Father's Day

We had a nice Father's Day. We went to breakfast, then to the coffee shop, then a park and finally to Brent and Cheryl's for a nice backyard dinner.

Good Morning!

Daddy and his girls

 

The kids dancin' at the coffee shop

Livi enjoying the park

Emma and Grandpa

Livi and Grandpa

Maddie, Emma, Taya, and Landon

The Kids

Cute Livi

Herriman Days Parade

We love our little town and the fun tradition of celebrating Herriman Days. The morning starts with the parade, and then a little carnival afterward. This year, the scouts were celebrating 100 years of scouting, and Landon was asked to hold the city flag at the beginning of the parade. He was so excited. The night before he was checking and double checking that he had his uniform, shoes, and sunscreen readily available.

Finally the morning came. We gathered the troops and found a prime spot for the parade.

There's my boy. Look at that smile. I don't think I've ever seen him more proud!

He was exhausted after an hour of marching, but according to him, it was totally worth it.

Emma's Dance Recital

Emma did such a great job at her dance recital. I'm so amazed with how quickly she improved her technique. She is definitely very talented and just absolutely loves dancing!

I'm so proud of her!

The Gymnast That Never Was

Two years ago, Emma begged me to let her take cheerleading classes. However, after a couple of classes she said she wanted to quit because it made her sick, and gave her headaches. Last month she asked if she could take tumbling classes, because all of her friends could do back-handsprings and flips and she wanted to as well. I reminded her that she cried after all of her cheerleading classes, and she convinced me it was because she was "only 5 years old", and she was old enough to handle it this time.

I decided to sign her up for one of the best instructors in the valley so she could catch up fairly quickly. The problem is, they have 200 girls on the waiting list, and she would have to tryout to get a placement. We spent three hours with 100 other girls trying to see if she can get in.

She is very flexible and as the instructor said, "has a great body type for a gymnast". After waiting a few days, we got the call that she got in! She was so excited and told all of her friends.

After her first lesson, I picked her up, and she was crying.

Great.

She told me she got dizzy and maybe it was too fast-paced for her. I talked to the instructor and we decided to give her private lessons so she could go at her own pace. I picked her up from her first private lesson and....

...yup, she was crying. She was also ghost white with a shade of green. The instructor suggested that she has motion sickness.

Well, that actually makes sense. She gets car sick very easily, and I often keep a barf bag in the van just for a short trip to the mall. I guess I just didn't think that would affect her in other ways.

Her dreams of being a gymnast have been squashed, but fortunately, she is very talented in many other things. Now we just need to find one that keeps her in an upright position!

St. George Trip...Again

Just one week after our Memorial Weekend, my dad got pneumonia so badly that he had to be hospitalized. A week later, he needed surgery to open up his lungs. We decided to go head south to make sure we were there for the duration of the surgery. Unfortunately, Jeremy had to work, so I pulled single parent duty once again. Luckily, my kids are great travelers. While driving, I looked in my rear view mirror to see this, so cute...

Right when arrived, my nephew, Skyler was having a birthday party at our favorite park, so we headed there first. I don't really think we were even invited, but we crashed it none the less.

My brother Gary and his friend Mike also made the trip down.

Here they are with brother Jason
showing off their um...well I'll let you fill in the blank.




It's true that boys never grow up :)


And here's a cute girl.



The best part of the park was closed for
construction. We were pretty bummed.

After the park, we headed to our condo. I started unpacking and told the kids to just do whatever while I settle in. I laughed when I saw each kid doing what they love the most....

Emma stretching and doing gymnastics....

Landon eating and watching TV....

And Livi just wandering around with a drink in her hand


I just love hanging with these kids, but we sure missed Jeremy!

The next day my Dad had his surgery so we stayed nearby the hospital. That's the great thing about St. George- everywhere you go, there's a park!







My dad's surgery went well, and he was on his way to recovery, so I ventured away from the hospital area and took the kids swimming.



and to more parks







Then it was time to go back home. I'm so glad we were able to be there for my Dad and that he recovered so quickly. I'm also thankful that St. George is such a nice retreat just four hours away!

Last Day of School

Today, the kids had their last day at Challenger School. They have been in uniforms all year, so they were very excited to be able to wear "normal clothes' today. Here are the outfits they chose to wear. I tried to get them to pose alone, but they are still so enamored with their new dog, that every pictures seems to include him...