Summer Fun

This summer Tyson had a very busy school schedule. He was gone 3 days out of the week. So we tried to pack as much fun as we could during the weekends.

We spent a lot of time outside in the yard: 

Two Cute Faces:

 

 Two Funny Faces:

 

 

We went to the zoo:

We went to a River Bandit baseball game:

We had swimming lessons. Lilly was in the tadpole class and Bennett and I went to the mommy and me class. Bennett was the only baby that didn’t cry. He also learned how to scoot himself off the wall since he couldn’t stand up and jump.  I was very impressed:

We participated in swim days offered by a friend in the ward, had a lot of play dates and went to the summer activities provided by our library:   

When it was really hot or raining we headed over to the Family Museum:

We went to the splash park:

I thought this summer was a fun one. We did a good job at staying busy and had a lot of fun together. I am so thankful to have fun kids!

 

Camping in the Midwest

We started our summer early with a camping trip. Tyson has been missing the mountains and all the activities that go along with the beautiful outdoors of Utah. He decided to try and duplicate Utah mountain camping in Iowa. It wasn’t quite the same.

We decided to go the weekend before Memorial Day to miss all of the drunken, potty mouthed Midwesterners. Tyson heard that Johnson Sauk Trail State Park in Illinois was a great location for camping so we gave it a try. The campgrounds had planted trees so all of the tress where in straight lines. That was a little weird for us.

We picked a spot located near an area we could get access to our car and not too close to a bathroom or garbage can. The spot we picked had a family with a little girl Lilly’s age and some dogs. We figured if they had little kids they would behave.

Once we got everything set up we wanted to explore but Lilly announced she needed to go to the bathroom. I took her to the nearest flush bathroom but it was too dirty for her and she refused to go. So we went back to the campsite. She then said she needed to go again and we tried the outhouse which she also refused to use. We spent about 1 hour going back and forth and trying to find a restroom she would use. It was the most frustrating thing I have ever dealt with for Lilly. We finally drove down to the campsites main bathrooms which were flush and she finally agreed to go bathroom.

After that situation was taken care of we made dinner (hot dogs), checked out the lake at the campsite and played in the meadow. The lake was man-made and supplied with fish. It wasn’t the cleanest lake. I wanted to do the paddle boats but the rental place was already closed.

When it got dark we made S’Mores and then retreated to our tent and watched a movie on the IPad. Bennett slept in the pack-n-play. He did pretty well. It was cold and I had to cover him in blankets. I was so paranoid the whole night that he was going to suffocate in all the blankets I piled on. Our neighbors ended up being awful. They spent the whole night drinking beer and talking very loudly with very rude language. I don’t think they went to sleep until around 2:00 am. Combining that with my paranoia and sleeping on the ground in the cold made it a really rough night for me. It also rained a little but our rain cover for the tent did a good job protecting us.

In the morning we had breakfast burritos in the tent. Tyson made them under the rain flap of the tent to stay warm. While Lilly and I made the trek to the bathrooms Tyson started cleaning up and getting ready to go home. I came back to Bennett fast asleep in the tent.  I guess he wasn’t ready to wake up yet. We had to pack everything around his sleeping body.

 

 

It wasn’t the most fun I have ever had camping but Lilly enjoyed herself so that is really all the matters, right? It was also enjoyable just being together as a family and the food was yummy. 

A Visit from a Friend

I was so lucky to have my best friend, Jennifer Wilson come and visit me during the first of May. We had so much fun together and she was even nice enough to let me drag my kids along with me everywhere we went. I know my kids had so much fun. Lilly made a new best friend and was very sad when she left. Jen learned really fast that Lilly is extra friendly and talkative. She thought Jen was there just to visit her.

While Jen was here she got a tour of John Deere Headquarters and gift shop. I took her to the headquarters since she is an adult. The JD Pavilion is usually toured when visiting kids are present.

We went to Nauvoo and to Carthage Jail. I didn’t check times very well and we just barely made it in time to get a tour of Carthage. By the time we got to Nauvoo we missed the carriage rides. I felt really bad. Instead we toured the town and the women’s garden. We also went down to the river crossing. I was able to leave Lilly at a friend’s house but Bennett came with us. Going with Jen was fun because we did a lot of things I hadn’t done yet.

This is the part of the river the pioneer's crossed

On Sunday, which was Mother’s Day, I had to give a talk. It was kind of a bummer talking on Mother’s Day but everything went smoothly so that is good.

After church we went to a local Art Fair. We both got caricatures done of ourselves. I was the last one of the day and I felt like his work was slacking by the time he got to me. Even Tyson said it didn’t look anything like me. Plus, the guy was enamored with Jen and was still focused on her. After the fair we went on the sky bridge and down to the river. The river was high so we didn’t get to go on the walk I was hoping for. Plus, it started raining.

Since it was Mother’s Day Tyson made us a yummy dinner and the kids gave me two beautiful hanging plants. I am one lucky mommy.

On Monday I took Jen to a chocolate store, on a tour of the old houses and shopping. It was a rainy day so we had to pick inside activities. There aren’t a lot of things to do inside here. We went to a fun jewelry store called Charming Charles. If you haven’t been to one and you have one close, GO! They are so much fun. After shopping we went to dinner and we were going to go to a movie but by then it was raining so badly it was a little scary driving. Instead we went home and hung out.

We did a lot of talking and hanging out during Jen’s visit. It was perfect! Exactly the girl time I needed.

On Tuesday I drove Jen to Chicago where she met up with a friend. We were very sad to see her leave. Lilly was a little heartbroken. The house we dropped Jen off had a kitten though so that helped soften the blow a little, for Lilly at least. I am still heartbroken.

Come back soon Jen!!