Summer Swimming and 4th of July 2013

FLASHBACK

It was an amazing summer. I forgot how hot the summers are here in AZ but we made it through spending most of the time in the pool or at the local splash pads. There are so many ways to stay cool in Arizona during the really hot months and the kids took full advantage of those places.

Hanging in our backyard.

Tempe Splash Pad. We made some great new friends this summer and reconnected with some old ones. A really good friend of mine from the BYU dorms and a few of her mom friends from a law school group. They have kids that are my kids ages and we loved getting together with them for outside playdates. 

 

 

 Ice Cream at Yogurtland.

 Swimming at Mesquite Groves Pool. When we moved here in Febuary the kids could barely swim with their life jackets on. Jackson wouldn't even get in the water. By the end of the summer they had turned into fish. Elizabeth liked to call herself a mermaid, flapping around the pool while holding her breath. Jackson's inner dare devil came out and he would jump off the top of the waterfall or dive off the diving board. I am so proud of them and all their bravery.

And we spent the 4th of July at our house with a few new friends. BBQ, swimming, Monster's University, and fireworks at night. Jackson was way into the fireworks, a piro like his mom. We had to watch him very closely as he got a little overly excited with the punk.

Halloween 2013

Leading up to Halloween we spent one day at Verticchio farms. This is a great place for kids with a large pillow jump, slides, train rides, a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, and a large corn maze. We met all our old friends there from the Hot Mamas and it was so much fun to see the kids interacting with each other years later. Jackson's favorite part was the maze, he led all the other kids through the maze making sure they found all the clues along the way. Lizzy loved the slides and pillow jump she is such a thrill seeker. Christian loved the petting zoo, he kept screeching at the chickens and he even pet the cow who then sneezed all over him. Gave baby Christian a slight scare but made him laugh too.

The week before Halloween I was called about an opportunity to share some of my recipes for home cleaning supplies on the news. So on Halloween day a reporter came to my house and video taped me making all the household supplies. It was really fun to be interviewed and share my ideas. They ran the DIY segment all week sharing a different recipe each day.

Here is the links for all the videos in case you missed them:

Dish soap and wipes
Foaming hand soap
All-purpose cleaner
Laundry soap
Dishwasher detergent

Thankfully Sarah was visiting, she had just got in the day before. She helped a lot with the kids and preparing all the supplies for the projects.

Then we got dressed up and headed to the ward Halloween party. Sarah, Elizabeth, and I dressed as witches and Lizzy loved her witch costume that I made her. Christian went as a shark and Brandon was the surfer he attacked. (BEST COSTUME EVER!) And then there was Jackson. He chickened out. For a kid that likes to dress up in costumes so much I was very frustrated that he was refusing to wear any costume. I bought him an expensive Ninja turtle costume just for Halloween and he would not wear it. Finally he decided to wear one of his old costumes and went as a Power Ranger. Talk about anti-climatic. The kids had a great time at the party. It is always a great time with games, bouncy houses, and hot dogs. By the end of the party the kids were so worn out they didn't even want to go trick-or-treating other than the trunk-or-treat at the party. It was an early night which is fine with me and we ended it by watching our favorite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus.