Summer '12

We have had the best summer this year...

To begin, we spent 10 glorious days with family at Lake Powell.  The weather was perfect 99% of the time.  The water was glass.  No water skiing this year for me, but Sarah went once for me and that was good enough.  The kids had a great time on the water banana and tubes.  Nathan even lost his two front teeth while bouncing along behind the boat.  We filled our days with picnics on far away beaches, skipping rocks, climbing rocks and then jumping off, floating, running down sand mountain, sliding down our awesome water slide, and eating ice cream at the marina.  The evenings brought yummy dinners, funny stories and floating paper lanterns.  I love Lake Powell.  I even loved going this year where my days consisted of pretty much just sitting on the beach watching the joy on my children's faces.

After a few days of being home, it was the 4th of July.  We spent it quietly, in the rain, painting toes, grilling ribs, and doing our own fireworks.  The day was cool enough for a short bike ride.  We lit fireworks off in the street and ran around with sparklers for the entertainment of our neighbors.  It was quiet day, but fun to be just us.

Just 4 short days following the firework, Wendy and Co. came to visit.  She wasn't even here for 12 hours when we loaded everyone up and headed to California for 3 weeks!  We packed those weeks with so many activities that each one should get it's own post.  I'm too tired though, so into one it goes.

To start, of course, we headed to Disneyland. Not once, not twice, but three times.  We made sure to hit the new Radiator Springs Racetrack Ride. It is a must see.  The line was super long (an hour is the longest I will wait in line for anything) but well worth the wait.  The kiddos wanted to go again, but by then the wait was well over 120 minutes...NO WAY!!!  We hit the rest of the park, which was mostly empty. Guess everyone was in line for the cars! Disneyland itself was perfect, although a little warm for my liking.  The lines were short, the rides were great and we hit everything!!!!  For summer, it really wasn't that bad.

Also on the list was the beach...again, it was visited several times...too many to count.  Nathan and Paige got new boogie boards for their birthdays (early) and they were not to be seen the entire time we were there!  Baby Max was a champ with all the sand being kicked in on him constantly, I think he even took to eating it once.  I caught up on my magazines and naps.  Paige had her first experience with a jelly!  The tops might not sting, but those tentacles do!  She was tough, and was back out boarding in a matter of minutes.

The last week we were there was very multicultural.  We decided to kick off the Olympics this year in a new way.  Each day we recognized a different country or countries.  We had different activities and foods to make the days fun.  Monday started out with Great Britain and Europe in general.  We had crepes for breakfast, fondue for lunch, and went boating on the Riviera.  Really, it was Lake Mission Viejo, but still, homes on a lake/river...Just like Venice!

Tuesday was Asia day.  Again we went to the beach, don't know how "Asian" that was but that night we sat on the ground around very low tables and ate dumplings, won tons, rice, honey seared shrimp, and fortune cookies.  All the kids tried their hands, or I should say...fingers, at chop sticks.  They did very well too!  I don't know why I don't have any pictures, hopefully one of my sisters will post them and I can steal them!

Wednesday was Italy, and Mexico?  We ate yummy lasagna, but spent the day at the Mormon Battalion and Old Town San Diego. Go figure...  Cole was selected to be our brave Mormon soldier, everyone got their lot in gold, we washed clothes and pumped our own water.  In Old Town, we found a quaint candy shoppe just for us!  Cousins Candy Shoppe, of course we had to get some and eat it and get some more.  Then we all tried some sarsaparilla and lavender ginger soda (gross), saw the very first school house and found a jail cell that I would like to have as a time out room!

Thursday was Mexico, so of course we went to Irvine....I know, I know, but you've got to get creative when you are dealing with 10 kids and 4 adults, naps, weather and attraction schedules!  Anyway, Thursday we went to ride in the worlds LARGEST helium balloon.  That's right, not hot air balloon,  but HELIUM balloon.  The Big Orange Balloon to be exact.  It goes up 400 feet and you can see forever.  It's totally free to ride up in, as is the carousel next to it.  We went up, we saw, my knees went weak, the kids loved it!  We also rode the carousel and played at the Kid's Rock park.  Did I mention it's all FREE!!! 

That night we ate enchiladas, wore sombreros and did our version of the Mexican hat dance.

Friday was all American day.  We spent the day trying our hand at the paddle board and had hamburgers and hot dogs at the beach.  Paige, Nathan and Cole really got good at the paddle boards.  Nathan even changed his mind in asking for a snowboard (cuz you know we have so much of that around here) and asked for a paddle board instead. 

It was a great way to end our Olympic week, and while some of our foods and activities may have been stretching it a bit, the kids got excited for the Olympics and learned a little bit more about some of the participating countries.  Did I mention that we also made flags from each of the countries and had them hanging around the house as a decoration?

In between times when we didn't have major activities planned, we have a great friend who has a very fun pool that we visited more than once.  The kids went down the slide so much that Cole and Nathan managed to wear out their swimsuits....

After our Opening/Closing ceremonies in California, Wendy and we all came back to blistering heat here in Arizona.  My camera went MIA in all the doctors appointments, school registration and shopping that followed.  Although, I didn't take any pictures we did have a great time swimming, playing and eating lots of Popsicles and ice cream.

And now, school has begun, Wendy has left us, and I am missing all the fun we had.  Having Wendy and Co. around was crazy...crazy in a good, exciting, I want it to continue way. It made me realized how much I love having family around to give me a reason to come up with crazy activities and have someone else there to get excited about them too.  She stayed for the first day of school, and hopefully she will be here for the rest of the first days too. 

Here's to a great summer, looking forward to a wonderful winter (if it ever cools down!)