All of June

 You had given up on me, huh?  Me too, actually.  But then I was downloading photos today to my computer, and how can I not share?!  There are a lot of photos here, because this is pretty much what we've been up to for all of June.

Our hometown parade:

Asking kids to smile into the sun is mean.

A day at the pond:

 And I really mean 'a day'.  I think we were there for 5 hours and they could've kept going, but when my phone died and I ran out of water to drink, I pulled the plug on their fun.

All this summer fun wears a girl out!

Hiking to Rocky Mouth Falls:

 Sweetie pie with a dirty face.  :)

We took our kids to experience a Rodeo.  I love them!  My kids kept asking, "Why are they doing that?"  :)  Strawberries and cream is a must:

 My kids are so lucky to get to experience so many fun things.

Our hike to Bell Canyon Reservoir:

 These kids are troopers!  It was a steep and rocky climb, but we all did it!  Go us!  This is how Lu felt about it:

I told her if she didn't put her arm around her sister and smile, she wouldn't get her slush.  She immediately gave me this:

 Bribery in action.  :)  Those kids earned those slushes.  I'm so proud of them all for doing hard things!

Nick's work took us to Lagoon, which is a highlight of our summer.  So much fun to be had!  The kids were go, go, go the entire day and we have some adrenaline junkies in our family!  Our sweet Lu being one of them.  She was bummed out she couldn't go on the fast roller coasters.  Maybe next year.  Me, on the other hand, must have a squishy brain because I felt sick by the afternoon.  After a rest and some drugs, I was ready to go again, though, thankfully.  Old age isn't looking very fun!  Some photos of our day:

Yesterday I enjoyed some time with my momma, and then I took the kids (and cousin K) up the canyon for a picnic.  It was a mountain therapy kind of day.  What a pretty world surrounds us!

And then these photos are out of order, but that's ok.  Movie night around here looks about like this:

 Super comfy!  They made prizes for the best made beds too, funny kids.

My Daisy baby is such a big girl:

Last week we went camping for a few days down at Huntington State Park.  We were joined by 5 of my siblings.  Such a party!

Wolf 'ems, a camping favorite (which Nick thinks needs a new name, I concur).  

We love snuggling baby P:

Lots of time in the water!

One evening, some of us headed out in search of petroglyphs (Rochester Panel if you want to look it up):

 I don't love hiking on cliffs with little people.  In flip flops.  But, we made it there and back without injury!  And just in time before we lost all daylight!

 I've seen lots of rock art in the last year or so, and this was far and beyond my favorite.  So many awesome pictures and close up!  (Too close up for the kids, they just couldn't keep their hands off.)

More water:

 Blue lips from a popsicle, not from being cold.  ;)

 So much fun with family!  And being outside!  And sleeping in a tent!  :)  We love our annual family camping trip.

On the way home we found a yummy drive in, Sherald's Burger Bar.  See the little plastic figure on top of the ice cream?  That brought back fun memories.

End of School

 Ladies and gentlemen, I am now a full time mother of five.  At least for a couple months.  I love it.

Well, most of the time I love it.  ;)  I DO love having my kids at home and even all the chaos it brings (as long as I get some time to myself, that is).  I love making our own schedules and only doing those things we WANT to do.  The same doesn't go for my kids, ironically.  I make them do a lot of things they DON'T want to do, but such is life, right?  They haven't complained too much so far.

The last day of school (a week ago, now):

 Missy Maren has had a great year!  She has been happy and has made lots of new friends and has been so much more confidant this year.  Third grade has been good to her!

Ellie has had a great year too!  She adored her sweet teacher, who told me that Ellie is a friend to all (love to hear that!) and is so helpful and happy.  5th grade has been one of her favorite years in school.  She had perfect attendance this year!  That's where she wants to be!

And my boy.  I can't believe how big he is getting.  Like his sisters, he is obedient and on task at school.  His teacher adored him!  Funny, he went by his first name all school year (we call him by his middle name around here).  I had his friend's moms calling me to arrange playdates, and I honestly didn't know who they were talking about when they asked about my son by his first name.  That may just be proof of how lame I am, but it was funny.  I've talked to the school and changed his name on the records, so hopefully next year we can be on the same page.  He has made really great friends this year and he's been such a happy kid!  Goodbye, 1st grade!

PS See the origami in his hand?  He LOVES origami right now, and will now even make up his own creations, really cool ones!  I need to take some photos because I'm impressed by his creativity.

And, just for comparison sake,

Beginning of the 2016-2017 school year:

And the end:

Kids grow a lot in just 9 months!

We live in such an awesome neighborhood.  Several years ago, my friends started the "Shebang" on the last day of school - they would greet the kids on their way home with silly string and treats.  The tradition has continued and expanded since then!

A really fantastic group of neighborhood kids:

The last day of school was such a party.  First this, then our neighbor's traditional Otter Pop N Dance party, and then another neighbor had a picnic party with a huge blow up slide.  And then, my kids were with friends all day, ending the day with pizza and a movie at our home.  Phew!!

Our Memorial Day weekend was spent helping my parents with some home projects - installing a sprinkler system (it's about time!) and painting their family room.  I'm so glad we have so many siblings close by who are willing to pitch in and help!  A huge job was made so much more manageable with lots of helpers, not to mention more fun as well.

We got to enjoy some time with a good bud, cousin K.  My kids were highly entertained with him and we even got out and had some fun:

 Daisy has learned that she can roll her tongue, so she is doing it all the time.  Love it!

One of my summer goals is to take my kids on a hike once a week.  Our first one was to Buffalo Peak with my sister and her kids.  What a beautiful place we live in!  The mountains make me happy!  (Driving up/down the mountains is usually a different story, but I can do hard things!)

Made it! 

Looking out over the valley was cool, but my personal favorite was the gorgeous mountains to the rear:

 Happy Summer!