I was thinking about our summer and how it played out differently than I had originally thought it would. We never made it to Murray Pool, Discovery Gateway, the Bees baseball games, concerts downtown, and so many other fun things that makes Salt Lake unique. Our day at Lagoon and the Real Salt Lake Soccer game (both without our kids) may have been the only thing we spent money on (and even then we had big discounts thanks to Wade's work). We needed to be frugal so we could finish our front yard (which we did. Wahoo!) And I even decided last minute to hold a summer camp for 2 months to help us make money.
But I am AMAZED at what a blast we had just doing
the simple things that were either free or cost very little, such as camping, hiking, biking, tubing down the canal, playdates at the park, swimming and running through the sprinklers in our backyard, playing hopscotch, building forts, sidewalk chalk drawings galore, watching the orginal Parent Trip movie again and again, blowing bubbles, eating ice-cream cones, making playdoe masterpeices, and of course playing with cousins. What a summer to remember! And I know that I WILL remember it because for the first time, I learned to really let things go and just live in the moment. Maybe it was the fact that I spent so much time with preschoolers this summer, particulary my own, but they taught me to just PLAY.
I thrive on order. So usually, my house is clean and organized, but not the last few months. It's been a wreck, but I've had some of the best tea parties ever with my kids, so I just didn't care what my house looked like. I have had less mommy guilt because I've been playing with them more and scolding them less for making messes, and it feels great! Don't get me wrong, I'll start cleaning again...sometime. But in the meantime, I'll share with you a few last pictures of our summertime fun.
After teaching summer camp in the morning, I often met up with my cousin, Marne, and my friends, Darcy and Kristal, at Sunnyside Park. A few times, they came over to my house for some water fun in my backyard. Here's Emily, Gwyn, and Salote.
It was hilarious when Marne's daughter, Melanie, got stuck when she tried going down the slide into the pool.
Here's Emily with Marne's twins, Sophie and Emma.
Ironically Darcy also has twins. Here she is with Tuimana. What a cutie! The next few pictures are when we joined Traci and Brynn at the Davis County Fair. Brynn's twins also make me smile, and after spending so much time with all these adorable sets of twins this summer, I'm starting to think maybe I want twins....maybe.
Jonny milking a cow at the fair
Emily taking a turn at milking
Emily and Sammie riding in the little cars
Emily chose a pink and purple sword balloon
Jonny chose a brown elephant and contrary to what his face in this picture suggests, he was actually thrilled to have it. lol
Sammie, Etta, and Emily giggling at the silly noises they were making with their whistles
the best experience of Jon's life: riding a horsie :)
Emily enjoyed it, too, but just not the same way her little brother did.
Emily dipping her head in the water to make what she calls "crazy hair" during another swimming playdate in our backyard
Every summer, it seems we have to say goodbye to more great friends. The Lake family has been really special to us. Elaine is an amazing person, and I look up to her so much. We met in our Gospel Parenting institute class when Audrey and Emily were barely 1 years old, did Joy School and the Mommy and Me Music Class together for 2 years, traded babysitting, and had some memorable playdates. We'll miss you guys!
Olivia, Regan, Emily, Jon, and Andee hanging like monkeys
seeing the new baby elephant for the first time.
We heart the baby elephant.
Andee, Gage, Jonny, Brea, Sophie, Emily, and Regan
Hailey and Emily held hands everywhere we went. They are such good little buddies. It cracks me up!
Wade and Jonny, in their matching checkered shorts, checking out the cows
Emily picking apples at the Little Hands-On Farm
Jon and Em planting their seeds in the vegetable garden
Wade, Emily, Cath, and Hailey on the big yellow slide
Wa-hoooooooooo!
Jonny didn't want to ride down it at first, but then he saw how much fun we had so he asked Grandpa to get him a ticket...
"Daddy, don't EVER let me do that again!"
Cath, Hailey, and Em on our way up the ferris wheel
Then BAM, he gets nailed in the head by a hard piece of candy! So I go to comfort my little guy, trying REALLY hard not to laugh because the whole scenario was quite hilarious, to be honest. haha Does that make me a bad mom? ;)
Hailey and Emily put on dancing shows for us every night using some cool tunes from Hailey's pink CD player.
And when they weren't dancing, they were sliding down the stairs in Emily's sleeping bag. Good times! :)
Of course they insisted I do their hair the same everyday and were just happy and silly all the time together. Here they're peeking out the window, pretending to hide from the bad guys.
8 year-old Taylor made a KILLER fort! He brought in the soccer net from outside and used that, the kitchen table, 9 chairs, and every blanket in the house to create it, and it was just awesome. I was proud of his ingenuity, but Alex was even more proud of his older brother. He kept saying, "My brother, Taylor, he's the best at making forts, huh?" It was really sweet to see how much Alex admired him.
I was a cool aunt and mom and let them eat their lasagna that night on blankets in the fort. 
Of course, after dinner, everybody did their part to help clean up the fort.
Then for the activity during Family Home Evening, Taylor, Alex, and Wade thought it would be fun to make another mess and build a huge tower. I wasn't too sure about it, but I gave the go ahead, and I was again impressed by my nephew's hard work and creativity.
Way to go boys!
Emily started dance class with Miss Julie, and she's been on cloud nine ever since. Moms were allowed to stay and watch that first day, and I have to admit I was a little teary eyed watching her dance because she was SO happy! Since she's with me in primary every Sunday and preschool three days a week, her dance class is her only opportunity to be away from me, and it's been so good for both of us.
Miss Julie told them a story about Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella and talked about how a princess would stand. So every time Miss Julie says, "Think Princess!" the girls stand up straight with their shoulders back, dancing hands in place, and a smile on their face. I could just see Emily's confidence grow when she did it. It was really sweet.
one very happy girl
Here's the entrance to my preschool. Thanks to Kim for helping me make my new sign!
Emily on her first day
Jonathan
Here's my 3 & 4 year old class working on their artwork. I hadn't planned on Jonny joining the class since he's in both of my 2-year old classes. I had put him down for a nap in the other room so I could teach, but he was just crying and crying because he heard friends playing. When the boys in the class heard him, they said, "Miss Catherine, you should invite him to our class!" How cute is that? So when I brought him back with me, sure enough, they all hugged Jonny and told him they wanted to play with him. 
Emily dipping her head in the water to make what she calls "crazy hair" during another swimming playdate in our backyard
