Summer So Far

We're having a fun and busy summer. Here's a little about what has occupied our time lately.

Party at the Point:
We partied in West Point on July 3rd with Brent's brother's and sister's families. Brent was in a 3-on-3 tournament (until a guy on his team came to blows with an opponent--niiiice) and the rest of us enjoyed spectating, visiting, fun face painting, and eating. The fireworks were fantastic! Alec covered his ears the whole time but still enjoyed the show.
Liberty Run
Todd and I ran the Layton Liberty 5K with lots of neighborhood friends. He didn't beat any of his previous times and felt a little sad but I think I've finally convinced him that getting out of bed to run when you don't have to is an accomplishment. I love this kid!
A Thrilling July 4th
With nothing planned for the 4th, we were pleased to receive an impromptu invite from Quincey and family. Deeeelicious salad and pizza were followed by fireworks and dancing. Trey is shown in the foreground trying his best to burn down the neighborhood with a blow torch. (Really not. I was very impressed that he was so safe!) What a fun kid. He was especially nice to Kenna as he showed her the ins and outs of pyromania ;). Troy contributed to the show by engineering makeshift water bottle-meets-explosives-and-duct tape fire crackers. Very fun. Quincey spent most of her day intensely studying and practicing an internet tutorial of Michael Jackson's Thriller dance, Thrill The World. Yep, she's a zombie dancer extraordinaire. You can see her in the blurred background of the photo trippin' the lights.
Super Sunny St. George
It was so great to take Alec, Kenna, my sister and her kids to St. George for a non-stop party in the sun. We did a tiny bit of shopping and went to the St. George Temple and Visitors' Center one day. Other than that, we spent hours doing our best to spur freckle-growth, avoid sunburns, and turn blonde hair green by hanging at the pool. So fun.
Scout Camp
Todd wasn't able to come to St. George with us because he was busy being a grown up kid attending Scout Camp. He was gone from early, EARLY (4:30) Monday morning to Saturday afternoon. I missed him tremendously and worried about him even more. Judging from the pleasant, positive attitude and numerous hugs, he missed us too. While there he completed the requirements for 2 merit badges, went on a 10.2 mile hike, got hot, got cold, went swimming, and did lots of other dirty boy stuff.

Ogden Nature Park Splash Pad
A few friends and I took our kiddos to a splash pad in South Ogden. It was an ordeal trying to find the hidden park but worth it when we got there. The kids loooooved running in and out of the cold water followed by warming in the sun. We had a yummy lunch and stayed for longer than planned because everyone was happy. Here are a few of the beautiful pictures my friend Mandy took. (She sent me a lot more pics but I get worried about putting other people's cute kids on here...Is there some kind of blog picture post etiquette/ethical code that I should know about regarding this??)
Upcoming events:
* I ran the Speedy Spaniard 10K in Spanish Fork this morning and will report later.

* Brent is currently camped in Burley, Idaho where he awaits the pinnacle of his Triathalon training, THE SPUDMAN. I think he's going to rock it. He's been working so hard to get ready.

* Expect a post about recent PROJECTS. I've been trying to catch up on house maintenance that is sorely overdue. I painted our front door a great yellowy-green and our garage door a horrible color which needs to be repainted. The deck has been sanded and stained and the playplace is next in line. Todd his going to help gut the flower beds as part of a merit badge requirement and I would love to sand and paint my inside stair railing and kitchen table and chairs. Much to Brent's chagrin, lots of these projects require his very reluctant involvement. We struggle to get along when there is hard work to be done so wish him luck in withstanding Hurricane Rita.