Summer Wrap-up

There's a million reasons why I LOVE where we live. They have a ton of parks within walking distance and a couple of them have splash pads. 

It's completely gorgeous.

There's another little park that I never see anyone at and it is so cute! There's dinosaur fossils to dig up and footprints on the sidewalk. I don't think a lot of people go there because it's actual sand and it's a pain to clean up once you get home. But it's still super cute and fun!

We live close enough to Spokane to take advantage of big city stuff like indoor football games and baseball games.

Boating!

Gage, Reese, Carson

Gwen waving to the boys on the tube and Reese skiing for the first time!

Carson skiing for the first time this summer.

Our big back yard for "camp-outs"

Carson actually was a good help putting up the tent. The other two just had sword fights with the poles. 

Neighborhood kids. The boys are always outside riding bikes asking if they can go play with neighbors across the street. Love it!

Our first ice cream from the ice cream truck. Ry and Carson were out on a date so Reese and I got a special treat, a Spiderman ice cream cone with bubble gum eyes. Reese was ecstatic! So many luxuries that I've never experienced before. We are totally the typical suburban family!   

We spent a lot of time on house projects too. This was an oak entertainment center that my parents gave to us when they remodeled. We painted it white and put on new hardware. That center piece was meant to go on top but we built it up and put it on the bottom because we'll probably put a bigger t.v. down there sometime in the future. We still need molding, a countertop, and some decorative pieces to finish it off but I think it looks awesome! We also painted the walls the blue and yellow but we got rid of the yellow later since it was a little too much. Now it's a beige which makes it feel a lot bigger. I miss the yellow because it was really fun and bright but the beige is a better choice. 

We didn't get Silverwood passes but the Crandalls got some free tickets so we were able to go once and spend the day. It was perfect for the rides and even Gwen got to go on a couple but it was too cold and windy to really go to the water park. Lots of fun regardless!

Between all the trips and fun things to do our summer has flown by! Sad to see it go but I love fall so it all works out. Hopefully summer will come quick next year!

The End

Reese Recited

While eating rainbow sherbet

It's like a party in my mouth!

Where did he get that??

Carson Quote of the Day

Mom, Dad. When I just went to the bathroom right now, at the end (at this point I'm thinking he's going to tell me something was medically wrong with him) I peed some bubbles that looked like a bear footprint. I didn't even know that could be real!

Such a boy!

Sprint Tri

I completed my first triathlon. It was awesome! I actually had a really fun time and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. It was about what I expected although the weather wasn't very cooperative. It had been super nice for weeks before and it cleared up for the run but it made for a tough swim and bike. I didn't get a ton of sleep but I woke that morning to cloudy skies and strong wind. We made our way down to Honeysuckle beach and got our gear set up. There were actual white caps on the lake that's how windy it was! It looked really intimidating but I tried to keep my mind off of what I was about to do so I wouldn't psych myself out.
The swim wasn't too bad for me though. I thought I would get run over or kicked but people were really considerate and it was comforting for me to have a bunch of people around. I didn't feel like I was out in the middle of a lake which is what I had mentally prepared myself for. Going out, it was pretty hard to find a rhythm with all the waves so I had to swim with my head up a lot but coming back in was easier. I kept thinking that I would be able to make up time on the bike. Nope.
I wasn't worried at all about the bike. 12 miles on a bike, no biggie. BUT that darn head wind. It was coming right at me and then it would gust and pretty much stop me flat, like I had hit a brick wall. People were passing me like I was standing still. But I just kept going and distracted myself by looking for all my friends that were doing the tri too that were in different heats.
The run was the worst part. I hate running and probably always will. It's weird going from bike to run because you feel like you're going so slow! The run was pretty uneventful and the sun did come out but I did make a friend. There was a lady who kept slowing down to walk and every time she would stop running I would think that I was going to catch up to her but every time I got close, she would start running again. And I guess I should clarify... my "run" is honestly more of a brisk walk. I'm happy to do 10 minute miles. I eventually caught up to her just as she was slowing to walk and I told her to keep going and stick with me since I wasn't going anywhere fast. It actually helped me because it was easier to stay distracted and kept my mind off how much I hate running. At the end she kicked it up and beat me but who really cares honestly? I'm just glad I finished. I figured I would finish in about  hr 45min and I think I got 1hr 48min. There's lots of room for improvement but not too bad for my first time, especially considering the weather. Looking forward to next year!

Tri Traing Group but there was a lot more of us who just trained but didn't do the race.

Kellie Baker, Ivy Matheson, Kim Dance, your's truly, Rachel Morely.

Trying not to freak out...

"I'm okay! I did it! I'm still alive!"

"Now for the easy part..." 

Emma helping me transition

And I'm off!

And I'm back!

Now for the worst part.

Best support group ever!

Yeah, right!

Park City

So we were going to make a trip down to Firth and my mom called and asked if we wanted to go all the way to Utah and see family while we were already headed south. Our anniversary was coming up so I bought a Groupon for two nights stay in Park City. Ryan didn't know about the Park City trip but I figured we wouldn't want to make two trips down to Utah in two months so I told him early and we headed down. We left really early and the kids did great in the car. I'm so glad that my kids are good travelers. If they weren't, they would be after this summer! The first night we stayed at my parents, visited Grandma and took family pictures. The next day we headed down to Utah. We stopped by the new mall downtown since none of us had been there. It was very impressive! A lot of high end stores... even a Tiffany's! I was surprised. Utah's movin up! We shopped around for a couple of hours and then we went to my aunt's house for a little family reunion with my mom's side of the family. When we stopped by the store to get some food for the party we randomly ran into one of my best friends... Milz! Couldn't have timed it better! So I ditched my family while they were getting everything ready and went with Melissa to pick up her kids. They ended up coming to my family reunion but it was fun. After the party, Ry and I headed to Park City and Mom, Jordan, Emily, Jocey, and our kids headed back to the farm. We found our hotel and then walked around main street and had some dinner.
The next morning we get a text from Jeff saying that Gwen and Reese had been throwing up all night long. My mom assured us that everything was under control and not to come home. After debating half the day, we decided to stay in Park City. So we went out to Olympic Park.

Zipline

I think my favorite of the three things we the Alpine slides though. I thought it was going to be lame but it was really fun! You went a lot faster than I thought you would and it felt like you were going to go flying over the edge! Awesome!

Coaster was fun but the best part was that we got to ride together.

That was pretty much the whole day ending with some yummy sushi. It was busy and we were waiting in lines for the majority of the day. It was a blast though. We ate a lot of food! That whole weekend there wasn't one time when I was actually hungry but there were just too many good restaurants to pass by! 

The next morning we went to Kneader's which is the best place ever and it's a good thing there's not one close to us because I would get super fat! But it's sooo good! We headed home and by then the kids were feeling a lot better. They even ended up going to sacrament meeting with my parents. Guess it was a good time for us to leave but I'm not sure who I felt worse for... my mom or the kids! Thanks, Mom, for letting our kids puke all over you all night! Cheers to eight years!