Days of Summer Part 1...........

We have stayed busy this summer that is for sure! We have had our fair share of fun and excitement. After our huge water fight at grandma's here is what else we did to fill up our final weeks!

We have eaten a lot of watermelon. It's every one's favorite except for Christian. I've gotten pretty good at picking out ripe, juicy, sweet ones! Julia can never wait to get her hands on a big juicy, red piece of deliciousness!

I have enjoyed some many cool sunsets this summer. With all the storm clouds around it makes for some pretty fantastic scenes! My phone camera just can't capture it perfectly enough! I also have enjoyed the rain and cooler weather. The big storms that have passed through have brought relief from the heat and some nice thunder and lightning. I got to see the SUPER moon a few weeks ago.

                                                                               
A super moon is a new or full moon which occurs with the moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit. Pretty cool to see the over sized moon on a nice clear night.                                                                                                                      

 Julia put on her bonnet grandma Cromwell made a few years back and said she put it on for Pioneer day. Layne and I both had to work on the state holiday but we did get out some sparklers to celebrate. It was Christian's first time holding one by himself. He was scared at first but that didn't last long. Away he went running and waving them around. Happy 24th!

We celebrated 2 birthdays in July. Kate turned 9 and she had a Hollywood/The movies themed party. All the girls got dressed up in fancy dresses and got hammered by the paparazzi on the red carpet. It was a fun party! Kristy always does a great job with her kids birthday's!

A few days later my sister Amy celebrated her birthday. We all went to lunch at Brick Oven and then we hit the splash pad in Provo. It was an impromptu trip so none of the kids had swim suits but that didn't stop them. Off came the boys shirts and the shoes and they loved it. Christian ended up in just his underwear at one point because his pants kept falling off. As we were leaving the splash pad, Christian was walking by me and said the following. "Mom, that was so much fun I couldn't breath!" I guess the splash pad was a hit! Then it was time for cake and presents! It was a fun day. I'm glad we were able to spend time with my sister.

Annual Water Fight.........

It's that time of year again when we find ourselves trying to entertain the kids and want it simple, easy and of course free! This year we set up two kiddy pools and then bought about 15 dollar tree water guns. We use to have water balloons but some kids seem to get hurt, so we just stuck with the water guns. We told everyone the rules and let them know not to shoot at grandma because she was taking pictures, once she put the camera down we all soaked her good. It was the perfect day to have a water gun fight, it was about 101 degrees out, so as soon as we got done we laid out on our towels and were dry out within about 15 mins of sun bathing.  It was a good time had by all and a fun tradition we have started, that I think will keep going for years to come. The pictures say it all. Enjoy we sure did !


                            

 BEFORE

                                                                                       
   
                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                 AFTER

Out on a Walk........

Julia and I went for a walk around our neighborhood one night. We always like to see what animals we can find on our walks. Some dogs but mostly cats is what we come across. This particular night we saw a cat just like the one my dad had named Fluffy. It was the spitting image of the old cat but just a younger version. And a few months before spotting 'Fluffy' I saw another cat at Petsmart and told my dad he had to go see it. It too, looked just like Fluffy but again a younger version. He contemplated very hard and was about to leave with a new pet but thought twice about it. Timing wasn't right! But its a little weird seeing two cats that looked exactly like our old cat Fluffy. Same markings on the head and mostly white with a touch of calico! We miss you too old friend :)

Picture of the Week...........

So creative! These 2 can really crack me up!

The 4th of July Weekend.........

We started the day off right with putting out our flag. The kids are great helpers! Took a few more pictures by the front door,( our favorite spot!) They were ready for a great day!

Love this picture........ Best Friends!

We thought it would be great to get back to some tradition. So we decided to go to the Bee's Baseball/ Fireworks game! It was soooo hot, but at least we had some shade before long. My whole family was able to go except Kristy's kids who were visiting in Alabama. We sure did miss them. We ate a lot of yummy food, tried to stay hydrated, wrangled and roped Christian a few dozen times, sang 'Take me out to the ballgame,' lots of potty breaks due to the hydration, and watched a good ball game and enjoyed the awesome fireworks to top of the evening!  While riding to the hotel in our car Christian commented on the fireworks saying they were beautiful! Yes they were buddy! I love to see fireworks on the 4th.....its just not the same without them!

 Family, Friends, and Fun at the ball park! Happy 4th of July!

 Big sisters are the best!

 Trying to get a good picture of us is not easy as you can see! I wonder where my kids get it from!!

                      

 Little Miss Peyton having fun!

 After the game we rode to our hotel room and stayed the night so we wouldn't have to drive all the way home and then back up to Smithfield. We were on our way to visit Jeff and Kelly and the kids! The hotel was an experience as it always is. We had Kameron join us and we all shared one room. You sure do get to know someone fast when in a situation like that! We had a good time and some laughs!

Saturday we got to Jeff and Kelly's house! We all had a BLAST! The kids played and played till they basically just dropped....that's normal with any Cromwell gathering! We played miniature golf, went to Pink's for shaved ice, played soccer, watched many dance performances, had our hair done, had a weekend filled with Napoleon Dynamite quotes and lots of good laughs and fun. We also got to celebrate Uncle Rich and Ella's birthdays while visiting! It was a great weekend.

The Car Wash

This kid loves the car wash. Every time I fill up on gas he begs to go through the car wash. Whenever he sees the car wash he starts to chant, "car wash, car wash!" So I finally caved and took him through the car wash when I knew it was going to rain for a few days, and besides the van really needed it! Pure joys in life!!