Fiery Fourth of July

The 4th was a little different this year with all of the wildfires burning.... I thought it was still fun but maybe a little more serious than usual. This was the view from the park on the 3rd, with a huge brown smoke cloud rising out of the west mountains where the Alpine fire was burning.

Fortunately for the 4th, the big brown cloud was gone and we weren't seeing brown all day. Nora was festive in her star-spangled bow, and I was so pleased she left it in for a couple of hours before pulling it out.

We spent the day hanging out with the Loertscher crowd. Aaron and I worked on a couple of relaxing crafty projects and visited and the kids played and played and helped Grandma and Grandpa garden a bit.

All that playing wore Nora out and she crashed in Aaron's arms mid-day, so we laid her on a blanket in the grass.

We had dinner outside and more visiting and playing until it got dark. 

The fireworks were awesome as always. Zeke looks forward to this all year and was totally loving it. Nora didn't know what was going to happen until it started and was mesmerized. She sat on Aaron's lap oohing and aahing and saying 'flower'.

I decided after last 4th of July that I should take the 5th of July off work and I am so glad I did. It was great to let the kids sleep in after a late night of fun and to be able to catch up on the laundry and other chores that weren't done while we were relaxing. Aaron went to work on the 5th but I think he'll be home with us next year!

Summer Means....

Ponytails! We recently discovered that Nora will keep elastics in her hair even though barrettes and headbands get pulled out immediately. I am super excited to be able to keep her hair out of her eyes :)

Ice cream! Zeke's current favorite is 'orange ice cream.' Don't suggest that it's sherbet because you will be corrected. 

Playing outside! Of course.

Playing at the park! In the evenings, when it's kind of cool. 

Throwing rocks into the river! It's Zeke's new coming-home-from-Utah-County tradition to stop for a bathroom break at the pit toilets by the river and then go throw some rocks in the water.

And playing in the sprinklers, and popsicles, and staying up late...

Utah Valley Aeromodelers Open House

A few weeks ago we went to a flying event in Utah County. We always fly in Salt Lake, but we've been thinking we should check out the closer options, and we are so glad we did! The site is great and the drive is nice. We didn't fly at the event, and Aaron hasn't had the chance to get back there because the fires are fairly close. But as long as the flying is as nice as the rest of the place, we will be coming here more!

We were only there for the last hour or so, but that's okay because it was really hot. We did have time to see some stunt flying and cool planes (like the flying lawnmower and flying RC Iron Man).

Zeke was getting sick this day, and he tried to enjoy himself but he really didn't have a great time. He was really lethargic and asked more than once if he could lie down on the asphalt and have a nap! Poor kid. 

We bought lunch while we were there and all Nora wanted was to drink. Such a cute girl with her soda. 

Windy Weekend

Yesterday was crazy windy and chilly too, but we still had a lot of fun outside.  We ran errands in the morning and when that took longer than planned we picked up a big sandwich and some root beer and had a picnic. 

We joined Aaron's family for tinfoil dinners and smores last night. By the time we had dinner and went back out for dessert it was really chilly and everyone bundled up. 

While the fire burned down, Aaron and Grandpa and Nora flew Grandpa's kite. 

Nora's smore face. She still isn't so sure she likes her marshmallows warm and gooey, but she loved marshmallows and cookies cold.