More Summer Reading

That time when Cat and Jack were reading the same book.  Literally.

Grammy got involved with the summer reading when she was visiting too.

I enjoyed some summer reading with Luke while my big kids finished cleaning up the kitchen.

Sometimes Jack can't decide if he wants to write/draw, or read.

Cozy Reading Time

Reading on the Go

When you're too absorbed in a graphic novel to actually sit down.



This was one of those days when I told the kids they could stop reading
when the timer went off, and neither of them moved a muscle.

I love it when the older kids read to Luke.

Eliza convinced Ben to read her some of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
(a book they're enjoying together) before he left for work one morning.

Sunday Evening Reading

The kids cashed in on all those reading minutes, earning some great summer reading
rewards from our local libraries and Barnes & Noble, including free books and coupons
to use at local businesses. We decided the free treat at a local cafe should be used sooner than later.

Why one needs sisters, and a mom.


Because otherwise, one might miss out on opportunities to try something new.

Family Camping Trip 2017, part 2

Monday afternoon we decided to go to town for a little while, enjoying milkshakes at the local shake shack and taking in the beautiful Manti temple, which has personal family history significance for us.





Back at the park, we had tin foil dinners and s'mores for dessert, and enjoyed some more time on the lake before it was time to head out for the Pioneer Day fireworks.






We knew there would be Pioneer Day fireworks in nearby Sterling that night.  While we were out in the afternoon we asked around, trying to find out where to go to watch the show, and finally someone told us to go to the city park by turning at the gas station.  We thought those directions were incredibly unclear until we drove around for a few minutes and realized there really was just one gas station, and there were lots of cars parked on the surrounding streets.  But tiny Sterling, (population 302 in 2016 according to Wikipedia) put on a great fireworks show, complete with Luke-approved dancing music.  When the fireworks were over, Jack and Eliza joined in the country swing dance and tried to learn some line dances before boogieing down with free-style dance moves and tumbling tricks to songs that ranged from "Redneck Girl" to "Watch Me."




The kids slept in the next morning, especially Luke, who was exhausted after missing out on his nap and staying up late on Monday.  We made breakfast, cleaned up, and loaded up the car, then decided to enjoy the lake some more before driving home.  This time we rented a canoe and a paddle board, which Cat is much better at operating than I am, and the two vessels raced each other a couple of times.  Cat was always such a good sport to take a younger kid on the paddle board with her.  She started doing this meditation pose, and it cracked me up that when Luke got on the paddle board afterward, he did it too.  Also, we let Jack and Eliza take the canoe out alone for a bit and were a little nervous that they wouldn't make it back to the dock, but they figured it out and got back just fine.  The kids had a blast just being outside on the water, and even though it was a little overcast and started to sprinkle on us, nobody cared.  We ate lunch at The Malt Shop in Ephraim on our way out of town and discovered that children should not be allowed near the drive-through line, or they might yell into the mic and upset the workers in the restaurant.  (Also, The Malt Shop might want to consider moving their restrooms somewhere other than the rear of the building.)





















Really, it was a great little trip.  I think next time we might even stay longer than two days!

Luke's Syndrome and Other Goings On

Luke has two Pillow Pets in his room: a yellow duck and a green frog.  He uses one or the other as his pillow each night.  Tonight when I was putting him to bed, he wanted to rearrange his room a bit and when we were finished I put the duck Pillow Pet at the head of his bed.  Then he said, "We should also put the froggy pillow on this part (the foot of the bed) for my legs so that I don't get a leg headache."

You can see both Pillow Pets in this picture of Luke and his "friend" (cousin)
Whit having a little sleepover the other night.

Luke was playing with two friends at our house, when suddenly all three boys disappeared.
It took me forever to find them.

Luke has recently discovered that water bottles can be stacked this way.
Whatever you do, don't let him see you knock these over.

While I was finishing up a phone call at Costco, Luke managed to get this enormous
teddy bear in our cart.  I'm pretty sure it's three times Luke's size.  He posed for a picture.
Then Luke wanted to use the camera (phone).

He took over 100 pictures.

And apparently he's discovered selfie mode.
Luke got to see his preschool classroom last week and LOVED it.
He begins school this week and I have a feeling he'll have a great time.

Eliza accompanied us to Luke's classroom, which also used to be
her classroom, and Jack's.  I think she had as much fun playing as Luke.

UPDATE 8/28/17
Today Luke had a friend over and they had the following conversation after they found some pennies on the floor.
Jacob: My brother took my dime and now I don't have any cash.
Luke: I have lots and LOTS of money.
Jacob: My dad has lots and lots and LOTS of money.
Luke: My dad keeps his money in a mug.