Swimming Summer

My kids love love love swimming.  And I'm so glad.  They all learned so much this summer working with Anne Ducey.  

Sarah improved her kicking.  Before this summer it was kind of a cross between a bicycle and a bunny when she tried to kick.  But now she looks more like an actual swimmer.  Her side breathing has improved and she can do the elementary backstroke really well!

Ben can now float on his back, tread water (sort of--his head is still underwater most of the time, but he can now pop it up), and he is great at swimming underwater.  I give him a little push down and he can swim to the bottom and pick up several objects.  Next year, freestyle!  The biggest change I noticed from the first week to the last, is that he can now tiptoe touch the bottom in the shallowest end of the pool.  This kid has grown!! (Gonna have to get him some new pants this week!)

Libby made some amazing improvements this summer.  She can swim laps in the deep end!  She can swim freestyle with pretty good side breathing, backstroke, and she even learned to swim butterfly!  Next year I think I'll have her do a swim team.  She loves it!

Ballinger Lake & Celebrating Shoreline

We had a day with Dad this week!  He was home on Thursday so we went to Ballinger Lake.  I was too busy to take many pictures, but here are a couple and a video of the lake activities.

We were so excited to Celebrate Shoreline.  This has been our favorite festival.  But this year, it was not as fun.  It was HOT.  Like don't want to move hot.  There were fewer kid activities.  No cheap cotton candy or sno-cones.  And no bunnies in the petting zoo.  We came home early and called it a day after the reptile man and a few times in the few bouncy toys.  I had a chance to get busy on cleaning out the office.  I'm still not done.  It is in a shambles around me.  But I figured if I didn't blog, I never would.  

The other thing we have been doing is watching the Olympics every spare minute.  I really didn't want to do anything else all week.  The Olympics inspire me in a way that nothing else does!

Vacation Spot #3 Centerville UT

We couldn't have a summer trip without staying with my parents.  And we couldn't stay with my parents without jam packing our days there.
Day 1:
Lagoon

Ben and I on Puff.  He is ready for the bigger kid rides, but he isn't tall enough for many of them.  He did ride Rattlesnake Rapids and Bombora (an actual roller coaster)!  I rode Bombora with him 2x in a row.  Then I had rot gut for the rest of the day.  He had to get Grandma Debbi to go on those rides with him!  I also broke my sunglasses during the day and had to get new ones at the gift shop.  RIP Oakleys that I had for like 3 years and were all scratched up.  I loved you.

Sarah showing that she has been on Bombora 5 times.  

Libby saying she has been on Bombora some number of times.  Not sure. 

On our way out.  Exhausted.  But happy.  

Day 2:  This is the Place

We picked up another 2nd cousin, Liddie to hang out with us for the day (and overnight).  We started the day at Ruth's Diner for some Mile High Biscuits.  Yum.  I was way too full after, since I ate a whole biscuit (plus a little) and then ate eggs, bacon and hashbrowns.  Bad idea.  I was sluggish the rest of the day.  But it was delish!

"Praying" with the statue at This is the Place park. 

This is the Place!

Bonnetted Sarah

The 3 lovely ladies. 

Me at RS Hall.  I tried to glean some wisdom on how to do my calling by standing in this spot for a minute or two. 

Libby's favorite part was the last area we visited.  It included both of her favorite units of study for the year, a minerals and mining section and a Native American exhibit.  They all "mined" for minerals and got quite a few.  Then we looked at the Native American "regalia" (not costumes) and went to the dancing show.

Day 3:  Aria's Birthday:  This was a bit of a recovery day.  Playing at Grandma's with Liddie, going on the slip n slide and having lunch with Drea.  (Somehow I didn't get a pic of Drea, but it was fun to see her baby bump!)  Then in afternoon we headed to Bryn and Brian's for Aria's birthday and their "Back to School" photo shoot.

Fun Mickey and Minnie Cake

Aria enjoying her cupcake.  

 Day 4:  Randall Reunion & the "Bubble"

These are my Grandpa's 3 remaining brothers  Stan, Pork and Ron.  It was fun to see and chat with some of the Randall cousins.  I wasn't close to to many of my second cousins, but it was fun to see a few of them.

Then we headed to the Bubble.  My dad came with to help manage the kids since we also brought James.  It was super perfect swimming weather.

James is super hesitant about water, but he did great!  He had a really fun time.  

Day 5:  Drive home in one day.  Thankfully I had convinced my friend Layla to go see her mom in UT at just the right time so she could drive back with me.  Time goes so much faster with someone fun to chat with.  We were making record time until we hit traffic in Snoqualamie.  But we still got home in time to unload and get to bed at a normal-ish bedtime.
This week has been a bit rough, getting back into reality.  Especially since Sarah must have gotten food poison or something on the way home.  She had it coming and going for a couple of days.  But we are back to health and back to the everyday summer grind.
It has been a memorable summer!

Vacation Spot #2: Salmon Idaho

As kids, we spent a week or so, most summers, in Salmon ID. I loved spending time at my aunt Myrna's house, and spending time with my cousins.  My kids don't have any 1st cousins their age.  But my Salmon cousins all have kids my kids' ages.  So, like 6 months ago I started pestering my cousins (who now live in UT, FL, and TX) to see if they would all be in Salmon at a time that would work for me to crash their family gathering with my kids.  It worked out that we got to see everyone except the TX family.  It was so fun!
Lots of kids, lots of energy, and lots of fun!

The drive to Salmon went through an area with a forest fire pretty close by.  It was SMOKY!  Later in the day they closed the road.  Glad we made it through before that!

We ate lunch in Stanley ID.  Cheeseburgers and chips and fries.  Super healthy (not), but very yummy.

The kids loved this sign and asked if I would leave them alone so they could get a free kitten.  Ha!  

All of us were in Salmon for about 24 hours before some of their family started having to go back to reality.  This is the chow line for that first meal together.  

What a fun bunch!  Emmi and Jonathan are really close to Libby's age.

We got to play at the main Tolman ranch house (my Dad's best Salmon friend now lives there, Edward).  They have this great swing.  Fun for all except my brother Nick, who back in the day tried to speed it up and ended up cutting his fingers in the motor.  My kids were duly warned not to do that.  

Ben and I shared one end of the tent.  Every night until the last one (when I finally realized I could prop up one side of his air mattress) he slid off the mattress and onto the floor of the tent.  But he slept right through it.

We took beautiful morning walks every day.  Amazing, right?

We had a multiple birthday celebration one lunch.  Can you tell what this rice crispie cake is?  (Hint, it is a state, with a pile of chocolate chips on a certain city.)

The wind did some major blowing once a day or so.  We woke up in this state one morning.  Yikes!

I brought a couple of crafts.  The one that caught on like wild fire was the Perlers.  The kids did Perlers off and on all weekend.  They created some pretty awesome stuff.  (For those who don't know, Perlers are little beads that you put onto boards with pegs and then iron together to create stuff, like soldiers, dragons, monsters, flowers, butterflies, etc.)  

On Monday we went down and played in the Salmon river.  

Sarah doing pushups in the river for burp or fart punishment.  I forget which.  

Finally they went out a bit farther and floated in the current.  Sarah loved it.  So did Libby and Ben, but I didn't get pics of them somehow.  

I forgot to bring towels to the river.  Ben didn't want to ride back all wet.  He wanted to walk with me (it isn't very far, like .5 mile maybe?)  He said, "Mom, this reminds me of walking home from dropping off the girls at school with you.  And now I won't be doing that, since I'm staying at school."  Melt my heart.  What a sweet boy.  He also wanted to climb and slide down the gravel pile on the way home.  It was pretty high but he just did it.

On our last night they pulled out a few skating costumes (from the roller rink days).  Sarah did a performance for us while we ate in the restaurant they created.  

The restaurant staff. 

The restaurant menu.  Cheap pizza!  Expensive Dessert!

Going out for a last train ride.  

This is almost an exact image of what did happen to Libby later on the ride.  Except she actually fell out.  A bit bruised and sad, but overall good.  No one had to get stitches the whole trip!  (In fact, I had a bad cold and ended up the only one who went to the doctor the whole trip.)

Salmon.  Gotta love it.