Splash Boats

The Splash Boats at Trafalga proved to be refreshing on one of the hottest days this summer:

Splash Pad

Our visit to a splash pad with friends:

The older kids thought it was a little babyish until they started spraying the little ones with squirt guns and dumping water on their heads with cups.

I think all the kids enjoyed it.

Couples Ride

We went on a couple's Ranger/Razor ride a few weeks ago up the canyon.  We ended up with around 10 couples.  We rode around in the canyon, dropped down on the other side, and ate Mexican food at a little restaurant in town.

 

These are some of our crazy friends that came along.  I wish I would've gotten pictures of everyone.

 



After the restaurant, we hit the hills again and found a good spot for a campfire.

 



 



Our kids said they had a great time, even though the house looked like a crime scene when we got home...

 

 

K crashed on the recliner.

 

 

Bl looked like he fell asleep playing with a balloon.

 

 

And Ka seemed to have crashed in the middle of building legos. 

 

We feel bad that we didn't snap a picture of B...she was the only one who didn't seem to be part of the crime scene.  She had tucked herself in nicely on the couch downstairs. 

Two Buddies

K has been on vacation most of this week with my parents. I walked into the room this afternoon, sat down on the recliner, and said, "Does it feel like we are missing somebody?"

Ka giggled as she looked around and noticed that K and Daddy were both gone. Then she said, "Actually, we are missing two buddies." I love the things that come out of her mouth. 

Never a Dull Moment

There's never a dull moment around here. Combine Daddy with whip cream and willing mouths and we get this. 

Dipping Strawberries in Chocolate

Most of the time, when my kids ask if they can have a treat, my line they can always expect me to say is, "Eat something heathy first."  As we were dipping these strawberries in chocolate, Bl turned to me with a bit of mischief in his eye and said, "Mom, I can eat as many of these as I want."

"Really?  Why do you say that?" I replied. 

"Because," he said, "it's something heathy and a treat all in one."  I guess he's right on that one. :)

This Girl

Sometimes this girl comes all dressed up like this and asks if she can paint my nails, do my hair, give me a check-up, and serve me dinner.

And other times, she does my make-up for me. How can I resist such a cutie?

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Another Hot Air Balloon Festival down in the books.

G is the one who gets us into this every year. He volunteered and signed me to help as well.

Sadly, he had to work this year and missed out on the celebration.

The kids and I still went.

We enjoyed face painting, donuts, juice, and helium balloons.

The kids enjoyed watching the balloons go up.

Our job was to fill helium balloons for the kids. The four of us went to work with other volunteers in the booth. We filled and filled. I was pretty sure we were going to be there all morning. There was no end to the kids wanting a free balloon. Sadly, there was an end to the helium in the tank. I say sadly for them, though. Not for me and my fingers. :) We welcomed the break and enjoyed the hot air balloons as they sailed off into the sky. My favorite things about the hot air balloon festival is the peaceful morning, watching the sun rise over the horizon, and experiencing the amazement of these huge balloons soaring up into the sky with my family. Family is everything. 

Summer Running Adventures

I decided to run a half marathon this year. I have never done one before. 

Working up to be 1/2 marathon ready was harder than I thought.  I hit some road-blocks, some of which I talked about earlier (shin splints).  But the greatest thing about running is going with friends.  I wouldn't do it without my great running friends.

 

Here are two of my friends on one of our first "long" runs.  I think we did 8-10 miles.

 

 Here we decided to run down the side of the mountain to train for our downhill. 

 Luckily, there were beautiful views:

 This was the next day on my bike ride, but who sees a camel every day?  I had to snap a picture.

And national running day...

  This is a Stake 5K I ran.  Lots of heat, a little wind, and lots of fun.  I placed 2nd in the women's, so I can't complain.

 We ran into an adventure on a potty break during one 10-miler.

 We were running past an area where people like to fly large remote control airplanes...one man accidentally flew his plane into the back of his friend's head.  Needless to say, our running friend who was a nurse had to run to his aid and help the bleeding stop.  The ambulance came flying down the bike path as we headed out.  We tease her that she saved his life, but I really think she did.

 The most recent was another bike trail.  I loved the scenery down the canyon and that one was 11 miles.  We are almost to 13...

As we've worked up to the 13-miler, we've seen hot air balloons hanging out near the temple. 

Been chased by runaway calves. 

 

Spotted turkeys in a field. 

 

And ran more canyon trails. 

The half marathon is this Saturday and I can hardly contain the butterflies.  I'm so excited!  It'll be so fun to accomplish it with my great friends. I love you all!  Here's to having a great time and finishing my first half marathon.