Fun with Friends

There is nothing better in childhood and even in adulthood than good friends.  We have been so lucky to have made wonderful friends in all of our adventures the past 12 years, for which I am so grateful for.  Our good friends the Lancasters have joined up in several of our shenanigans the past month and it has been a blast.  

It is almost scary how well our kids get along – we both have 3 boys, 1 girl; and in exactly the same order (boy, boy, girl, boy) all around the same ages.  Plus we often get asked if we’re sisters which makes me think it was meant to be!  We’ve been to Get Air in the Tri-cities, to cake decorating courses, to hiking, and every park, splash pad and playground in between. 

A constant worry for me is having my children make and be good friends.  Ones that I know will influence them to do good and encourage them be involved and kind.  I hope that my own children will be the kind of friend that other mothers want their kids to hang around because of those same qualities.  

I feel like we are so blessed to have met wonderful families in each and every town we have lived in who do just that.  I am so glad my kids have such great buddies and that I get add another BFF to my circle.

Cake Decorating 101 

 Get Air : Tri-Cities

 Grove of the Patriarchs - Mount Rainier National Forest

 

Are we there yet?

School is back in session in two days, and as I sat down to add the final pictures of our summer activities I couldn’t help but feel a little sentimental.  This summer has been such an enjoyable summer with the kids.  Three of the four have reached an age where they are actually “fun” to take places – meaning: they can all walk, they take care of their bathroom needs independently, they don’t need to be watched constantly to make sure they aren’t going to choke on something or unknowingly put themselves in harms way.

That being said – Max is still in that stage, but I don’t seem to mind it as much as I did with the olders.  Perhaps it comes with parenting experience, but I am more and more convinced that it is parent exhaustion that causes me to not be as paranoid.  I am loving watching Max at this age.  The formation of his first words, he is literally a parrot around the house.  My favorite Maxism: He refuses to call Shawn dad – it is either “Ma” or “Sam”!  I get such a kick out of his “O-tay” and am always freshly in awe at how much he understands and does independently.  He has also mastered a very technical thumbs up - which I think is absolutely adorable.  

A few weekends ago Shawn took the three olders on a camping trip.  We elected to have Max stay home with me (so we wouldn’t have to deal with the fire, the joys of sleeping with a toddler, etc.) and as he and sat for the first time completely alone I couldn’t help but feel a little bit sad that my baby isn’t really a baby anymore.  He has been such a treat for me because he is so affectionate and loving, especially to me.  I am his world, his center, his go-to.  He gives me wet kisses frequently and chimes in I wuv ya, after I tell him I love him -  but this won't last for long.  I can already see this moment in time slipping away as he runs after the older kids trying to do exactly what they are doing. Am I ready to have Max be the last sweet baby? Not knowing if there will be another little Summers to be held in my arms in the future I’m going to soak up this time all while I can get it.

But I also am looking forward to the time when all of our kiddos are at the fun - jump in the car and go stage.  There are so many adventures waiting for our family, I just haven't quite made up my mind if we are there yet.

Ballet Camp and Hayden Lake Weekend

Summer is just flying by but I think a lot of the reason is that the kids have been so busy with fun activities and we have been making the most of our weekends!  My friend teases me about being gone every weekend, but I can't help it - there are too many places too see and fun adventures to do.  I really want to look back at our live and feel like we have taken full advantage of every opportunity given us.  So opportunity 

#1: Ballet Camp!  Adorable - that is the only word to describe this.  The girls met for one hour for 5 days and learned a short routine that they performed on their last day!  They danced to Cinderella's "A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes" and Lyv was too cute for words.

After ballet camp and Jack's golf lessons (Photos of that coming soon) ended we loaded up the car and headed to Hayden Lake, Idaho to my Aunt Kate's cabin.  This place is one of the my favorite spots on earth, not only because the water is amazing, warm and clean but it is breathtakingly beautiful.  We spent two days playing in the water, water skiing (yes, even I skied, you can't help it the water is that warm!) lounging, making sand castles, and reading  It really is heaven on earth.  The other great bonus is that my sister Katie was there along with her three kids, so our kids enjoyed the time even more.

If you look hard you can see Lyv and Shawn over at "Minnow Island" as Lyvie took to calling it.  There are lily pads, minnows and turtles that live over in the shallow embankment.  She explored to her hearts content!

The older kids - Jack included, spent much of their time jumping off this platform dock!  Scary! But they loved it and kept going back for more.

Despite my best efforts Max was not a fan of the water --until he found this bucket of water on the deck.  Yes, this is the bucket to wash the sand off your feet.  He thought it was a perfect little hot tub for him.

Last but most definitely not least, we were able to spend time with my Aunt Kate!  She has always been my favorite Aunt, because she was so hands on.  She takes time to talk, to explore, to hug, and feed my kids and even jumps in the paddle boat with Jack…and that is always an adventure.  She is such an amazing woman and I am grateful that my kids had time with her.

Summers' Sensational Summer

Oh if only time could stand still!  Why does summer always fly by so quickly?  We have been back from Idaho for two weeks and boy have we been busy little bees….busy with fun things:)  Jack and Olyvia started swimming lessons and have been doing so so good!  Last year Lyv would hardly put her face in the water, now she is completely submerged and even kicking!  Maybe the new swimming suit encouraged this transformation.  She thinks she looks like a ballerina, which makes her feel exceptionally beautiful. She is pretty darn cute.

Jack is also doing very well and finally feeling confident in the deep end.  He looks like he's drowning when he swims but he manages to stay afloat.  I opted to not have Sam do lessons this year since he swims like a fish, and I figured I have to draw the line somewhere or he'll be doing swimming lessons until Max is done.  So he helps out chasing Max around.  I am really so lucky to have such a great big brother - he helps me out so much.

We hit up our local "fun zone" with our friends the Lancasters a few weekends ago. The go-carts were super fun, minus a little bumper car action.  Shawn t-boned Natalie!  Oops.

 Lyv and her bff Brinley have been loving all the long playmates together during the summer.  They have been dancing, singing made up songs, and being extra girly because they both finally can.  Both girls are the only girl in their family, so you can imagine how fun it is for them to get together.

 Max was very leery of swings - he is sensitive to heights and doesn't like the feeling of his stomach dropping - he finally discovered a swing he loves!  Look at this happy face!

 We have been trying out local eateries and tried out the Museum's Soda Fountain.  Super cute, but kind of pricey.  Sam's buddy Cooper joined us for some swimming and shakes.

 Finally on our way to Boise to celebrate Grant's 94 birthday in Boise we stopped by the Columbia River Temple.  One thing I have loved about living in so many different places is the opportunity to see and attend the different temples around the country.  The kids loved the fountain - and I loved this picture that really captured so much of each of their unique personalities (Sam the obedient smiler, Lyv the poser (need to work on the modesty idea:); Jack totally in his own world; and Max so sweet, waving at me).  I am eternally grateful for temples and the blessings that come because of the covenants I have made inside.

Sam's 9th Birthday

I can't believe 9 years have past since the day Sam came into our lives.  He has been such a wonderful son and everyday I am grateful for him and all he does to help around the house and with his brothers and sister.  He continues to love the NY Yankees - and who can blame him right? So we made a Yankee's cake, and he opted for new baseball gear.  (check out Lyv's photo coaching in the background!)

 We were lucky to be in Idaho on his birthday so his party was a party indeed!  We went to Rexburg Rapids to swim, and then hit up Pizza Pie Cafe (Sam's favorite) for dinner and cake.  I love this picture because even though it doesn't represent all of his cousins, they are all such good friends and truly enjoy spending time with each other.

Little America WY - Hill Fam Reunion 2014

The Hill Family Reunion was held at Little America WY.  Some might ask, why the heck would you ever go there on purpose?  Well…. we Hill's LOVE LOVE the Little America …. and we were supposed to go floating the Green River and fishing.  However - the river was too high, and the huge pool kept the kids so occupied and happy we really didn't need to go anywhere to have fun!

 Because we were going to be floating the river, I decided to leave Max with Michelle, and that meant that we were able to drive down with Grandma and Grandpa Hill.  We stopped at a diamond in the rough drive in - The Red Baron! Yummo!

 We couldn't get enough of the 75 cent ice-cream cones!

 Jack perfected his belly flop and Sam worked on his dive!

We didn't do much other than swim, eat, and talk but we all had a great time relaxing and spending time together.