Waiting for that first swim meet to start is always hot and boring for the non-swimmers. It's just taking pictures, endless orientation and a whole lotta sweat!
Diana swimming is a whole lot of effort and splashing in the water, she's getting a lot faster as the season has progressed!
On the last week of school, Nicole caught a pic of this bunny we see a lot on our walk to school.
Diana has a great goal for the summer: "Get more money"
We played our family band at our local farmers market. A dozen or so vendors, and a stream of people wandering around while we play.
We played our set of 8 songs two times through with a break in the middle. Song list: What Makes You Beautiful, I Won't Back Down, Get Back Up Again, Stand By Me, Eye of the Tiger, All You Wanted, When the Stars Go Blue, and Fight Song. Our tempo was a bit too fast for some songs, but the kids performed extremely well and we had a wonderful time as a family!
Marian and Brandon took us boating one evening. Jim did some wake surfing and the weather was beautiful.
Such a gorgeous lake surrounded by trees and hills and beautiful sky.
We made pizzookies!
Diana at a swim meet. I pack dinner and the kids are always dying to buy stuff from concessions so this year I sent some ring pops along too. Very popular with Diana, obviously.
Diana's Kindergarten class. We are so happy with this new school, it has been such a relief to see how well things have gone!
Mike passed his EOGs with flying colors and also got the Bookworm Award for his class. He recently devoured the Fablehaven series.
Jacob, wearing his class autograph shirt, got on the A Honor Roll. He is such a steady hard worker.
Nicole has blossomed at school. The teachers there really like her and see her sweetness. She received the Compassion Award for her grade and the Guiding Light award for her class. She volunteered to come early and stay late at school to be an office courier. I love seeing her take on these responsibilities.
Diana's birthday was on the last day of school. 6 months ago she told us all she wanted was to go to Grandma's Beach (aka pool).
She is a mix of sweet, sassy, and vibrance and I think this cake got all three.
John sleeps in a big boy bed. Hasn't fallen off and prefers to completely lay on his pillow. There is something so sweet about this little boy. He is so funny, cute and energetic.
Cleaning the church as a family. This was NOT easy and it was the first time all the kids came to help. Trying to get them all to clean windows was way more hard than anticipated haha.
Jake and I went on our annual date to the Pigfest! We eat beignets, kona ice and watch pigs race.
There are lots of prize wheels and activities for kids.
Me and Jake. He won me that beaded necklace :)
Giving the forecast is his favorite activity. He gives great detail and spends a good deal of time getting it accurate.
For a friend's birthday we went to an awesome restaurant where they make dinner in front of you. I find great pleasure in watching someone else make dinner for me!
With the kids home for the summer, I find myself surrounded by kiddos 24-7. I was reading my scriptures and realized the girls had crawled behind me chair and around me, in their little world of playing ponies.
Diana's birthday wish came true! We got to take our longest family vacation ever, to Arizona. We haven't been there for a very long time. At least 5 years. It was hot, but not much different than NC. We got up super early (3hr time difference), ate, swam, had 2nd breakfast, swam, etc. LOTS of swimming!
We loved the one-on-one time with family.
We loved tasting really good AZ Mexican food. I really miss that in NC.
The kids got to meet several cousins for the first time and reconnect with their other cousins and aunts/uncles.
One of the second breakfasts.
We checked out the Lego Discovery Center. It was alright, but overpriced for the little rides, playplace and scant legos. We still had a great time!
We ate at Rainforest Cafe and loved the ambiance. It was so loud, we rarely had to tell the kids to be quiet haha.
Every few minutes, all of the animals went crazy during a "thunderstorm". These elephants by us were plenty loud.
Jim and I shared a volcano! I love trying out the best dessert these places have to offer and dreaming up new dessert ideas.
The kids ate "dirt"- pudding, oreos, and gummy worms!
We spent several afternoons swimming at Luke and Jackie's house.
Jim took the oldest three to Roosevelt Lake for tubing.
Jake tried wakeboarding and got up on his first try! They couldn't believe it!
The did a lot of tubing and had fun trying to push each other off.
John and Ruth getting to know each other. One Sunday, they played happily together in the backyard for hours. Sweet little cousin friends.
One greatly anticipated event was scorpion hunting! We could only find two in Grandma's backyard and had to go to a neighbor to hit the jackpot. Diana thought scorpions were bigger than people and was TERRIFIED until we found one and then she couldn't believe they were so little and was a little too fearless (in my opinion) in her search.
Grandma does a wonderful job engaging the kids in Sunday activities and the love the time they spend with her.
A leak was discovered in the basement and the kids helped unload the storage closet which was totally flooded.
We visited Jim's cousin and the kids loved their doggy.
One of my goals was to do a desert hike so we did a 3 mile hike.
Diana is never dramatic. haha. She also talked the entire way up and down to a very patient and sweet Aunt Janell who got to hear every detail of how Diana was feeling and every question Diana had for her. She really loves Janell.
Snacks at the top!
Half way done with the hike.
Camouflaged lizard! The kids loved finding new kinds of lizards and wildlife, even a jackrabbit!
We cooled off at a splash pad after the hike.
Grandma O had lots of crafting time with the kids. They loved making these puppets and worked very diligently on them.
We went fishing in the canal behind Luke's house and Nicole went a little ahead of everyone and landed this huge fish!
As the sun started to set, Diana was way more interested in scorpion hunting than fishing!
Success!
Mike tried out archery for the first time. Once we got him using his correct position for being left-handed, he did great.
I enjoyed trying it out too!
We took the kids to visit Bass Pro Shop. They watched fish, took the elevator up and down to see fish, played the rifle shot game with leftover game ammo, and followed animal tracks through the store.
Jim and I recalled a fun date to Oreganos as newlyweds, so we took Mike there for fun. Such good Chicago deep dish pizza!
And a pizzookie for dessert!
We had a Del Bianco reunion for a few days in Sedona. Jake was amazed at this large fry in his meal on the way up.
We got right out into the stream to play.
We took a little hike to a better part of the stream- it was very hot despite the higher altitude, but it cooled off beautifully each night.
Nicole doing some "cliff" jumping.
Mike jumping from the higher rock and right over my head.
Cousins relaxing after a big day.
We took a fun hike with everyone and it was so gorgeous. I had forgotten the beauty of the red rock of Sedona.
We walked a variety of terrain, from dirt and gravel to tall grass and stream crossings.
Jim is holding John as he crosses, it was fun to watch :)
Our mini-slide rock.
Playing with sticks behind the cabin
John found true puppy love at first sight. He wrapped an arm around Sarge and let Sarge take him around. He petted, cuddled, and basically played with this sweet dog the whole time we were there.
Diana and Roxy made a 3 person tepee hideout! Diana adores Roxy and they were fast friends. I loved to see them bonding and lifting each other up.
Grandma was so patient helping John make a stomp rocket. He LOVED stomping on the capri sun!
Family dinner with Josh's family
Dad had his birthday and Mom made a fun watermelon cake!
The trick candles amazed the kids. Nicole, as you can see in the background, was sure the fire alarm would go off.
John loving the cake!
We had fun backyard s'mores! The kids were much more of the 3 second toasting or just burn it patience level. They loved them!
While we were finishing s'mores, Nicole got in the pool and was so nervous to go in at night by herself. It was so cute. When I told her go for it, she proudly swam around a little.
We went to the Gilbert Temple. It is beautifully built, and has aloe vera motifs everywhere.
When we got back, Benjamin was patiently helping the girls as they were having a playdough tea party.
We went to lunch with my younger brothers in residence. Some Sarsparilla was a good start.
So fun to hang out with them and that they all live in AZ now after so many years of being all over.
Grandpa took the kids to the desert museum and they saw a huge tarantula!
They each picked out a fish for the fish tank and had fun with their Grandpa.
Grandpa got a book about a coyote who swallowed a fly and Diana asked him to read it at least twice!
On one of our last days, the kids discovered Wii. They were giggling nonstop at prettymuch everything and they loved all the different games.
Even Grandma got in on the action!
Remi had her baby blessing while we were there and Nicole was happy to hold her newest cousin.
I loved the sweet time with Remi, it's been a long time since I have been able to meet a new niece while they are so little still. Very sweet to be family.
Daniel maintaining the peace on Sunday. Yes fly swatters were involved.
Early morning tennis with Grandma as the instructor! She was so patient in the heat as I watched John and Katy at the park.
We visited the Arizona Science Center. There was so much to see and the kids were engaging and learning nonstop.
This bike course was very high. Once Mike agreed to go, Nicole said she would too. The weight below the bike made so it wouldn't tip over off the rope.
Nicole was nervous but still did it. I was proud of her!
Diana playing a guitar type instrument.
Katy tried to make a vortex, but that included a puff of air coming out fast and she was not keen on anything sudden happening!
Making their own dams and streams.
This movie simulated different weather like rain, wind, fire, and earthquake. The kids went twice it was so fun.
Trying to put a body back together!
We had so much fun in Arizona. It was such a wonderful time. The flight back was just fine and the kids were well behaved. I am so grateful for the time I spent reconnecting with everyone and for their graciousness hosting us for meals and at their homes.
For July 4th we stayed up to watch A Capitol Fourth in Washington DC and eat flag cake!
Nicole was really missing Arizona when we got home. In fact, Diana asked me where her room was and Katy started freaking out when she had to use the bathroom because she didn't know where it was! Anyways, my mom gave Nicole this little blue blanket and it was sweet to see her snuggled up with it one morning.
John turned 2! It's hard to believe his is so big because he is still my little baby boy. I'm so grateful he loves to snuggle even though he's a live wire. He makes us all smile and is so loved by the whole family.
Katy got a haircut to get rid of her impressive mullet which was the result of her attempts at giving herself a haircut. He curl isn't totally gone, but we do miss those long curls.
The girls begged to go shopping with me and accessorized with their favorites.
I brought a dead scorpion in a paperweight home with me and will use it in a primary lesson. I look forward to the impact such an object lesson will have!
We had our annual Run For Liberty and it was the wettest year ever. It poured rain almost the whole time!! It was also windy and we were all pretty cold. Yes, cold! In July!
We'd hoped to play the family band, but with the constant rain showers dumping rain, we couldn't even get the tarp off the equipment.
Despite the weather and the muddy course, over 200 people signed up and ran the race!
We had more amputees than ever attend this year, and I love seeing their strength and coming together to raise money for the Amputee Coalition.
