July Whirlwind

The beginning of July was full of fun activities for us.  Actually, I was a little overwhelmed with everything we had going on, and even though things didn't exactly go smoothly, we still had plenty of fun.

The week of the 4th, my brother and his wife were on vacation, so our family took turns watching their kids.  They had a stomach bug the week earlier that was ridiculously persistent, and even though none of them had shown symptoms for days, somehow it still spread.  My mom and sister-in-law caught it early in the week while they were watching the kids, but since they were feeling fine by Wednesday the 3rd, we still joined everyone in Centerville for the festivities.  Our little family drove to Centerville on the evening of the 3rd so we could watch the fireworks that night and be up in time for the morning activities.

Waiting for the fireworks to start...

We all watched Grandma fiddling in the park with her violin students during the annual breakfast, then watched the parade.

Ready for the parade with cousin Lexi!

After lunch, Robert, Renae, Trevor, and I took Cassie, Benson, and Lexi to the park for the little carnival.  The kids got their faces painted, jumped in the bounce houses, had shaved ice, and played on the playground at the park.

No surprise, they all took a good nap that afternoon (including Cassie!).  We drove back home after dinner, and Lexi came home with us to stay for the rest of the week.  Our neighbors provided an awesome fireworks show for the kids, and we all pitched in a little money to help out.  The kids loved it!  I wish I could describe the giggling and excitement.  Sometimes I feel like fireworks are a waste of money, but the reaction of all the kids made it totally worth it!

We walked down the street a little way to get a better view of the Thanksgiving Point fireworks, but I think the amateur fireworks show had spoiled the kids- they were restless and bored during the "real deal!"  After all the excitement and the late night, the kids slept very well...until about 5 am when Cassie woke up sick. (Curse that stomach bug!) So our 5th of July was filled with watching movies, mommy cleaning up messes, and being religious with hand washing and hand sanitizer.  Luckily, the symptoms only lasted 24 hours, so I knew I wouldn't be dealing with throw-up for too long, as long as Benson didn't get it.  Which is why I was so liberal with the hand sanitizer.  It worked!  Benson and I stayed healthy.

On Saturday the 6th, Vaughn and Christie picked up Lexi, and we headed to Logan to celebrate Rialey and Kim blessing their first baby, Kaleb.  I brought Lysol wipes and hand sanitizer with me, and I probably annoyed half the family by wiping things down and occasionally handing out little squirts to everyone, but I am proud to say that we didn't pass it on to anyone!  Unfortunately, Trevor caught it and ended up in the hotel room Saturday night while the rest of us played at the park.  He felt much better Sunday morning and was able to participate in the blessing.  Of course I gave him a squirt of sanitizer right before the blessing. :) In the afternoon, after eating good food and spending time with family, Trevor headed back home so he could work on Monday, but the kids and I headed to Oakley.  We spent Monday jumping on the tramp, playing with puppies and kittens, feeding goats, and in my case, trying to be helpful to Grandma since she would be watching the kids for the rest of the week (spoiler alert: adults-only trip to Lake Powell with friends while Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids!).

I left Tuesday morning, and it was definitely harder for me to drive away than it was for the kids to see me go! (Which is probably obvious from the pictures- their house is grandkid heaven!) Luckily, I brought along a little Jane Austen on CD to distract me from saying goodbye and to get me through the drive.  I did tons of laundry and packing Tuesday afternoon, and we headed out early Wednesday morning (July 10th) with our friends for Lake Powell.  Watch for an epic post about that coming soon!