July

July was a fun month!  Jacey and Londyn’s last day of school was July 3rd, then they had a 3-week summer break and went back to school on July 28th.  So we had to pack a whole summer’s worth of fun into a very short time.

We started in Park City with the Robins family for the 4th of July.  This was a pretty laid-back vacation.  We played tennis, swam at the park, did some shopping, played games at the condo, and toured the Olympic park.  Mostly we hung out together and enjoyed some down-time. 

This picture was taken at the Olympic Park as we were about to leave.  I am seriously considering putting it on my Christmas cards because, even though not a single one of us has our hair done, I just love Oakley’s face that much. 

The next weekend we headed North to Idaho for the Wallace Family Reunion.  This is the first time we have had a real live reunion for my Wallace cousins, and it was a lot of fun.  I hope my kids have good memories of Aberdeen like I do.

Kira organized a super fun “road rally” that ended at the football field where we got a group picture.  Several people weren’t here yet though so this isn’t quite our whole group.  I didn’t take my camera out very often but we had lots of fun down at the reservoir and back at Grandma & Grandpa’s house with all sorts of fun games and activities. 

Then the next week was Cousins’ Camp.  This really was a highlight that deserves its own post, but knowing how infrequently I blog I better just include it here.

My mom did a carnival theme this time and it was really, really cute.  I know I’ve said this before, but she really goes all out on Cousins Camp and the kids look forward to it so much.  I have a feeling that when they look back and remember fun things from their childhood, Cousins Camp is going to be one of those super shiny highlights. 

They did too many fun things to list them all here – take my word for it when I say it was PACKED with activities, crafts, outings, etc etc etc.  So much fun.

The final night was the Cousins Camp Carnival and all of the parents were invited.  The kids had been earning tickets all week with good behavior (and they really were well behaved, so they had a lot of tickets to spend).  The kids also put on performances – Londyn was a dancing elephant, Jacey was a lion tamer, and Natalyn walked the tight rope.  It was all really cute and a lot of fun. 

       

The next weekend Londyn and Jacey and I took a little “girls trip” to Idaho for my cousin Kira’s wedding.  Kira lived with my folks while she did her student teaching, which happened to be at the same time that we were living there while working on our house.  So my kids got to know her quite well and they all think she’s great (because she is).  It was a really short trip but fun and we were happy to be able to be a part of Kira’s big day.

Bright and early the next Monday morning, Jacey and Londyn started school.  Jacey’s in 5th grade and Londyn’s in 2nd.  I LOVE both of their teachers, who are actually demanding responsibility and progress from them and I think it’s terrifically refreshing. 

And that is July in a nutshell!  It was a perfect  short but sweet summer break.  Fun, fun month.  Exhausting, but fun.