The Beach!

After Disneyland, we made a quick stop at Huntington Beach to enjoy the waves, the breeze and the sunshine.  After the (exciting and fun) pace of Disney, it was nice to take just a few hours to sit and rest our tired tootsies.  Sylvia has asked over and over if we would please take her to the beach so she could collect sea shells, so when we got to the beach, that is exactly what she did.  For hours.  It was relaxing and enjoyable, except I forgot to put sunscreen on my pasty legs.  Bad idea.

Disneyland!

Warning:  Picture Overload...

Disneyland with the Lee family was crazy fun!  We stayed in a hotel just a block or two from the parks, so we were able to walk each day.  The parks weren't really all that crowded, so the lines weren't too long for the rides!  We ate together, laughed together, got a little motion sick together, and above all, had a really great time.  We are definitely tired now, though!  Disney is not a vacation for the faint of heart.  But we hustled, and had SO much fun!

July 4th Fun

The 4th of July is probably one of my most favorite holidays of the year.  I LOVE going to the parade in Provo, eating like crazy with my family at our reunion, and lighting fireworks in the evening.  Some years, we even go to the Stadium of Fire.  This year, since we traveled to Disneyland the next day, we skipped Stadium of Fire, but we still did some fireworks in the driveway before we packed up the car for our trip.  Margaret and I had a great time tie-dying shirts for the kids to wear that day.  Of course, I left Collin's shirt at my house (because I'm a dork), but we went back and got it so he could wear it with my kids at the family reunion.  It was crazy hot, but the day was still a lot of fun.

Balloons

I took the kids, ever so early in the morning, to see the balloons launch over at Fox Field on July 3rd.  We were actually supposed to meet Stephanie and Margaret there, but I have lost my cell phone, and so there was no way to find them in the crowd.  We enjoyed ourselves, nonetheless.  Well, except Ben.  I don't think he's really a morning person :)

Canyon Cookout

Oh, hey there, guys!  Just takin' a picture... 

Auntie Stephanie with Captain America

Mommy loves her little superhero

Wonder Woman enjoying her hot dog! 

Happy Baby!  He likes hanging out up the canyon.

S'more face!

It's always fun to celebrate Papa Tom's birthday with a family cookout up American Fork Canyon :)

Stone Soup

The kids just recently finished a 2 week theater camp that my Aunt Betsy put on at her home.  The play that the kids performed was Stone Soup, which Betsy wrote - music and all!  Betsy's version of the story was set in the old west, so Ben was a cowboy, and Sylvia was a little western maid.  They were so cute!  Every kid had a line or two to say, and there were several songs for the kids to sing and dance along with.  I helped Betsy by teaching the kids the songs, and I helped a little with other direction as well.  The kids worked very hard for 2 hours each day for about 2 weeks, and the final performance was awesome!  (Except for the ridiculous heat, which was awful.)  This camp, coupled with T-Ball and Coach Pitch, has made June quite a busy month for the kids.  Whoever said Summer vacation was boring?

Art City Days Parade

Juli and Sylvia riding on the Mini Cheer float 

Daddy and Henry watching the parade

Mommy with her boys

Fire Trucks are loud

We went to the Art City Days Parade this morning, and this year the parade was great!  We sat with the Taniguchis, and they are always a fun bunch, so we had a really good time.  And what is it with me losing my kids at parades?  Last year, we lost Ben, and this year, it was Sylvia.  She got separated from me, and we looked for her for 20 minutes before Nate found her.  I cried when we found her, I just love that little girl so much!  Losing her was traumatic to say the least.  I'm lucky that I have friends that are helpful in stressful situations like this.  I even had one friend call me on the phone an hour or so after the parade was over.  She had seen me walking the parade route with a look of concern on my face, and wanted to make sure that everything was ok!  Once we had Sylvia safe and sound, we enjoyed the rest of the parade, and then came home and spent the afternoon on the Slip 'n Slide.  Art City Days has been a lot of fun this year.