Start of Summer

 Summer was off to a rough start.  The first week of break I had a bad cold.  Normally I can control it with elderberry and zycam, but this strain lasted the full week and I felt pretty yucky the first few days.  Then, the next week Wesley had gastroenteritis.  Luckily, it was a 24 hour bug but still rough.  The next week Chase caught a different strain of gastroenteritis.  This time he had a fever, and threw up for two days straight.  He missed part of Summer camp, and was miserable. I felt so bad for him!! I was starting to go stir crazy as well - I felt like we had been stuck in the house for most of summer break.  Luckily, everyone recovered, no one caught each other's bugs, and Summer is back to normal.  I've been excited to get out of the house, but now that my kids are getting older they prefer staying home and playing with friends, or having screen time.  They used to be so willing and happy to go where ever mommy wanted - I just had to bring a million snacks, giant car seats, diapers bags,  nursing cover, stroller, and deal with accidents, potty training in public, meltdowns and so on. Now that my kids are old enough to buckle themselves in the car, not have tantrums in public, not require a big diaper bag or stroller, and be able to put their own shoes on - they don't want to go anywhere!  OR, one really wants to go somewhere, and the other two don't.  Very rarely are all three happy and in agreement regarding our activities. Oh well!  Often many of the best memories during the summer are made at home!  When they want to play video games,  I have a list of things they must accomplish before screen time - practice piano, clean room, complete chore, do two pages of summer homework, and sometimes mom's choice.  They have been doing really well at completing their assignments with minimal complaints.  They get 30 minutes to play video games, sometimes an hour depending on the day and how hard they worked.  They also love playing outside with all the neighborhood kids, and that makes me happy. 

 I love taking pictures, and I always will, but I have tried to tone down my picture taking and just let my kids enjoy some of their activities without mom in their face with a camera (lets be real though - I still do that depending on the occasion).  A few things I don't have pictures of are the Summer camps they attended.  Wesley went to Weeblos scout camp with the ward scout troop.  I think he had fun overall, but his favorite part was getting to buy candy at the scout store.  There was a big storm up there on the day he was supposed to take a boat on the lake, and they never got to make that up.  Blake went to a four day neighborhood summer camp put on by two teenagers in our ward trying to make extra money.  Blake LOVED it, and he told me it was "one hundred thousand fun."  They had a dino day, science day, and water day.  It was the perfect way for him to get out of the house while his brothers were participating in their own camps (or sick at home). Chase and Wesley also participated in VBS camp held at the methodist church where they attend scouts. Chase really enjoyed it, and told me he can't wait to go back next year.  Wesley, on the other hand, told me he does NOT want to go to VBS again.  Ehhh - I can't win them all!  Here are some other things we have done over the past few weeks of Summer break that I got pictures of (in between boughs of illness) - 




Blake and Chase LOVE bike riding.  It is one of their most favorite things to do.  We have some amazing outdoor bike trails in our city, and they ask to go every single day.  However, Wesley does not like riding his bike very much, and usually protests. 

I found this umbrella for free on the side of the rode!  Our back yard doesn't have much shade, so I was really excited to find it! 

 We went to Thanksgiving point with some friends to celebrate a birthday.  My boy's favorite part was feeding the fish!

This summer has been filled with lots of swim lessons!  We tried out a more expensive option at a local gym for Blake.  I got a good deal on groupon, but it was only good for two trial lessons.  It was better quality than the cheep city swim lessons we usually take, but its also a lot more expensive. 

More bike riding 

Our neighborhood throws an end of the school summer party every year.  My boys' favorite part is the dunk tank. Wesley goes on it over and over, but  I was surprised to hear that Chase went in the dunk tank as well!  He is normally so shy, but I think he is starting to come out of his shell a little bit. 

Wesley the bug king 

 Every year we like to set up our big screen and projector a few times during the summer.  Our kids and the neighborhood kids all love it. 

free ice cream coupons from the dentist for having no cavities 

scout adventures 

Birthday party fun at a local splash pad

Enjoying my view while the boys are in swim lessons! I was so happy to get all three of them in at the same time at our local pool.  It makes life so much easier!

Water slide and picnic fun!  This is the third or fourth summer we have owned this water slide.  Its a bit of a pain to take down and dry, but it keeps the kids busy ALL day and is a fun treat for them.

We just bought county recreation passes, so now we have full access to all the pools, ice skating rinks, and gyms in the entire county.  We are going to have a wet summer!