*end of july*

The end of July went out with style.

We hiked to Twin Lakes with my cute sister Erika:











and celebrated the opening ceremonies of the Olympics with a proper English dinner (or would you say supper?) of fish and chips, English trifle, and butterbeer.


We also held a mini olympics of our own--a sort of water olympics if you will. We had a water balloon fight--


--and spent the afternoon on the slip and slide. The boys started out with some traditional sliding...








...then became a little more creative.

Here is the air guitar slide:


the one cheek slide:


the pose for the camera slide (I had a ton of these from Luke):


and the ninja slide.










Then the for the gold there was the single


and double through the legs slide.


And you can't forget your dismount.




And then of course Neil.




I was even able to squeeze in some time to spend with some dear high school friends and our summer nights were officially invaded by football practice on the last day of the month.

Whew! On to August!

*donut falls*

Ummm, yeah. I need to step it up a bit if I want to get out of summer when it is almost the end of October.

Anyhoo...

This was such a super fun hike.

Much better than the Living Room fiasco.

I think it went better because we were in the cool air of the mountains, the scenery was absolutely gorgeous, and I must say, the company was fantastic.







It is a pretty easy hike but when we got to the mouth of the falls, I was a little nervous because the rocky climb up looked a bit treacherous and not only was it steep, the waterfall was making the rock super slippery.

Apparently I was the only one apprehensive of the climb.


I am so happy we made the journey to the very top.






We were even brave enough to venture inside the cave.








Definately on our list to do again next summer!

*busy, busy*

July was packed full of fun activities and adventures.

Backing up just a few days into June, we welcomed a new niece and cousin, miss Jane. The boys had so much fun meeting her and visiting my sister in the hospital.



My friend Erika and I threw a baby shower for one of our dear co workers and friends who spontaneously became pregnant with triplets. She had to hang out in the hospital for seven weeks so we decorated the old nursery and it turned out super cute.

Luke and Liam had a ton of fun while we were there and even developed a little crush on Erika. They still talk about her to this day.


We went bowling and celebrated 7/11 by getting free slurpees.












Twice.


We went swimming any chance we could get.






We visited the float preview for the Pioneer Day parade.




Nick got his braces off!


There were also lunch dates with Grandma, movie night with the other grandparents, hiking, playdates with frients, Nick played baseball on the Skyline automotive team for their last few games, a visit from one of my best friends and her cute kids, the farmers market, went to the library, matinee movies, water fights, the Olympics, and a delightful concert to Neil Diamond.

I love summer.