4th of July - fireworks

After spending all afternoon at the pool we BBQ'd, played games, and had our own firework show.  We knew the kids wouldn't make it to the city firework show but we didn't want them missing out either.  Everyone enjoyed the fireworks except Ollie.  He sat on my lap and gripped my arm so tight.  He kept saying "it scared me".  I was surprised by his reaction because he's the kid that is typically fearless.  I guess we all have our weaknesses!

 Casey was in charge of the fireworks.  He made sure everyone was being safe and having fun. 

the loot

 the gang

I love all their expressions.  And, I love that Spencer still covers his ears when something is too loud.  Some things never change.

4th of July - adorable outfits

Our friends are big on having the kids clothes match for holidays.  Since we were doing everything with them they included our kids.  The kids were all good sports about letting us take photos.  Well, almost all the kids were good sports.  Eleanor was either eating or sleeping when the other kids were willing so she isn't in any of the group shots.  If you want to see her adorable outfit check out the post prior to this one.     

Lily, Spencer, and Blake

 Lily, Blake, Spencer, Damon, and Oliver

4th of July - hot air balloons

This was our first year spending the 4th of July in Utah.  Usually we were with family in either California or Montana.  Luckily our dear friends, the Downing's, invited us to join in their 4th of July traditions.  Our first event started at 5:30 am.  Yes, I said 5:30 am.  The poor boys didn't know what was happening which is why they look grumpy in most of these photos.  They wanted to be asleep in their beds.  We went and watched the hot air balloons take off.  It was the coolest thing ever.  They had about 25 hot air balloons and within 30 minutes all of them had gone from laying on the ground to being high in the sky.  I would go again next year that's how awesome it was.

Olliesauras

Olliebug is our funny child.  Everything he does makes us laugh.  He still loves cars, construction vehicles, and trucks but his new favorite thing to do is put on my high heels, walk around, and roar like a dinosaur.  He's so weird like his dad sometimes.  

He also has crazy hair right now.  Whenever he wakes up or sits up from leaning against something his hair is everywhere.  We tried to capture his crazy hair but the picture just doesn't do it justice. 

Spartan Race

For the past two years my dad has come to Utah to participate in the Spartan Race with Casey.  This year was extra special because Spencer got to race.  The coarse was harder for both the racers and spectators so I didn't get as many pictures as I'd liked to.  Or maybe having 4 kids with me made it a little more difficult.  Who knows but at least I have a few to share:)

Here's Casey.  He started at 8:00 am and finished a little after 10:00 am.  He said he had to do burpies twice.  He had fun though.

Here's my dad, Scott.  He started at 9:00 am and finished around 1:00pm.  He also had to do a few burpies.  He was tired and hot but lived to tell the tale.  I didn't get many pictures of my dad cause the coarse was set up weird.  To get over to the obstacles by the finish line I had to go back through registration with all the other hundreds of participants waiting to sign in.  Once I realized this I knew I couldn't watch Casey finish and see my dad since they started within an hour of each other.  I was so bummed.  Also, I wasn't able to get pictures of him finishing because Spencer had started his race.  I guess we were too ambitious with 3 racers starting in the morning.  I'll know better for next year.  

Here's Spencer.  He was super excited to be old enough to race this year.  He had been training for a few months.  His training consisted of the monkey bars at the park, riding his bike, running away from me, and rolling down hills.  Very intense training as you can see.  He was awesome though.  He did all the obstacles on his own.  We were proud of him. 

Here's the spectators.  Although we didn't race we endured the heat, rough terrain, and lack of rest time.  This year my 6 year old niece, Jessica, joined us.  She was great with the boys and making sure they were having fun.  

Here's the finishing pictures

St. George Trip

We planned a trip to St. George once we heard Casey was presenting for the state down there.  The class he was teaching got cancelled but we went anyway.  We have some dear friends that live down there and we couldn't pass up quality time with them.  We were there 3 days which was plenty of time to hit up the children's museum, splash pads, and story time.  Heck, we even got in some amazing work outs.  St. George is wonderful!

 While we were packing the car Eleanor snoozed

 Spencer was amazed that the eggs rolled out of the chicken coop

Oliver would not leave this truck or let anyone else get on 

 Eleanor had fun walking around and seeing all the different exhibits

 Spencer the mechanic

Fireman Spencer

Fireman Olliebug

Spencer showing Eleanor and I our account balance.  Unfortunately we didn't have enough to go on a shopping spree:(

Spencer dancing while running around the splash pad

  Oliver and Casey at the splash pad

Orem Fest

This is our second year of being in town for Orem Fest.  This year we tagged along with our friends, the Downing's.  They set blankets out for the parade on Tuesday so we had awesome front row seats.  While waiting for the parade to start the boys rode a handful of carnival rides.  The lines weren't long which was super nice.  The parade was delayed because a cannon unexpectedly went off and injured a few spectators.  Because of the delay we had the motorcycle policeman doing tricks by us.  Oliver loved it and cheered them on while Spencer covered his ears because he didn't like the loud noise of the siren.  Everyone was tired when we walked home that night.