Small Town Fun

There are certainly disadvantages to living in a smaller town, but the advantages far outweigh them in my opinion (partly thanks to online shopping, ha ha). We've had a very fun, summer-y week. We kicked the week off with a family reunion on my dad's side. It was so great to see so many cousins I was close with back in the day, but I never get to see now. I have such a great family. Spending time with them reminds me where I got my weird sense of humor, ha ha. My mom stayed up here with my sister for a few days and we packed a lot in. We took the kids to several parks, the local swimming pool, up the canyon to roast marshmallows, and just had a great time.

Marin also got to be in her first play. The local Children's Theater put on "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" this year and Marin was a munchkin. Oh my goodness, she was THRILLED! She loved every second of it. I'm so glad she's not as shy as I used to be when I was her age. I think I missed out on more than a few fun opportunities because of it. Anyhow, it was a wonderful experience. I learned how to tie-dye (that was my big contribution since I don't own a sewing machine) and Marin had a blast. My sister's family came to watch it with us on Friday night. We had a barbecue and then headed over to the play. It was in an outdoor theater so it was perfect for our little ones. Then we came back to our house and ate ice cream cones. Such a fun night.

Today we had a parade down our little main street and Marin got to ride on the children's play float singing songs from the play. The city had a big party with bounce houses and slides and things at the park around the corner from our house, so we ventured over there for awhile and ended the afternoon with a shaved ice.

My cute mom with Kate, Marin, and Spencer at the reunion

Marin in the parade

Kate was not one bit scared to barrel down this huge slide

My sister Avree bought Marin these flowers and Marin was beyond thrilled. She just kept looking down at them and smiling all evening.

She could be Dorothy with her cute red pigtails!

 I love summer so much! 

Oneida Narrows

Well we braved the woods of Idaho and camped for a night up in the Oneida Narrows area. We invited Mitch's brother and family and a great time was had by all. I was a wuss and got cold and sore from sleeping on the hard ground, but the kids did better than I thought they would. We brought our boat up and boated on Friday evening, then of course roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for dinner. The next day we fished a little and let the kids play, then packed up and headed home. I think camping is one of those things that is a lot of work for the adults, but kids love it :) One night was perfect for our little family. I hope to make it a summer tradition!

Andrew likes to sit on Mitch's lap and "drive" the boat (and Avree I didn't crop my weird face in the background off just for your personal enjoyment)

The lake was so beautiful!

Marin found this caterpillar and played with it for awhile. Then when she got bored of it she made a big to-do about deciding to let it be free

Mitch slept with Andrew in this little tent

My two little blondies

Mmm, sausage, bacon, and pancakes cooked in their grease! Camping breakfasts are the best!

Kate and her little cousin

The Zoo!

I have to start this post out with a sad, sad story. I brought my camera with me to the zoo and was actually good about taking pictures of my children for once...and somehow I lost 80% of them. But we did have a great time. My cousin has a family pass and was able to get my sister Avree and me and our kids into the Hogle Zoo free. We also got unlimited train and carousel rides so that was a nice bonus! It was so fun to see my cousin Emily and her darling girls. Emily, Avree, and I used to spend hours and hours just playing make-believe games when we were younger and sometimes I can't believe we're all grown up with SEVEN kids between us! There was a really neat bird show that kept the kids pretty entertained. These huge birds were trained to fly right over our heads from one trainer to another. If you go to Hogle Zoo I don't recommend missing it. Anyway, Avree and I said the endeavor was a pilot test for Disneyland and all of the kids but Kate passed. Kate failed with flying colors, running away from me multiple times and getting down and licking the ground several times or eating dirt (at a zoo, no less!). A bag of Cheetos kind of saved me finally. Good think Kate will have about six months of growing up to do before we attempt Disneyland! What a fun day! Thanks Emily Bemily!