Aaron's Work Party

We went to Aaron's work party tonight up at his boss's property in Birdseye. Among other fun things, they had this miniature horse that they were letting the kids brush and decorate in bows. Thee most patient horse I've ever seen. Adelia was in heaven. 

Ich schwimme gern!

Lincoln qualified for the County Silver Meet in the butterfly, backstroke, and breaststroke. So we spent the day at the Spanish Fork pool watching him compete. I've decided I love watching swimming. So fun. My mom and Penny and Isla came down to watch too.

Linc did really well. He placed 6th in butterfly and backstroke. And he had the second fastest time in breaststroke, but they disqualified him for bringing his hands lower than his waist on one stroke, so that was a bummer. But I was so proud of him! He's improved so much this season.

Keepers

Lemmon/Sparks Reunion

Ollie and Abi

We spent the weekend up in Hooper for the Lemmon/Sparks family reunion. Friday afternoon we went to the Roy Aquatic Center for some fun in the sun. Rue slept.

Then we went back tot he Hooper park and had din-din. The kids played on the playground, the adults chatted, and Rue slept. :)

We camped out in my mom's backyard and roasted mallows over the fire pit. Lincoln and Ivan were dead set on sleeping on the trampoline so they could star-gaze, but then it got pretty windy, and they were afraid they were going to blow away, so they decided to sleep in the tent after all.

Isla and Lincoln

The next morning we had a pancake breakfast in the backyard, and then went on a fun hike and played in the stream.

Penny, Adelia, Gramma Tam, Emree, Kerry, Lincoln

Adelia and Uncle Tanner

Adelia and Brighton

Lincoln and Ivan

The dam Papa Kerry and the boys made.

Isla, Penny, and Ivan

Ivan and Adelia

Lincoln was so funny on our hike. Before we left he packed all sorts of things into his backpack, binoculars, pencil, notebook, magnifying glass, etc. On the way back down the trail, we saw a really pretty butterfly. Lincoln stopped, busted out his notebook and pencil, and sat in front of the butterfly and tried to draw it and take notes about it before it flew away. I'm totally all for nature journaling, but it made me laugh because it was so unprompted and out of nowhere. We've never done anything like that before. And he was so serious about it. :) Love that Lincoln.

Pedal Bike

I love when kids decide they are big enough and brave enough to ride a "pedal bike" as we call it at our house. Adelia decided today, and she took to it like a duck on the water. Neither of the older boys caught onto it as quickly as she did. A few minutes with Dad in the driveway and she was good to go! And she's SO excited about it, which is my favorite part.

Springville Reservoir

Springville opened up a new reservoir this year, and I've been dying to go check it out. I couldn't stand to be inside for one more second today, so I took the older kids and we went spent the afternoon there. We had a great time. I think this might be one of our new favorite hang out spots.

I'van's First Lost Tooth

Ivan has been waiting a long time to lose his first tooth. He's pretty thrilled about it. 

Ollie

 Caught in the act, and all he had to say for himself was, "Cheese!" Little turkey. I'm just feeling like I need a post about Ollie. I adore this kid, and his lack of intensity is like a breath of fresh air, but sometimes with his soft, easy going nature, he has a tendency to be over-looked sometimes. I try really hard to make sure that that doesn't happen. To deliberately ignore the squeaker wheels sometimes and give this little fellow the grease.

 I love him so. I love his little mischief grin, and his developing sense of humor. I love his fluffy hair and his chubby turned-in feet. I love when he crawls in bed with me to snuggle in the mornings before the other kids are up. And I love that I have always been able to communicate with him and understand exactly what he wants, even though he doesn't use many words yet.

I especially love that he feel asleep in his high chair at dinner tonight, and how the light from outside was reflecting off of his little straw-colored head, making him look like the angel baby that he is. 

Father's and Sons vs Girl Party

Aaron took the big boys to Father's and Sons...

I took everyone else to Zupas for dinner.

Then we put Ollie to bed, and Adelia and Ruby and I had a little girl party. We had a tea party, and watched My Little Ponies the movie. Love my girls, and Ollie too. He'll be big enough to go to Father's and Sons next year.

Swan Reunion

This is the second year in a row that the Swan Family reunion has been held in Springville over the 4th of July holiday. This makes it less of a vacation for us, but the kids enjoy seeing their cousins.

The first day we hiked the Left Fork trail up Hobble Creek Canyon and spent the afternoon at the splash pad. Then we had a BBQ at Aaron's parents house for dinner.

Zac, Lincoln, Luke, Ivan, Adelia, Eliza, Ollie

Rue and Malia

Adelia, Ruby, Eliza, and Malia

Ollie and Eli, best buddies and cousins.

Spencer, Lincoln, and Ivan playing chess.

On the morning of the 4th, we got up early and drove to Provo to see the hot air balloons, which is one of my favorite traditions. The weather wasn't ideal though, so the balloons didn't launch. But they still blew them up for everyone to see, which was cool.

Sometimes this is as good of a family picture as you get. 

After balloons we went to watch the parade. It rained for a little while, but stopped before the parade actually started. Parades aren't really our thing, so we left early.

Lincoln, Zac, Luke, Ivan

This is how Ollie watched most of the parade. 

Lincoln, Ivan, Zac, Jeremiah, Spencer, Adelia

I made my own Fourth of July T-shirt, in Type 3 colors. I had a little help from Aaron and Kelly. Have you ever tried to make anything with an engineer and an architect looking over your shoulder? Hehe, it was funny. But they were helpful, so the shirt turned out perfectly.

After the parade, we went home to give the kids naps and to get our house ready. We were hosting dinner and fireworks. Aaron made home made root beer.

Eli and Ollie, watching them play was my favorite part of the whole weekend.

Jeremiah and Ivan

Ollie was unsure of the fireworks at first, but he warmed up to them.

Ollie's first sparkler

Five of my favorite people. 

Hosting so many people is stressful, and that's an understatement. I had planned on everyone being mostly outside, but of course that never happens. By the end of the night my house was a wreck from top to bottom, my privacy had been invaded, multiple boundaries had been crossed (unintentionally, I'm sure), my nerves were fried, and I just wanted everyone to leave. I will not be volunteering my house for family parties in the future. With such a large group of people, I think it's better for everyone if the events are held in a neutral space, like a park. That way everyone is on equal ground, and no one is left with a giant mess to clean up at the end.

But the important thing is that my kids had a good weekend, and made some great memories with their cousins. We survived, and my nerves will get over it eventually. Even if right now I want to crawl into the back of a dark closet, curl up in a ball, and never see another human again. I'm sure that feeling will pass. :)