summer life

I'm still using Instagram (and Chatbooks) to document the daily stuff so I don't feel like I need to blog about EVERY picture I take, but I wanted to write about a few of our best summer memories so far! "Papa's boat" is a major part of our life, but with the addition of the kid wakeboard, things have gone to a whole new level, haha.  Just look at this face...

He has no fear and LOVES riding the wakeboard or surfing with Daddy. The way that he looks at Kevin melts my heart every single time!! I have a feeling that this will be a shared hobby for years to come.

I have instigated a summer checklist for each of my kids because I didn't love them asking to watch a show each morning.  Brooke's list consists of things like, "make bed, brush teeth and hair, practice piano, read books, do something kind for someone, help with chores, do something creative, and "summer bucket list". She is obviously most excited about the summer bucket list, but I can tell that she feels a sense of accomplishment to check things off her personal list.  It has helped when they get "bored" (which they know not to say around me), to go check their lists.  Colby's list is similar to Brooke's, but has "read books with Mama", and "practice writing" as well.

One of the items on the summer bucket list was to make mud pies.  I sent the kids outside with gladware containers, shovels, gloves and wished them luck.  After a while, I checked on them and they were having the best time together.

Brooke found a tiny worm that she was in love with, and they were pretty pleased with the results of their digging and packing.

This picture cracks me up, but represents summer at it's finest :)

We have had quite a bit of rain this month, which has sort of thrown our summer activities for a loop. But, actually, it worked out well since Brooke came down with "possible pneumonia" after Jeffrey and his family left.  Poor girl was napping multiple times a day and had little energy to play or go outside. Once she started feeling better and we were itching to get out of the house, we headed over to Uptown Village to play in the sprays and at the dinosaur park.  In my opinion, these pictures show the beauty of childhood summers.

We also spent an afternoon at the pool with Brookie's new whale from Nay Nay and Papa.  I wasn't sure if the pool monitors would allow it, but thankfully they didn't say anything and we had hours of fun together.

After a while, the kids wanted to warm up and have snacks, which sounded great to me. I love laying out by the pool, but it's something I rarely get to do with kids at the pool.  But maybe my kids are getting to the age where they will relax a bit poolside with me! 

I settled myself into my chair, then looked over to see Colby like this, haha.  Rocking Sissy's glasses was the funniest part :)

We also ventured over to Lynn Creek Park with a bunch of friends from the ward.  The combination of perfectly calm water, a cloud cover, and lots of friends to play with made the day absolutely perfect! Our group was the only one at the beach, which made it nice so I could keep a close eye on the kids. I could have stayed for hours, but we could only stay for 2 since we were meeting up with cousins at the movie theatre. 

We saw the new Aladdin movie, which was actually really good!  The previews didn't look that great to me, so I was pleasantly surprised.  I love the animated version and all the classic songs, so I was glad that they incorporated those into the remake. 

Summer life really is the best!!