Jake?

Boating-It was SOOOOO windy but it was still fun. 

Creed's first tube ride...He was yelling weee....weeeee....the whole way home...

Summer Games

Cami got the opportunity to play in the Utah Summer Games this summer. Her soccer team played teams from Ogden and some other places (that I once knew and now can't remember). It was fun to see how they compare with other kids their age since their team here wins pretty much every game (occasionally not but usually they win). They won second place and all got silver medals. The games were in Cedar City, 45 minutes away and it was so much cooler. There were awesome parks around the fields for the other kids and it was just perfect soccer weather. 

Soccer has been and continues to be a struggle for Cami. She loves it but she isn't aggressive-it is just not her nature; however, she is getting better at jumping into the mix. And she hasn't gotten too much playing time. After one frustrating game when she only played about three minutes she came to me upset. I told her I didn't care if she played or not-it is completely her choice- but I didn't want her to quit just because it was hard...if she quit she needed to do it because she didn't enjoy playing. Her choices were to continue on how things were, quit, or go talk to her coach and ask what she could improve on so she could earn more playing time. 

Now talking to people let alone adults is not Cami's favorite so I was floored when after the next practice she followed the coach to his car and asked what she could work on so she could earn more playing time. I was seriously so proud I almost cried. 

Cami is a great kid but most things in life have come pretty easily to her. School is not too challenging. Behaving and attention span comes naturally. Pretty much everything she tries she succeeds at so I really appreciate that she has had this opposition to work through. I want her to be strong not just because she is comfortable but because she has worked hard and earned it. I hope that makes sense. So she has chosen to battle on and I try to support without being overbearing or pushy....

So here's the evidence of our fun week of soccer at the summer games.