Days of 47 Floats

Last week, we had the chance to go to South Towne Expo Center and preview all the floats for the Days of 47 Parade that Salt Lake does on July 24th every year.  They always put them on display for 2 days and it's such a great way to see the floats, admire all the details and be in a nice cool environment.

This year, Jon's brother Bob & sister-in-law, Debbie, were in charge of their Stake's float.  Talk about a hard calling!!!   Anyway, it was so fun to see them there and admire all of their hard work.   They did such a great job!

Bob & Debbie



 We entered a raffle at the University of Utah's float and Kate ended up winning a box with some authentic articifial turf from Rice-Eccles Stadium.  I guess it was the turf they played on in the 2004 and 2008 seasons, which they did great!

So Fun!   Jack was in a BYU shirt and shorts!

 This float was great too - it's my parent's Stake and it was incredible!

We had a great time!  Great job Bob & Debbie!    We missed Emily being with us - she was at a BYU soccer camp...maybe next year  :)

Quilts

 What would I do without quilting??!!   This summer, I am trying to make sure I give myself time to quilt because if I don't, thoughts of PTA literally make my stomach and head hurt.  I'm also really trying to finish up projects that I already have :)  (Last count, I had like 30!)

Here are a few recent quilts:

This one, I made for Emily's 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Kjar.  She went to a different school, so I wanted to make this for her to remember Longview Elementary and how much we loved and appreciated her.  She is such a great teacher.   I got this pattern idea from Pinterest and used fabric that I had bought several years ago.  I loved how it turned out!



 This baby quilt was for J Robert, born to Emily & Dana.  I love always loved this line of fabric, so when I saw that Brooks fabric in Bountiful still had it, I jumped on the chance to put it in a quilt. 

 And this pattern, I found free on modabakeshop.com.   It was obviously for my nephew, Jake.   I loved that I could use all the left over scraps to piece the back together too. 

Lindsey & Hailey's new room

We've done some shifting around of rooms lately!  After 13 1/2 years of marriage, Jon and I finally bought ourselves a king bed and matching bedroom set!   It was so fun to save our money and work hard towards getting it.  When my mom was in town, we went to Gardner Village with Becky and with their help, I picked out a new comforter, pillow shams & pillows.  I LOVE how it turned out and we've really loved it.

We decided to give Lindsey our old queen bed, which I still love!   We moved her into the bedroom with Hailey and painted it pink.   Lindsey & I found her sheets, bedspread & curtains at Pottery Barn Kids and after convincing Jon that it was worth spoiling ourselves with, he painted the room and hung the curtains.  We love that room too!  

I was also super excited to find a new crib bumper pad for $10 on clearance at PBK and new bed skirt for $15 at PBK.  They matched Lindsey's stuff perfectly.  

Hailey hasn't been a great roommate yet - she still cries during the night most nights - but Lindsey has really loved it!

 I'm honestly not sure why I took a picture with the curtains closed, but it does block the sun out great for naps!



Playground Fun

This summer is going waaaaaay too fast!  I love having my kids in school, but I have really loved having them home this summer!  I can run errands whenever I want (and leave older kids home with sleeping baby), they are great company and we've had a lot of fun (and a lot more dirty floors!).

Not too far from our house, the city torn down an elementary school and replaced it with a really fun park and splash pad.   The kids have really like the nets to climb on!

Yay for summer!

Stock Show - Union, OR

Several days after school got out, we headed to Oregon for a few days to visit Jon's parents.  His sister, Beth, and her family were there too.   The first full weekend in June is always the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show, and we love going for that, so it was fun to go.   The weather wasn't as cooperative, but we still had a great time!

The first thing that Jack & Jon decided to do was fix the old basketball hoop!

 Kate, Kyle & Teegan doing beads

(Teegan is the daughter of Paul's girlfriend, so she hung out with us a lot)

One day, we took the kids to the carnival.  There wasn't as many rides as there have been in the past, but the kids had fun on the ones they did. 

 Hannah & Kate

 Hailey & Jared in the stroller

 Kyle & Kate love playing together - I sure couldn't get him to smile for the camera though :)

Based on the next couple of pictures, I bet you can tell who I took around at the carnival....

We also went to the rodeo one day (with no camera) and then to the parade down Main Street.  It was cold & rainy the whole time.  Thankfully Hailey was taking a nap, so I didn't have to worry about keeping her warm.  I just had to worry about keeping this boy happy!

4th of July

We had a great, low-key 4th of July yesterday!

On Tuesday, we took the kids to Lagoon (a local amusement park).   We hadn't gone for a couple of years and told them we would take them this year. Jon had worked an overnight the night before but got up just before I was going to venture there with the kids.  It was a hot day, but we loaded the cooler with cold pop & ice and went. 

Lagoon was great!  Hot, but great!  The lines for the rides were so fast and short and we met up with our friends, the Richardson's, so it was fun to be with them.    We got home late on Tuesday, so we took it nice & easy yesterday.

I spent several hours Tuesday & Wednesday trying to finish up PTA treasurer reports (all because of $0.45 that was off - which thankfully Jon helped me figure out).   Last night, Becky Cowden & her kids Annie & Jesse, had invited us over for dinner. 

I was so excited to go there - to not have to clean my house and prepare all the food was such a treat!!   We had a delicious BBQ with them, my uncle Richard, my brother Pete and my brother Rich, my sister-in-law Misty & niece Sophia.    We visited, laughed, played games, launched rockets that the kids tried to catch and lit some small fireworks in the road in front of their house.

Thank you Becky for such a wonderful night!   Happy Birthday America!!!

 the delicious fruit tart that Annie made

 Everyone (minus Pete - who had already left - and Richard - who was taking the picture)

Silly pose