Swimming in the Summer

There just isn't anything better than swimming in the summer, especially if you have cousins to join you. We spent A LOT of hours in the pool this summer. Anna was even on the Pleasant Valley Swim Team. Both girls took swim lessons and are becoming great swimmers. Their biggest accomplishment this summer was learning how to dive. We brought the hula hoops to the pool for FHE one night and they both did great! The boys (and Mom) still prefer their life jackets but Mac started jumping in and swimming everywhere. Brad (and Mom) prefer the steps and the hot tub. I managed to get my hair wet a few times this summer.

Anna and Ty.

Mac.

Carly.

Anna.

Carly, Lori and Anna.

Pizza at the pool turns a great day into an awesome day!

Bubba.

Not quite sure how I would fill our summer time without the pool!

Happy Birthday Mac!

Big Mac turned 4! He is such a cute boy and we are so lucky to have him in our family. He had a party in Utah with family there and one here in California. He got some new Lightning McQueen Cars 2 cars and some new Cars 2 PJs.

He is super into bugs! We made some bug cupcakes and invited a few friends to the park to celebrate his birthday. Luckily everyone was nice enough to give all the bugs back to him because he plays with them constantly.

I had to include the picture of me telling Brad that it was not his birthday so he didn't get to blow out the candles. You can tell how well that went over!

Stoping for a picture!

Opening a few presents. He had such a fun birthday! We love our Mac Man!

Camarillo Street Fair

We love the Camarillo Street Fair! It is on the smaller side as far as fairs are concerned and it is free to get in. They still want you to pay $4,000 to ride the caruosel but the free entry is nice. We decided to go at night instead of during the heat of the day. The change was really nice!

The boys chose to ride the horses and the girls chose to do the trampoline jump things.

We got to go with Garrett and Leanne and Grandma and Grandpa Barlow. It was a fun night!

More Fourth Fun

After quite an eventful day we had more fun later that night at my aunt JoDee's house for a BBQ. She has this amazing porch swing and the kids were finding anyone and everyone to push them. Kate and Melinda came to spend the day with us and they even got to swinging. After the BBQ we went to the Fishers and watched fireworks and even set off a bunch of our own. Ariels are now legal in Utah so it made for quite and eventful night. Brad and Mac loved the motorcycle that kept riding up and down the street with a sparkler on its tail.

Happy Fourth of July!

Small Town Fourth of July

Two years ago when we were in Utah for the Fourth Anna was in the hospital having surgery on her broken elbow. She was soooo disappointed that she missed the parade. She wanted to come back another year to be in the parade and throw out candy. So she had been looking forward to this for years! She said it was as fun as she imagined. The parade is only about 7 minutes long but it was a fun 7 minutes. Next year the kids said they might just watch the parade and collect the candy people are throwing.

Somehow I got nominated to be the adult in the truck.

There was a lot of strategizing going on in the truck to make sure their candy lasted until the end of the parade. Brad was very hesitant to throw any of his out. He thought it was great to just sit in the truck and eat his candy! He eventually threw a couple of pieces out but that was all he could handle. He is a smart kid! We had such a fun fourth of July. Before the parade we ate a pancake breakfast at the park. After the parade we played at the carnival at the park. Then we ate lunch at the park. Small towns are the best place to celebrate the Fourth. Everyone is very patriotic and in the mood to party! Anna and Carly both commented how they wish we could be in Utah every year for the Fourth of July.

Plain City 5K

There is no better way to start the fourth of July than by running a 5K! The kids did the 3K walk with McKay and Greg. Travis and I ran the 5K. They were a little bummed to wake up at 6 but they actually had fun! The race was really well-organized and everyone got a free T-shirt.

Mac was the youngest runner and he did great! McKay had to carry him for a second but he finished strong!

Popsicles and bananas at the finish line were nice!

Of course I didn't do as well as I hoped but I did beat Travis so it was a good morning.

The kids got medals and felt really good about themselves for finishing. A great way to start the day!

Idaho

We got to go spend the day in Idaho at the Fisher's family property. It was super fun and even a tiny bit relaxing.

The kids liked to sit around the fire and roasted peeps! Roasted marshmellows are great but roasted peeps are super amazing!

We got to ride this fun contraption around a bunch. You can fit about 600 kids in there at once. It is amazing and really fun.

Camping is like boy heaven. Dirt, sticks, and motorized vehicles! Brad was loving it all.

Thank heavens Grandma was there though to help out! Brad was everywhere!

The rope swing did its job: made for lots of fun and a few tears.

Brad haming it up for the camera.

In Idaho you can drive when you are like 5 so Tate was able to take the kids for rides on the four-wheeler. This made the moms a little nervous but the kids thought it was great! We had such a fun time. The kids are hoping we get to go back again sometime. It is great to get away. It was really quiet up there and the drive was beautiful.