Tappana Times: August Extras

Most of August was spent on our trip to Utah, the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone, but before I get to that post, I will document what else happened that month.

We spent an afternoon at Deep Lake.

I tried to take Kendrick and Ivy out on the water in their two floating boats, but Kendrick was so traumatized from our previous lake experience that he screamed so much and had to hold onto Ivy's boat with a death grip. By the time I calmed him down he had riled Ivy up and she started to fuss. We only lasted about twenty minutes. That's lake life with toddlers.

Lydia and Ammon started their two weeks of swimming lessons.

While they learned swimming techniques, Kendrick splashed in the kiddie pool and Ivy chewed on her flip flops.

Brigham found a cute little frog on one of nightly, evening walks.

Ivy received a book from Grandma Becky about not biting because that is currently one of her big problems. Everyone keeps their toes safely tucked under them while sitting on the couch. Yikes!

How can I resist these two?

Lydia and Ammon and I went for a long bike ride along the Cedar River and Arcadia Trail.

I packed Ivy and Kendrick in the bike trailer behind me and we were off.

Last time I took Lydia and Ammon on this trail, there were a few breakdowns and lots of tears due to the difficulty. This time they were super champs and they kept exclaiming how much fun it was. I was the one who wanted to breakdown because towing the two younger ones behind me was no joke. The best part of the excursion is getting to throw rocks in the river at the end before heading back. I was so proud of Lydia and Ammon at how well they did and how much fun they had. I'm starting to love hanging out with those two.

I took first place in our Relief Society Scrabble tournament and won Reeses and even a medal. I felt all sorts of official.

BYU football games began and we dressed accordingly. This family is true blue!

BYU and books. That's our thing. Or at least mine and Ivy's.

I posed the question of how much time of a mother's life is spent finding a bathroom for her child and then waiting for her children to go to the bathroom. Because I think that takes up a good amount of my time, as you can see me standing in front of this men's bathroom clear in the back, secluded area of a grocery store NEXT to the actual store we were shopping in.

And miss Ivy decided that instead of chewing through the box, that she would just open the tops and proceeded to constantly get into the cereal.

Next up: our big summer trip!

Summertime Fun

A campout to start out July became a jumping-off point for all sorts of summer fun.

Some friends took me out mountain biking for my birthday and it was a total blast!

Wendy was about to move and we were fitting in our last fun times together.

Free Chic-Fil-A for cow appreciation day. Spots never looked so cute.

Tired of hearing so much negativity come out of my mouth towards the kids about what they're doing wrong, we tried a new system where the kids were rewarded for positive efforts. Lydia completed her chart of positive actions so she was able to choose whatever restaurant she wanted to eat at. Olive Garden for the win! I am so proud of all her good decision, hard work, and genuine goodness.

Ammon wasn't far behind and he chose Red Robin as his restaurant of choice. I loved seeing his thoughtfulness and helpfulness grow.

Kendrick completed his chart eventually and he chose "Mickey-D's" to eat at (not pictured). However, he also got to benefit from his siblings' chart rewards as well. This boy makes my heart happy and he really worked hard at talking nice.

Ivy was too young for her own chart, but she just worked at growing bigger and learning all she can.

Like how to chew through cereal boxes to get to the goods. And what grocery shopping is like when everyone is home and eating alllll the things.

What it's liked to be trapped on your own personal trampoline, and snuggling with brother in the rocking chair.

We took a trip to the Pacific Science Center and made sure to visit the butterfly exhibit.

Ivy also went to her first IMAX movie about Rescue Dogs.

She kept her glasses on, but really it was snacks for the win.

Unfortunately, July wasn't a very warm summer month and we were only able to fit in one lake day at our favorite: Rattlesnake Lake.

There may have been an incident where I accidentally dumped Kendrick and myself off a paddleboard. Kendrick is terrified of water and panicked immediately, despite having a life jacket on. I swam to him and he suctioned to my neck, screaming, thrashing, and trying to scale me like a tree. I couldn't keep myself above the water (I didn't have a life jacket on) with his death grasp and he would have drowned me if I hadn't realized I could touch. Once I finally got him back on the paddleboard he dramatically exclaimed, all sorts of traumatized, "Mom, you saved me!" I tried to explain to him that he would be fine because he had a life jacket on, but to his little three-year-old mind he had just barely escaped a terrible death.

Kendrick refused to even come close to the water again and spent the rest of the afternoon throwing a million rocks into the water from a safe distance.

The other kids had a blast with friends, paddling and floating around the lake and soaking in what sun we could before it left again for more rain.

Lydia and Ammon earned free Mariner's tickets through a school service project and I was thrilled to take them on a firework night.

My parents and Kayleen came as well and sat a couple rows down from us. We were high up in the nosebleeds, but we also had a great view of Seattle.

The first half of the game was a total snoozer and we were in the hot sun. But as darkness fell, we saw some fabulous plays and pulled out a win in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and a full count. That's some good baseball!

The fireworks were awesome and Lydia and Ammon had a great time. I loved spending some time with just my older two and can't wait to do it again.

Our good friends, the Ropers, had to finally say goodbye as they moved to Saint George. One of their boys is Ammon's best friend, Hyrum. For a final goodbye, we took a group picture of these three buds together. Boy were we sad to see them go.

I was able to go on a hike with a group of ladies from church. We hiked Little Si and it was a blast.

We hiked up and chatted with each other and laughed at our old age and enjoyed the views at the top.

I love these ladies and I love hiking with no kids.

Eager to get out and enjoy what good weather we could, we had a family dinner out at one of favorite places, Kanaskat-Palmer State Park.

We tossed a football and spent time throwing rocks in the river.

And that's how we like to spend our summer. Outside, eating, baseball, friends, and family.