Now You Know What We Did Last Summer

Summer officially kicked off when Arthur graduated from pre-school, assuming you can call it graduating when he has one more year of pre-school before he can start kindergarten. Either way, the graduation ceremony was extremely adorable.

We did one big family trip at the start of the summer and spent the rest of the break doing things around home, like meeting our neigh new puppies!

We got to go to various splash pads to stay cool, fun birthday parties, and fun birthday parties at splash pads.

Probably the kid's favorite thing of the whole summer was going to Lagoon with a whole mess of cousins. The big kids loved going on all the rollercoasters, Arthur loved all the lil kiddo rides but especially the kid friendly rollercoaster Bombura.

It was especially fun because we got to spend the day with Elder Wyatt Johnson right before he headed out for the MTC and his mission in Guatemala. That's a pretty cool send off!

It was pretty darn hot, but managed to cool off by re-soaking our t-shirts regularly.

Lee and George and Paul got to go to a pre-season Jazz game with Pa Duane this summer. It looks like it was quite the event! Face paint, snacks, and players signing autographs.

We spent a weekend away at Bear Lake with our Johnson cousins, where I was near incapacitated with back pain (it got better, don't worry) but it means that I largely spent the time laying around. That's not all bad, but I didn't get to hike with the kids which I would have loved to do. Luckily lounging on the beach isn't all that demanding.

The weather was lovely, the raspberry shakes delicious, and the company was excellent. And we didn't even get really terribly sunburned! Remarkable!

The Lumber Pine trail is a favorite among our family, both because we have a sentimental fondness for it and because it's a nice hike that is short and easy enough for kids. I am sad I missed out on it this time, but thankfully Lee and Dirk were able to take the kids on that little adventure.

Lee and I got to do a particularly fun date night, we play tested a very cool escape room with some friends. If you're so inclined check it out! It's called Escape Boredom in Clearfield and we thought it was excellent.

We did a very little bit of camping up at Crystal Hot Springs. We got to hanging out with a lot of family, lounging about in the hot water and eating a nice big dutch oven dinner.

We took the kids to visit the Bountiful Temple one evening, which they liked more than I thought they would.

We joined a big group of neighbors and friends for a visit to Mrs. Cavanaugh's Factory. It was, as always, very tasty.

Lee and I have been trying to re-introduce our kids to Sunday hikes. This one on the Wild Rose Trail was short, but hot in the sun. The kids aren't loving it yet, but I think when it cools down they'll like it more. We also went to a big picnic for the Utah Symphony/Opera Chorus, where the kids playing in the river and the playground and we ate a whole host of tasty foods.

We went to the Wetlands Preserve to look for birds. We saw very few birds, but we did hear a lot of little critters scurrying in the rushes and we saw just so many bees.

Our last hurrah of summer was at my niece's wedding. Congrats to Sarah and Harrison! We had a great time visiting with family and dancing the night away; Arthur has just incredible moves. We took a few of the younger cousins to play at a fun indoor playground for a few hours between the luncheon and reception and it was completely awesome to see them all running around and bonding.

Before we knew it, school is back in session! It's been a real crazy summer!