Summer Fun!!

Summer is about 1/2 over, and we have been having a lot of fun! The kids are still in swimming lessons, and are making improvements. Liam is diving (not off the edge of pool), but swimming to the bottom of the pool to get toys.  He is treading water for 15-20 seconds, and getting better with his front and back strokes.  He also can float on his back pretty good!  Rowan had to get used to going under water again after learning it last Summer, but she is getting more and more confident with herself, when she's not trying to run the lesson ;)

We have done a few adventures since my last post...we have gone to a few parks, and we took Liam to Timpanogos Cave.  We decided that the hike would be too hard for Rowan, and neither one of us wanted to carry her up that mountain, so she had a fun sleepover at Grandma B's house.

 This park is right by our house.  It has been closed for a long time so they could clean it up.  They have cut down the weeds, and cleaned up some of the older trees that were dead.  There are still plenty of old trees left that provide shade and character.  They have planted new trees and plants, and are building a new pavilion.  It is still a work in progress, but we are very happy about the improvements!

This park is near our house too.  We actually were on our way to the library, but the Lehi Parade was going on, and some of the roads were closed, and I didn't think we could get a parking spot at the Library, so we ended up going to this park instead.

I was disappointed with this park.  They have a creek, and it's fun for the kids to wade around, but the water wasn't flowing for some reason, and the water was super low.  Also kids just love to throw rocks, mine included...but, at least I'm there to tell them to knock it off.  We saw a bunch of older ones throwing at each other feet?!

Rowan is such a snuggle bug.  Here she is giving us hugs before we dropped her off at Grandma's for a sleep over.

June 29, 2014-Liam did great on the hike to the cave!  We got so lucky when we got up to the top, one of the Rangers took us and 2 other ladies for the tour...so 5 people total...usually it can be up to 18 people, so we were happy for the small group.  Liam answered a bunch of cave questions right!  It was a very fun day.

These pictures were taken on July 3rd, the kids were outside throwing poppers, and I got a few pictures of them while dad went inside to get more boxes.

I had to go out to get cash for our landscapers, so I ran into Old Navy and got the kids flag shirts this year. They were mostly gone, but I was able to get 2 in size 5!

Our kids don't fare well staying up too late, but this year we decided to give it a try.  We were not sure where to go, we didn't want to go to the park everyone goes to because we are not fans of big crowds, and lots of traffic, so we decided to try a place that was nearby in hopes it wouldn't be too crazy.  We got there an hour before, and we were happy and surprised that it wasn't too crowded.  The kids got to play, and Liam got to use dad's old SLR to take pictures. I will have to post some once they get uploaded to the computer.  In addition to the fireworks that Lehi puts on,they got to see fireworks in all directions.  They both got pretty tired toward the end, but they held up fairly well, and didn't want to miss the finale.  The only thing to remember for next year, is to wear pants and shoes, since there are few mosquitoes.

This past weekend, we finally got to the Aviary.  We tried to get all our activities in before it got too hot, but the Aviary was one we didn't get to till later....and it was a HOT day!  But we got a deal on membership there, so we can always go back when it's cooler.

Brunch before the Aviary.

 Here is Liam helping with Ladybugs in our garden.  

Rowan's old swim cap broke, so here she is with her new one.  I couldn't find the same one, so I got something close.  She spent the night before playing little piggy with it on her head, and her hair hanging out, wish I had a picture, it was a funny site!!

 Almost forgot few things from before our camping trip in June...At the end of May, we took the kids on a hike to Cascade Springs.  Thanks to one of my friends posting pics of this place on Facebook, we thought it would be a great place to take the kids.  It's a long drive to get to, but it's worth it.  Not a huge hike, but very beautiful.  On the drive back, we stopped at Tibble Lake, and walked around a bit.

And here are some pics from our first trip to Jordanelle.  This is the other side of the park, where it's less busy with tourists, and has more wildlife.  The guy at the visitor center was very friendly, and let the kids touch all the animals on display, except for the porcupine. ;) 

And below are some pics of our 2nd hike to Battle Creek Falls, at the end of May.  We got a really late start on it, and the kids were pretty cranky, but we made it...and the dogs loved getting out too. 

Below are some pictures from Father's Day.  We decided not to do our usual, and went to Red Butte Gardens and let our butterflies go.  Sadly, one of them had a broken wing and couldn't fly, so we kept him till he died a few weeks later.