Ogden Rodeo

Philip was singing the national anthem at the Ogden Rodeo on Beth's birthday and they invited us to join them.  It was a great excuse to see a rodeo and to hang out with family.  Phin loved all the people and horse watching.

The setting of the rodeo was beautiful.

Phin was pretty content to be held...which is a rarity these days.  We think his favorite act was the bucking broncos.

Neighborhood Party

Our Neighborhood Party was held on July 19th.  In the morning we participated in the 5K on our bikes.  Later that afternoon we headed back over for the bike parade.  We decorated Phin's bike and then let him go...he didn't quite finish the course but he sure looked cute trying.

We had a potluck dinner and then got Phin's face painted.  Overall a fun night was had by all.

It's what fun is...

Papa was exec of the day at Lagoon a couple of Thursdays ago.  We got the gang all together and headed to Lagoon.  We rode the train and carousel before heading over to Lagoon-A-Beach.  Phin's face in the picture below totally cracks me up...it is often the face that he gives to strangers.

He loved playing in the sand on the beach volleyball court.

Then we hit the water.  We played in the kid area where we went down a few slides and swung on the swings.  Then we met up with JB and James just as they were getting out of the lazy river and they were kind enough to loan us their tube.  Phin loved floating on the lazy river...mostly he loved the people watching.  Sarah and Kate joined us in the river and at one time I had two cute babies on my lap.

Phin also loved snacking on licorice and climbing on the beach chairs when we got out of the water.

Phin and James had matching speedos (plastic pants) on so got a twinner picture.

Phin apparently was pretty tuckered out and fell asleep with his hand in his cheerio container.

We decided it would be a good time to get a picture of all nine grandchildren together.

We also snapped a picture of the four babies.

Parades

We visited quite a few homes in the Davis and Weber Parade of Homes show this year.  The show ran the last couple of weeks in June through July 5th.  We saw almost all of the homes in the parade and definitely had our favorites.   I always think of my brother Jeff when we are visiting homes...Jeff can seriously build anything and really appreciates the craftsmanship that can be found in some of the homes.  

Phin was a pretty good sport as we buckled him in and got him out of the car...he is quite heavy though so we switched off carrying him through each house.  He won two DVD's on the radio station spin wheels that we visited.  He also loved this indoor sports court.

Pool Time

My mom has some great neighbors that were willing to share their pool with us one morning.  JB was off on High Adventure and Mary was at work...so we had five little boys to keep entertained.  The pool was super warm and felt like bath water...which James and Phin loved.

Andrew loved the trampoline and spent most of his time jumping.

I got to swim with Phin and James.

Playing Dress Up

We played dress up a couple of times in the past few weeks.  Comic Con had a press conference on July 8th and anyone that showed up in costume got free tickets to the convention in September...so Phin and I went as Princess Peach and Mario.  I seriously should have taken some photos down there...it was packed and there were some crazy costumes.  My least favorite were the swat looking guys with guns.

We celebrated Cow Appreciation Day on July 11th by dressing up as cows for some free Chick-Fil-A,

Our free day continued over at 7-ELEVEN where we enjoyed a free slurpee.

July 11th also had it's downsides.  Our family dog Powder has had declining health for at least two years.  She was 14 1/2 years old and if she could have talked I'm sure she would have said "I don't know why I am still here."  She woke up with weak legs in the morning and was not acting like herself.  My mom decided it was time to finally call the vet.  She also called me and I drove in to say goodbye and was able to hold Powder as she passed.  So every July 11th from here out we will celebrate her life with a free pina colada slurpee.

Red Pines Lake

We met up with our friend Dave on July 5th to hike to Red Pines Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon.  It was a 6.5 miles round trip and was quite steep in spots. Seth was a trooper and carried Phin up the entire way...I don't know how he does it.

Phin was a pretty good hiker...until he had a major blowout on the trail.  After we got him all cleaned up he was much happier...and even managed to fall asleep before we got to the lake.

We sat close to the shore and enjoyed some snacks and the stunning scenery.

On our way home we stopped at a food truck that Dave recommended.  Saturday's Waffles is located in the parking lot by Dan's on Wasatch Blvd.  We got the chicken and waffles with gravy and jalapeno infused syrup...I am getting hungry just writing about it.  They just serve the chicken and waffles on Saturdays from 10-2...so if you have a hankering for some deliciousness head on over.

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July this year.  I was on the ball and made red, white & blue pancakes for breakfast...yum.  Phin spent some time with Nona while we went to Captain America at the dollar theater.  We enjoyed some steaks for dinner followed by the traditional root beer floats.  Then we came back to our apartment to light some fireworks. Phin is covered in root beer float and licorice in the pictures below...just the way every kid should be at the end of the 4th.

3rd of July

We started our holiday celebrations on July 3rd at the Eaglewood Fireworks show in North Salt Lake.  We joined my best friend Amy and her family just above hole 8 up on the hill.  Phin loved crawling up and down the hill...he also loved the glow sticks and light-up bracelet that Amy's family shared.

Phin cried a little when the fireworks started but then he settled right in for a great show.

He got pretty comfortable and by the end of the show was fast asleep.