Camping... well close anyways

Camping is not really something that we have ever done. My parents love to camp and so we usual will meet them up their campsite on Saturday and stay for the day and then head home. Our kids think that they are camping and I admit that I feel kind of bad about that but I'm just not brave enough yet to try it...maybe next year! 

My handsome hunk enjoying the hammock!

My brothers family on the other hand is far more brave and will stay over. She really is usually cleaner then this but my kids bring out the dirty! 

The backside of our van after the dusty drive up the canyon. 

We received a dutch oven for Christmas and have never used it. I decided that I need to learn and so I made dessert for dinner that night.

It was raspberry peach cobbler...I think...I only remember the raspberry but I know that I mixed with something. 

Peter got a little too much sun fishing with Uncle Glen and ended up throwing up on the way home. Perfect ending, right?

We saw this on our way home as well! 

It was running right along the edge of the road! Never seen one so close!

Julia sums up everyone's feeling at the end of the day! Camping? HOORAY!

Summer Firsts

The start of Summer always brings the  Firsts! 

The First dip in the pool

The First  spray of the sprinkler

The First quart of canned cherries...

Also the First time we have ever canned cherries...yummy!!

The First Family Park Day

Fathers n Sons...again

Anthony braved another campout with the boys when he went to our wards fathers-n-sons! They had a lot of fun and Anthony made his first ever dutch oven meal! So proud!

They had a blast and came home looking and SMELLING like a bunch of boys! 

Good times!

Some of Fun Summer Activites

One hot summer day, I taught my boys the fine art of hopscotch! We had a lot of fun  tossing the rock back and forth and skipping the squares! Old games are the best ones!

Another favorite family summer activity is playing in the water at Grandma's house! We get to ride on a slide that is pulled by a four wheeler through the irrigation water! So much fun and we come out looking like this! 

We invested in a slip n slide this year and am sad to say this was the only time used it. I'm going to try and pull it out more next year! 

We also spent a night at the Craze! Glow Golf, arcade games, and laser tag are always good way to beat the summer heat! 

Fathers N Sons--Take 2

For the first time, Anthony took all three boys on the overnight Fathers n Sons outing! They had a blast! 

I'm not really sure all that went on there and I'm not sure that I want to know but from the photos I can deduce that they went on a hike of some sort. 

Ate something that looks really good...scone maybe?

Walked a rope ladder...

I know what this is...Anthony was assigned to make a breakfast dish for the morning. We own a dutch oven but don't really know how to use it so this was a good experience for him. 

All tuckered out after a long day and night camping with day!

Secret Service Agents

I was visiting with one of my sisters-in-laws when she told me of something her husband was doing with their kids. He had issued them spy cards and they were working as a team to solve puzzles and doing service acts.  I decided to take his idea and change it a little to better fit my abilities and my kids! I loved the idea of having my kids work as a team to accomplish something and that they would accomplish that by serving others. 

So I came up with the theme of Secret Service Agents. I made a list of 11 "missions" or service activities ..one per week during the summer break.  I tried to keep them pretty simple since my kids are small.   I thought it would be cool if the mission would be have to decoded someway but I couldn't get the invisible ink to work right...they were excited anyways!  I tried to keep it as secret as possible and not have them know that I was the Special Agent in Charge.  

Our first mission was to pick up trash around the neighborhood...It made a really good FHE activity! 

After completing the mission, they each drew a picture of them completing the mission, placed it in our spy box ( a plastic pencil box that I wrote Spy Box on...nothing fancy here..) and then place it in the mailbox with the flag up so the Special Agent would come and get the box and deliver our next mission.

This was the flag that I used to alert the kids that they had a new mission. I hid the spy box and then left a 3 clues that lead them on a treasure hunt to find it. They loved that part! 

I then had them decipher the message... a simple letter for letter decipher... A=Z...B=Y...that kind of thing! It was a great incentive to have them get their chores down so they could figure out the missions. 

With each completed missions, they got a puzzle piece to some great reward...a night at the local swim park! 

They loved this activity and it was excellent for teaching the value of service and pushed us out of comfort zones!