Cape Cod

It still seems like a dream to think that we actually went to Cape Cod. I'm still so happy we were able to go! We met up with our friends, The Burts, who live in Massachusetts and vacation on the Cape every summer. It was great to spend a week with their family and our kids had so much fun together! And we lucked out because they showed us all the best the Cape has to offer. It is very much a quaint, picturesque town that I would love to return to someday! Since we've been home, Layla has informed me that when she grows up she will be moving to Massachusetts so that she can visit "the pretty beaches" whenever she wants, and that I shouldn't worry about her or miss her because she will be with Ryleigh. :)

The things that are most memorable in my mind are: the night we spent on the Atlantic side when it was extremely foggy and the humidity made us look like we had just stepped out of the shower, watching how much Layla LOVED swimming in the ocean, seeing whales off Race Point Beach in the evening, loving how quickly our kids all became friends and how sweet baby Reese loved us immediately, seeing seals (every night!) on the Atlantic side from only 20 feet or so away, chatting with Sue every day in person instead of over the phone!, watching the tide change each day, running on the beach in the mornings, touring the light house, knowing my kids were utterly exhausted at the end of each day because they had so much fun, and spending an entire week with my husband without him having to work!

I could ramble on, but I will let the pictures do the talking. Oh, if it seems like I have more pics of Marcus than Layla ... I do. That girl is a fish and was rarely out of the water! I took pics when I could, but Layla loves to swim so I let her swim!

We stopped in Plymouth on the way to and from the Cape.

Layla and Ryleigh are two peas in a pod!

Marcus and Eli may have been trouble together ... but they did have fun!

They could have stayed there, throwing rocks, forever.

That one time Marcus fell in the Atlantic Ocean fully

clothed and had to go shirtless the rest of the night ...

Found a turtle in the backyard of the

house we rented, no big deal.

Free art lesson in the park.

Found a horseshoe crab on the bay side.

Sue is a wonderful friend!

So fun to spend time with her in our matching hats.

We visited a sweet car museum and garden/park.

Checked out Provincetown.

At good pizza there and tried to avoid Layla's

questions about all the men on "dates" with each other ...

(See the rainbow flag in the pic)

We toured this beautiful lighthouse.

This may have been my favorite part of the trip!

The kids were so good on the long plane rides and car ride!

We saw (but couldn't go inside) the oldest wooden jail in the country.

I love traveling and experiencing new places. There is so much to learn from other places and other people. I am so glad that I got to experience a new place with my favorite people! Now we need the Burts to come visit Utah again! Maybe we can trade off years. :)

Finally Summer!

Layla graduated Kindergarten and our summer finally started (the only drawback to year round school is a short summer)!

One of her last days of school!

Her class did a great job with their graduation program. I love seeing her with all her little friends! I hope some of them will be in her class next year. I'm so happy that she truly enjoys Chinese and I'm excited that she'll continue it next year!

Field day! With Elsie Edwards and Sophie Barnard.

She's grown up so much over the last year and I couldn't be more proud of her!


Layla also had a piano recital to kick off the summer. This one didn't go so well, unfortunately. She didn't want to have any extended family there this time, so we granted her wish, and Mitch ended up taking her while I stayed home with Marcus. Sadly, as well as she knew the piece, and as much as we had practiced, when it came time to announce her name and piece she got really, really nervous and stumbled over her words a lot. Then she messed up while playing and had to have help from her teacher. She did finish, but it wasn't great at all. While I felt so bad for her after seeing the video, and worried that she would be upset, she handled it all remarkably well. We talked to her and helped her understand that everyone makes mistakes during a recital, and it's okay, and now she can have more empathy towards others in the same situation. Overall it was a good learning experience and hey, she can't play perfect at every recital, right? But in all seriousness, she is an excellent piano player and I hope that over time she will fall more in love with it and have it become part of her identity. Suzuki piano is no joke though! It can be intense at times and I have to remind myself (and her teacher) that at the end of the day it's just piano and while I want her to play, it can't rule our lives! :)

We celebrated Father's Day and had a nice weekend. Especially Mitch because we bought him a new car for Father's Day!!! ;) It's beautiful and he loves it and that makes me happy.


And I couldn't be more happy than to have Mitch as my kids' dad because he is a kind, loving, fun, caring, happy father. Our kids sure love him!

I love him too. Recently he surprised me and planned a day date to hike Waterfall Canyon. We haven't hiked it in years and it always makes me nostalgic as we hiked it a few times when we first met and dated over 12 years ago! It will always remind me of that fun time in life!


We've already managed to do a lot this summer! We recently went camping, boating, and to Jackson Hole! Oh, and Marcus is completely potty trained!! Hip, hip, hooray!!! One funny thing he told me the other day, not related to potty training, after I told him, "Thanks, my man!" is, "I am NOT your man, I a human boy!!!" LOL! He certainly keeps us laughing!

Still obsessed with Transformers.

Here are a bunch of pics from all of our summer adventures so far. They are not edited and they are in random order, but at least I have them!

The kids learned to cast their fishing poles thanks to my dad, who tied an empty water bottle on the end. Also thanks to my parents for inviting us to stay in their 5th wheel and play on their boat!

Peas from our garden.

We spent the 4th of July holiday in Jackson Hole with my family (my parents, my Grandma Ruth, Brock, Natalie, and Evelyn, and my Uncle Kent). We went to a parade on the 4th of July in Victor, Idaho. There's nothing like a small town parade! We also went to the rodeo that night. We spent a day in Yellowstone with Uncle Kent. Mitch, my dad, my uncle, and I also went white river rafting. Some of us also went to the Bar J Wranglers show. It was a blast! 

Marcus developed a terrible rash after his case of strep.
Of course we were in Jackson when the rash appeared.
He still had fun though!

 

Someday I hope these pics appear in their wedding videos. Marcus on his little potty and Layla on the toilet. 

Family Hike! The kids LOVED it and did great! They were both quite the little trail runners! We will have to go hiking more often!

Now it's off to have more fun! (And let's not make it all sound too rosy; we're also off to practice piano, force kids to get dressed and do chores, and fold mounds of laundry. But overall to have a fun summer!)