Celebrate Youth

Every year the school district puts on 'celebrate youth' the day before school starts.  They set up lots of different booths and games for the kids sort of like a carnival but the best part is...it is free!  This was the first year we've gone and I thought we would only be there for a couple hours but Addy was having so much fun we stayed all afternoon.

As we were walking past this bull ride, I casually asked if she wanted to ride. I totally thought she would say 'no way' so it was a big shocker when she agreed.  The guy running the booth went pretty slow at first but she hung on so he sped up and after a couple seconds Mitch asked if she wanted off and she nodded yes.  So she jumped off and then started crying. Oh well. At least she was brave enough to try.

You got to love the half closed eyes while sleeping. Creepy.

And this is when I put the camera away but she also got her hair fixed by the Paul Mitchell girls, her face painted and played on lots of bouncy house toys.  We also got lots of free stuff like books, bags, toothbrushes and little toys!  I'm thinking we will now be regular attendees.

Camping

One activity that Mitch wanted to do before summer ended was to go camping with the family.  After our camping adventure last year with the bears, I made sure we went to an actual campground so there would be several other people around to scare the bears away!  To be honest, I was a little hesitant about going because we'd been having so many issues with the Addy girl (just packing up was a nightmare!) plus we have a new baby.  Since it was only for one night and we were going with good friends, I tried to have a good attitude.  We went up to Island Park to a place were Mitch used to camp as a kid.  It was beautiful but next time we won't choose the site right by the highway, those trucks get pretty noisy at night! 

Addy helped set up the tent.

Spent some time coloring while we got the fire started for our tin foil dinners.

Mitch maning the fire with the little man.

He loves his hands...they are always a slobbery mess.

Playing a rousing game of Uno while we wait for our dinners to cook.

The kids even got to watch a show before bed while the adults played Canasta.

After our delicious breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage we shared some lovely songs around the campfire.

Then packed everything up and headed up to Big Springs to see the fish.

Turns out we had a really hard time finding the fish. We had to look far under the bridge and we still only saw a couple.

This little guy was amazing!

On the trail to Johnny Sack's Cabin.

Hehe..I love this picture.
This is at the outhouse of the cabin and I told Addy to pretend like she had to go to the bathroom.

Our only family picture from the trip. Thankfully it is a pretty good one!

On our way back to the car so we could have our picnic lunch!

Turns out we need to go camping more often!  Our kids did awesome, meaning we had no melt-downs from the oldest or the youngest!  To top it all off when Addy was asked what her favorite thing was she said...spending time with my family!  Pretty big deal since lately we have been the worst family ever to her.  My attitude about camping has greatly changed.

Drive-In

Once each summer our local drive-in does a kids double feature.  We went last year and kept waiting for them to do it again this year because it was so fun.  Well, this past week they were showing 'Planes' and then 'Despicable Me 2' which was totally great because we hadn't seen either of those yet.  

We love snuggling all together in the back of the truck and eating treats while staying up super late!

Rigby Lake

Thanks to my cousin inviting us to tag along, we got another thing crossed off our summer list.  We love being spontaneous so when they texted to let us know they were headed to Rigby lake for the day, we quickly decided to join in the fun.  We borrowed a few tubes and packed up the sand toys and headed out for the day.  It was fun for Addy to have kids to play with, while us adults visited in the shade.  Mitch even got a nice nap while holding Brayden, which meant I got to float around a little on the tube and help Addy build an awesome sand castle.  I'd say it was a pretty great day!

Rexburg Rapids

We finally made it out to the water park this summer.  It was one of the things on the list and the best part was we didn't even have to pay!  The stake had reserved it for the youth and leaders and then invited all their families to come as well.  It was fun but next year will be even funner because we will all be able to swim instead of me just sitting and holding the baby.  We did dunk his feet in the water and he only screamed for a few seconds and then was fine once he got used to the change of temperature.

Addy still loved the lazy river and really wants/needs to learn how to swim so she can do the slides like the bigger kids!  She just wants to grow up so fast and do everything on her own.

Splash Park

I have been wanting to bring Addy to the splash park all summer but it is always so crazy busy during the day.  One evening Mitch got home from work a little early so I planned an early dinner and then we headed over to the park.  It was still fairly busy but nothing compared to the afternoons. That also meant it wasn't as hot so this little girl was freezing after 5 minutes.  She was a trooper though and still wanted to play even though her lips were turning blue and her whole body was shaking and shivering.

Her favorite part was the yellow slide because she could dunk her head under at the bottom.

This little man just chilled in the shade.

She still has to close her eyes and walk up the stairs sideways because of the water splashing everywhere.

Dad even walked over and got us an ice cream to share.  Maybe he should've gotten some hot chocolate too!

cousin fun

My sister was such a great help while she was here.  She even cleaned up the dog poops so these girls could play with the slip n' slide.  That is true love.

It was so great to have Addy occupied and having fun with her cousins instead of bored with me!

We even enjoyed a little of the warm weather.

Sun-bathing...I'm guessing they learned this from my mom!