Such a fun summer!

Ok, ok.  Playgroups? Check. Suntans? Check.  Trips? Check.  Water fun? Check.  School started...ahhhhhh.  Yes, summer is officially over and it was officially fun.  There isn't much we didn't do...except visit some wonderful friends in South Dakota *sigh* it's on the list for next year!  We kicked off the summer with a little day trip to Eagle Mountain to ride horses.  Even Mom (that's me) got to have a go!  It was pretty much Grace's dream come true, but she wasn't the only one who had fun!

McKenna wouldn't have anything to do with the horses, unless you count looking at them.  Maybe next time.


Probably one of my favorite things this summer was watching my kids' imaginations soar.  Today was a "pirate" day:

Karlee was the "princess" hence the lack of pirate gear...but she was still fierce!

                                        

For the 4th of July, we had a special treat: Camping with the Brands in Little Cottonwood canyon!

Brooklyn tried her first popsicle...I'm pretty sure she liked it!

My beautiful cousin Kristal goes to school at Wellesley in Boston, but this summer she did an internship at BYU.  We got to spend a bunch of time with her in July and August and it was seriously priceless.  

We spent the 24th of July in Mendon, as always!  We started with a parade...aka "every 4x4 and fire truck in town filled with water gun toting kids throwing taffy and otter pops."  We moved into the shade and pretty much didn't move the rest of the day, except to chase the shade.  The kids enjoyed pony rides and bounce houses and the firemen kept everyone cool with the annual "hosedown."  For those who haven't experienced this phenomenon: they spray foam until it's inches thick on the grass and everyone's covered in it, then they spray their fire hoses impossibly high in the air and rinse everyone off.  We topped it all off with the coolest fireworks display there is.  You can't beat a lazy day at a charming hometown celebration.