One of my favorite days every summer is when Todd takes the day off of work and we all go to the beach. It always ends up being the perfect day. The weather was just right. The sand was warm. The waves were big enough for the big kids to boogie board but not so big that they made mom too nervous. We made our very best sand castle yet! Good enough to where some random tourists were stopping and taking some pictures of it. And on our way home we at delicious pizza and got Rita's Italian Ice for dessert. Can't think of a better way to spend a summer day in Southern California.
We were trying desperately to make a moat around the castle, but it really wasn't working once we tried to fill it up with water. But we had fun building it and that is what counted!
This sandy little princess was out cold while we waited for our Pizza. There is something so perfect about their little faces when they are sleeping.
One of my other favorite parts about the summer is going to the summer nights at the zoo. This kids love it. The night is warm but not hot. Then animals are out for feeding time. And our dear Conner....well, he appreciates it more than anyone! Every year they have this show where 3 people dress in Kangaroo costumes and do acrobatic tricks on a trampoline. This kid LOVES it! It was all he talked about all day before we went. And it was the only thing he was worried about us doing while we were there. Pure joy. Since then I get at least 3 or 4 "Kangaroo Shows" at home where He is the Kangaroo and does tricks in the backyard. He has already asked me exactly what it takes to be a "Kangaroo" at the zoo some day. If he stays this focused I have no doubt he will accomplish it!
These little swimmers! They all did so good in swimming lessons this year. Conner is completely swimming on his own and doing it with ease! Kellen is getting so good at side breathing and working on perfecting his basic strokes. And Makenna has advanced to learning things like the butterfly stroke. We will most likely be putting her on the swim team next summer! I love watching these kids succeed!
Because we love the night time zoo so much we went back the next week with Grammy! We had so much fun! And we may have also set the record for the most people to fit into the photo booth at the zoo!
Another new activity around the house this summer was created by the boys. They both apparently have imaginary girls that they are marrying. So they set up and decorate for a wedding. They make cards for "their girls". They wrap wedding presents and make plates with food that are the snacks at the wedding (since they don't have a cake). Conner one day even made a big letter T to stand for the Temple since they were not able to go to the temple yet for their pretend weddings. It was the sweetest thing. Sometimes all the wrapping presents and making snack plates gets to me, but then I stop and try to just think of the sweetness of it all and soak it up, knowing that it won't last for much longer that these two brothers will enjoy having imaginary finances together that they are pretending to marry. All I do know as a fact is that the ladies that do some day end up with one of these two boys are lucky beyond their wildest dreams. Both of these boys have such big hearts and have been planning how they will treat their wives when they were 5 and 6 years old!
