Summer in a Nutshell...Part 1

Summer is flying by! I spend my days alternating between wanting summer to last forever and counting down the minutes until school starts again...just depends on the moment! I had been experiencing a little of that "mom guilt" about the fact that it didn't seem we had done much this summer until I staredt going through our pictures and now I KNOW why I'm so tired...

This darling munchkin has a talent for being a toddler...I suspect he may be one of the most talented toddlers ever to hit this planet! He is in to EVERYTHING! Entire pitchers of apple juice dumped on the table, walls, furniture, and floors, playing in the toilet (whether it is flushed or not), using people's cell phones to try and clean toilets, unrolling entire rolls of toilet paper/paper towels/Kleenex, etc. He is so FUN but so busy!!!

This is what happens to our amazing toddler at the end of every day! He can't even make it through a full bottle of milk anymore without falling sound asleep!

Jake did a 3 week band camp that he LOVED! 

And he continues to amaze us with his culinary talents...even discovered a sure fire method for keeping those onions at bay!

I really love summer time and dinners outside. Someday we will have a real patio instead of lumpy, uneven grass.

We were able to add some new ancestors to our annual Memorial Day tour. We visited graves in Provo, Orem, and Pleasant Grove...love remembering those people whose lives have truly blessed ours. We are so blessed to have such remarkable family!

Memorial Day Eve we had dinner with Carrie and Todd...this boy sure loves his Dad.

And no party is a "real" party without karaoke! I can do a fabulous Whitney Houston by the way...

Chris really feeling the spirit of the activity!

Sarah and I decided to actually DO something we had pinned on Pinterest...after a TON of plastic wrap, a roll of duct tape, and enough water to flood the whole backyard, we succeeded! And it was truly glorious. It is cool, refreshing, non moist...all the benefits of a water bed but in the backyard.

It was several days of high entertainment!

 

 

Last winter, my uber-fun/super cool cousin sent me a link to a family race being held here in Utah County called the UTAH VALLEY FAMILY ADVENTURE  race. Since I have aspired to be on "Amazing Race" for YEARS now, I figured I mine as well start small and work my way up. Jake, Hannah, Sarah and I did the race...and it was so fun! We ran, biked, canoed, climbed, hunted, and laughed until we cried! We will definitely be back next year...please come join us! It truly was the adventure of a lifetime!!! (And we are proud to say we didn't come in last place...by a hair.)

Chris had a birthday...he turned 25 years old...again.

 Another Pinterest project with fabulous results. Homemade playdough dyed lots of unnatural colors with some dollar store rocks and a dollar store fairy doll. And VOILA...a fairy/mermaid garden! (I would LOVE to live inside Hannah's imagination for a day...I bet it is a fabulous place to play!)

 

 We will pause here for a moment for a darling baby break!

We love Lucky's snow cones. And how convenient of them to place their addictive business within walking distance of our home!

We celebrated Chris' birthday with a big family picnic in the park! I will never cease to be amazed and grateful for the privilege of living close to so many of our family on both sides. It is SUCH a blessing...and always so fun!

 Went to explore the Scheels store one day...rode the ferris wheel, looked at the fish, practiced shooting at the range...now THAT is a retail experience.

Jacob has started babysitting his siblings alot more this summer...he even changed Baby's diaper one day. I was so perplexed about the flaps hanging out the side...but as Jake pointed out, it held together and did the job. I guess you can't argue with that!

At the end of June, we traveled to San Diego for a nephew's wedding! The whole trip was only 4 days long but it was amazing! Beautiful bride, handsome groom, fabulous family, and beautiful beach...my kind of weekend vacation.

The bride is from Korea and she is one amazing girl! They were married in the San Diego temple and then because her parents are not members of the church, they did a beautiful ring ceremony at Courtney's home as well as host a delicious Korean themed dinner! It was a wonderful, beautiful day! The bride's mother was wearing the most exquisite Korean traditional gown...I can't BELIEVE I didn't get a picture of it. I wanted to put my name on masking tape and stick it on the the dress in case she ever decides that she is going to give it away to whoever put their name on the back on masking tape first...Grandma Oscarson style.

On the way home, our car's air conditioning gave out right outside of St. George. I will fully acknowledge that we were enormously blessed that it didn't happen in the middle of the day in Barstow, CA where it was
about 113 degrees. I suggested Chris take us to the temple visitor's center where I knew the air conditioning would be nice and cool, there would be water fountains, and lots of movies to keep us entertained if needs be. Chris looked around under the hood and couldn't see an obvious problem so off we went to find a hero who could tell us what was wrong. After a couple of stops, we finally found a mechanic who told us our air compressor was shot and he could fix it but not until Monday. We debated for half a second before we decided to just gut it out and head for home. We didn't want to be stuck in a hotel in St. George and end up forking out more money over the whole thing. So with the windows cracked and the kids sweating profusely, we pressed on toward Salt Lake. The heat put Baby right to sleep and the rest of the kids were too hot to even talk. I threw wet paper towels at them and we drank lots of water...I was afraid I would be permanently deaf in my right ear after driving with the window down on the highway but we made it home!!! It was another week before we could get it in to fix it...and I won't tell you how much it costs to repair an air compressor because it still makes me throw up in my mouth a little. Chalk it up to another summer adventure...

 We would like to pause again to appreciate how cute my family is...good grief.

A couple of days after returning from San Diego, my nephew and his wife had their reception in Utah. I think maybe one of the favorite moments was riding in the golf cart with chaffeur George. Spencer thought he had died and gone to automobile heaven!

 The Utah reception was held at a sister/brother in law's home that is absolute paradise on so many levels...it has a pool with a 2-story water slide, a zip line, and a tree house that would make any child salivate. It also has some of our very favorite people...

OK, this entry is too long and I'm ready to do something else. But in the spirit of documenting our family's history, I will summarize the rest. 

 Cimberly and Kent came to town for the reception and to bless their beautiful new baby boy! He was blessed on the 4th of July (Kent's birthday) at Kent's home (where Kent was blessed) in the exact same little baby blue tuxedo that Kent was blessed in. Awesome!

Earlier that morning, the kids were all able to ride Uncle J's WWII tank in the big Freedom Festival parade in Provo...an annual tradition they look forward to all year. Baby and I stayed home since standing in the heat with crowds of people isn't our style.

 Later that afternoon Mo and Papa took us all to see a movie. Abby came into town with her 4 little darlings and it was heavenly. Air conditioning, buttery popcorn, and sit in a comfortable chair while I am entertained IS my kind of thing!

We spent the following week with lots and lots of family and cousins and sisters and aunts and grandparents...just the way a summer should be.

 Jake went to scout camp for a week. I was terrified and he was so excited. When I went to pick him up at the end of the week, I asked, "So...were you homesick? Did you miss us?" He looked uncomfortable for a couple of seconds and then said, "Mom...uh, not to hurt you feelings or anything but no." And then he talked for the next week about how much he wanted to go back! Kids growing up is so hard  on mothers' hearts!

 Matthew has started playing with a new team. It is up a level from where he was playing last year so we are feeling the intensity. Twice a week practices and tournaments...and the "official" season hasn't even started!!! Yikes!

 This baby ADORES his Papa!

 His team took second place in their age division at their first tournament! So proud of these boys and how hard they work. It is really fun to watch them play. Who knew I was such a soccer fan?

 Love these sweet boy cousins together. They are good buddies and there is nothing more fun than a cousin your age!

Spencer is addicted to a book about stars and planets. When he is unable to find someone to read him the book for the 100th time that day, he will sit in the blue chair and read it to himself. Love his independence!

OK, enough. We may need to take a little break. Setting a goal and then falling behind on your goal makes everything so complicated. I will try and do better....starting next month.

Hope your summer is filled with popsicles and naps!