Catching up again

Seems that I'm always blogging about stuff we did last week, instead of getting it up the day after. Summer is so busy, though. Our last two weeks have been filled with family activities, resulting in tired and grumpy kids, which eventually resulted in grumpy parents LOL.

Tuesday last week we celebrated my nephew Bridger's birthday. Saxon [Bridger's big brother] and Hyrum convinced Jared to dogpile Walker and tickle him, while they were waiting for cake. I don't get the whole rough-and-tumble playing, but I could tell from the giggles and shouts of laughter that all the guys [big and little] were having a great time!

Morgen wanted to play with Bridger the whole time- peek-a-boo while he was eating, and pulling him around the pool in a raft later on.

This past week, we had a lot of excitement at home. Last Saturday, we were headed over to Midway for a family reunion w/my grandpa's family. On our way out the door, we discovered that an unidentified child [I think I know who it was, but since there were no witnesses, I cannot be certain...] had taken a birthday candle and some matches, and had melted the wires going into the downstairs light switch. This one light switch works all the downstairs lights, so we were without light for a few days. I was pretty upset- electrical fires are scary! Jared actually got angry enough to threaten them with a spanking [and Jared NEVER loses his temper]. So, we had power, but not to any of the lights. Lucky for the kids that we had to leave, and so they got a stern lecture but no grounding or extra chores.

Sunday was Church, and hanging with family time. Monday we got together with all Jared's siblings, their families, and his parents, and had pictures taken at a beautiful park near the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Park City. There was an awesome willow tree- I'm guessing 60 or so years old from its size- that the kids were swarming like monkeys, when they weren't needed for photos. I'll post a picture as soon as I get one :)

Tuesday we hiked up to Timpanogos Cave. It's a steep 1 1/2 mile hike up, then about an hour tour through the cave itself, and another 1 1/2 mile hike back down to the base of the mountain. Not too bad, if you have the time to rest, because the altitude change makes it hard to breathe easily. Jared was at work, but the kids and I made it up to the top. Caves never fail to amaze me- the stalactites and stalagmites, the helictites that look like curly spaghetti noodles- and they take hundreds of years to form! Wow.

Friday, Morgen and I met Melinda and Colleen for a pedicure date. We had a wonderful pampering session. Mom ended up with gel nails on her toes [I had no idea they did fake toe-nails!], and got some sparkly powder layered over the top of the polish. Melinda's polish was also sparkly, and so was Morgen's. Mine wasn't sparkly, but I still liked it :) Here's a pic of our feet- Morgen's got the tanned toes with sparkly turquoise polish :) She inherited her dad's olive-toned, gorgeous skin.

Friday night we went out to dinner to celebrate my BIL Nate's birthday, and Saxon's birthday at the end of the month. Hyrum and Saxon were two wild boys! Walker blew on Bridger's tummy, and got some great big giggles from him.

Morgen went with her Grandpa on Saturday morning, to help him clean out the fridge of the condo they stayed in while they were visiting last week. While she was gone, we discovered the remains of another fire in the basement. Again, I have no eyewitnesses, but I am pretty sure which boy was responsible. Sadly, when Jared got back from mowing weeds, the boys experienced "the wrath of dad." I am hoping that my fire-happy son will abandon his hot little experiments. Otherwise, I'm tempted to make him a fire-resistant, concrete cell in the backyard. *sigh* Why is parenting so hard?!?

Saturday night we drove over to Rockport and met up with some friends of ours. We had a nice dutch-oven dinner, then the kids went fishing for crawdads. It got pretty chilly- 50 degrees or so- but when we camp in the mountains, we expect cooler temps at night. I think we're already headed into fall, because this morning I found frost on the grass in our backyard. :) All I ask is a few good, ripe tomatoes before the plants die.

Gratitude List:
* Our house did not burn down, despite my child's attempts to start an electrical fire in the basement.
* The wires were relatively easy to fix [thank you honey!]
* Lots and lots of good family time.
* Pedicures :)
* Wonderful cool weather.
* Plenty of rain this week.
* Yummy food to eat, and playing some pretty funny games with Jared's siblings.
* Playing with my nieces and nephews. I wish, so much, that Myles could jump in and play with his cousins. But, it eases my heart a little to see his 4 cousins who were born the same year he was. They are running, climbing, playing, and fighting with each other. And my kids spent a lot of time playing with these boys.
* I am glad that my family still talks about Myles. I don't want him to ever be forgotten.
* God. Everything I am, everything I have is because of His love and blessings in my life.