Quiet pool day

Last year we were not able to go to our neighborhood pool once because of covid restrictions. This year I've been hesitant to check it out because I know the heater's been broken, and I wasn't sure what restrictions were still lingering from last year. But when we had an afternoon with nothing else to do I decided we might as well check it out. It was super quiet but that was perfect for my kids. The water wasn't cold enough to keep them out of it. While they played I got to sit and enjoy watching them smile. It reminded me why I loved going to the pool so much the last couple of years with them. It's just easy.

Johnson stop

Alan and Hannah weren't able to make it out to the baptism because they were down in Texas at Vivian's baptism. We were lucky enough that they were able to stop by our house for a day on the way back to Utah. Their kids had just spent nearly 36 hours in the car, so we decided a low key day was what they needed. Everyone just played. The boys found the weapons box and had battles the entire day. Because McKenzie's bar and beam are sitting in the middle of the family room it was obvious what she and Faye were going to do all day. McKenzie showed her some fun moves on those apparatuses. Even though it was a quick stop we were grateful to have them come by.

Boys' Kitchen

I've been feeling very uninspired to make dinner lately, so one night when the boys asked what was for dinner I told them that we would eat whatever they made. They became very excited to be the chefs for the evening. 

They pulled down the kids cookbook and started flipping through the pages. They found a fun meal with kabobs, but we didn't have any sticks so we changed plans a little bit. Kelton and Daxton gathered all of the food and cut it up. Then they arranged it on everyone's plate in a unique way. They even named every plate. It was a super fun, light a la carte meal. They were so buoyed up by their success that now they're asking to make dinner almost every night! I better go shopping to get them some ingredients so they can do just that.

"The smiling demon"

"The museum"

"The volcano"

"The creepy face"

"Outer space"

"The Egyptian desert"

It's Great to be 8!

Kelton has been very excited about his baptism for a long time now. So in some ways it was kind of nice that it snuck up on us! We got him all dressed up in his new suit, and I can't help but be impressed by what a handsome dude this kid is when he's all dressed up. We went over to McKay Lake to take some pictures for his invitation and his program. He was a trooper as I was trying to figure things out. Doesn't he look good!?

 We are blessed that a lot of family was able to come out for the baptism. Even then, we had a couple of people who weren't there. My dad couldn't make it out because he wasn't feeling well, my grandma couldn't make it out, and Camille and Jake had to stay home because they're having a baby any day now.  

Thankfully there was a silver lining to Covid, we were able to zoom the baptism to those still in Utah. Jeremy performed the baptism and the confirmation. Kelton was taking it so seriously, it was adorable. He knows exactly what he's doing, and couldn't wait to take this step closer to his Savior. 

After the baptism we went home for a barbecue in our backyard. It was a fairly low-key deal, but still incredibly festive. He loved being the star of the show. 

He now has his own set of scriptures and his own scripture case. He's very excited about starting to take those to church. And in lieu of a CTR ring he has a CTR dog tag. I'm hoping that doesn't get lost as easily as those little rings. 

As it quieted down that afternoon, I asked Kelton to write in his journal about how he was feeling now that he was baptized. It's his journal, but I want to go and read what he wrote so badly! I'm proud of you little man.

Emma

 We were lucky enough that Emma was able to come and stay with us for a week. With the new baby coming to her family, we thought it would be fun to have a week with cousins. As I'm looking back to my phone I realized that I completely failed taking pictures of all of their fun activities. But I did get this one when we were at the playground one night. I thought life might be a little bit crazier having an extra kid around, ultimately wasn't that bad.  We took her to waterworld the first day she was here. It took her a little while to get warmed up to the water slides, but by the end of the day none of the kids wanted to leave. We took her to the bike park and taught her how to go through the pump track. We went on scooter rides around the neighborhood. The kids tried to build a treehouse fort. And Emma was able to meet some of our friends in the neighborhood. It was a pretty good week.

A girl and her dog

We got to watch Lucy again. Simply put, Cambrie's cup is full. 💕

Colorado Rapids

McKenzie got a call from Evelyn asking if she wanted to go to a Colorado Rapids game. McKenzie replied, "Sure!" Then leaned over to ask Cambrie, "What sport do they play?" Cambrie was beside herself. She did not think it was fair that McKenzie got to go to the game, while she had to stay home. So even though it was late, even though it was last minute, and even though I knew that it wouldn't be Daxton's choice of family activities, I threw the other three kids in the car and we went to a spontaneous Colorado Rapids game. 

McKenzie and Evalyn cheering from the shade.

Kelton had just finished a week of soccer camp, so he was definitely in soccer mode. He loved watching the pros play and make their moves. Cambrie also just loves watching good players play. Daxton was there for the food, but I can't say I blame the kid. 

The weather was great and ended up being a perfect evening. We even won!

Level 5 gymnast

This season of gymnastics has been a little bit scary for McKenzie. Level four is a very hard level in its own right, and it's not uncommon for girls to repeat level four. However with McKenzie's goals she really needed to spend just one year in level four before moving up to level five. With covid she only had three meets this season instead of six, and she didn't have enough opportunities to get the score she needed in a meet. However I was really grateful for her coach for never losing faith in her, and letting her train and practice with the level fives knowing that's where she needed to be. Her coach set up a move-up meet for McKenzie and four other girls who were showing extraordinary promise but never had a chance to score in a meet. There was a lot of pressure riding on this meet. If McKenzie got above a 34 she could move up to level 5. If she did not get a 34 she'd have to stay down at the level four for another year. I'm not exactly sure what she would have done if that happened, since most of her friends are up in level 5. It was the first meet that I was able to attend in person all year. Because there were just five gymnasts, the parents just sat on the gym blocks watching nice and up close. In order to get a 34, McKenzie needed an 8.5 on each apparatus. Her vault was fine at 8.4. That's where she needed to be. Her bars were low at 7.9, and I didn't think she would be able to make up that difference on the last two apparatuses. So I was feeling rather stressed. But then she blew her beam out of the park. She scored a 9.4. I was so proud of her and starting to get a little giddy. Her final exercise was floor, where she scored an 8.7. She scored a 34.4 and earned that level 5 spot. There was a moment when I was afraid I did my math wrong and I thought she didn't make it, but luckily it was just my math and not her skill. You can see as she's walking off the mat how surprised, shocked, and excited she was. Level 5 has some fun skills that she cannot wait to get started.

 

Go Hawks

It was Kelton's second season of baseball, and I love that he's getting better. He's getting more confident, all of the kids know the rules a little bit better, and they're all just getting more consistent at throwing and catching the ball. He's grown more confident at each at bat, and more consistently gets on base. 

He had a couple great plays in the outfield. He also understood the game strategy and where he needed to be to make the play. 

I love that his team was so friendly and so supportive. He had a great coach and great teammates. I have no idea how many years he's going to continue to play baseball, but I'm enjoying this phase while it lasts. On his last game, he even had three runs which was a new record for him! Maybe it was his new monster socks.

Great job this season Hawks!

Kelton turns 8

Kelton turned eight to just a couple days after Cambrie's birthday. He woke up and found the house covered with green gaming balloons. He and Daxton got straight to work punching each other with their balloon balls. He also had some big blow up balls like Camrbrie did. They were hanging from the ceiling and they made obstacle courses with those. 

We spoiled him with food that day, but he actually spent most of the day at soccer camp! Too late I thought maybe I should have made him a special soccer jersey to wear to camp so that way his coach could celebrate with him.

 I don't think he waited longer than 5 minutes before walking in from soccer camp to open his birthday presents. It was a light year for presents for him since his baptism is coming up and that's the bigger celebration. 

But his brothers and sisters gave him some really fun gifts. McKenzie gave him a balloon animal kit. Daxton gave him another Mario LEGO set. Cambrie gave him some fun squished bookmarks. And we gave him a small throwback gaming pad. That kid's excited with almost anything he receives.  I love his generous heart. 

He asked for about five different cakes leading up to his birthday, but ultimately decided on a vanilla and chocolate ice cream cake. Cold Stone to the rescue! Happy birthday my sweet boy!