Summer Fun

We have been so busy this summer so far! Here are a few of our adventures.

Back Yard Water Fights
The kids were swimming in the back yard at Grandma's house. Carson was relentlessly teasing his younger sister. Thomas came around the side of the house just in time to see Carson dump a whole bucket of water over Adi's head and then run away. Unfortunately for Carson, his dad is pretty quick on his feet and was able to catch him without too much trouble.I love the cheering section marching behind Thomas. "Dunk him, dunk him, dunk him!" I also love that Davis is wearing a pair of Carson's swim trunks. He has his own, I promise. He will do anything to be like his older brothers.

I love the look on Adi's face, "That's what happens when you mess with me, mister!"

Heritage Days Parade

Syracuse has a parade every year to celebrate Heritage Days. Davis spent the first half of the parade covering his ears. He did this same thing during the fireworks on the 4th of July!

RAGNAR
Thomas and I ran Ragnar together this year. I had to twist Thomas' arm, and he swears he is retiring after this one, but we will see! Here we are all loaded up and ready to go. EVERYONE decorates their cars for this shin-dig, so we had to join the fun. Although we didn't go as far as lighting up the van with Christmas lights like some of the other crazy teams do, we at least have a catchy slogan! For a couple of days Ragnar decided that none of the runners were going to be allowed to wear headphones while they ran. After much protesting the ban was lifted, THANK GOODNESS! Up your endorphins, get it? Ha!


Our van consisted of me and 5 guys. I was nervous about being the only girl at first (especially when they all jumped out to check out some body-builder chicks calf's) but it ended up being a lot of fun. (right to left: Greg, Cole, Mark, Thomas, Cody)


Ragnar starts in Logan and ends in Park City. Each team has 12 people who are separated into 2 vehicles and rotate running for a total team distance of 188 miles. IT WAS A BLAST! Thomas was the first runner in our van, and I ran after him each time. This is a pic of him passing off to me.

I read a story once of a man who was tired of all the comments he would get about training for his races even while he was on vacation and stuff. So he started taking pictures of all the beautiful places he ran past. There have been many times while running that I wished I had my camera and this race was no exception. There were some breathtaking views!
I lost a toenail after running a half marathon in March and found this saying very clever.

Thomas did awesome this year for his I HATE RUNNING attitude. He really improved on his times and was even able to run a couple miles for me when my tummy acted up in the middle of the night. Luckily I recovered the next day and was able to run my last leg of the race. This is a pic of Thomas and I at the finish line in Park City. I think RAGNAR may have triggered a little running interest in Thomas after all!

Antelope Island
Shortly after returning home form Ragnar, Thomas and I were talking about running on Antelope Island out by "the lake". The boys overheard our conversation and said something like, "We live by a lake?" We decided it was time for them to experience The Great Salt Lake in all it's glory. I wish I could say it was "great", but I have to admit it was pretty stinky, buggy, and dirty. No one wanted to be in the water for more than five minutes so we mostly played in the sand. I am glad we did it for the experience, but I think we will drive to Bear Lake for our beach days from now on.







4th of July
This was our attempt to get a family picture at our family reunion on July 3rd. Thomas is yelling at Carson who was sitting on the front porch and refusing to be in the picture. Amy is bribing Davis with everything under the sun, to sit on her lap and smile. Bennett is wondering why the little kids always get the treats when they are the ones who cause all the trouble. Adi is determined to show us right now that she has mastered her cartwheel. Sigh.

This is the picture we settled for. Better than nothing I say!


I hope you are all enjoying your summer as well!