Summer 2015 - short but packed full!

This was one of our (the girls and I) hang-out spots for watching Caleb's baseball games this season - It ended in June after a couple of awesome play-off games.  Their team actually took second place in the championship!  He had a great coach who awarded him "Mr. Hard Worker".  

Our first official week of of summer we spent a fun day at The Natural History Museum in Salt Lake.  Caleb and I had gone on a 4th grade field trip earlier in the year and we wanted to show the girls how awesome it is!

This however, is the event we'd been anticipating for the summer!  Megan, Pete and Liliana!  We went to the airport to welcome them.

So what came after that was lots and lots of cousin hang-out time and activities - 

Wheeler Park for lunch (moment when we were trying to skype Annalyn for her bday, cause she was out of town)

Grandma Jeanne's - I was MIA during this day and some of the other days because we were right in the middle of moving from Bountiful to South Jordan - aaaahhhh!

Swimming with Grandpa Brian and Myra - nobody wanted to leave...as a result, lots of little toes were raw from the bottom of the pool!

Went to the movie "Inside Out" - this is a moment afterward when kids were dancing in front of the huge screen!  You can kind of see their black silhouettes...

Father's Day get together and picnic at Murray Park

Fun at Grandpa Brian's with Pete and Lili - it turned out to be a great place for Meggie and kids to stay.  It became their home away from home!

Games, treats and EVERYONE at the park!  Even Becca and Ruth were in town!

We tried out the splash pad near our house one afternoon with Rachael, Ty and Josh.  And Becca minus kids was still here to hang out too...It was a typical windy day in South Jordan, so it was a bit chilly, but still fun!

Here we are having lunch at the Wilkenson Center at BYU after a fun morning at the Natural History Museum on campus.  Grandpa Brian and Grandma Johnson came with us - so awesome!

I stuck this one in here because we were right in the middle of saying goodbye to the Bountiful scene amidst the fun family time.  Kinda tricky...Caleb's piano teacher, Laura Duncan, for the last year or so has been great - such a nice lady!  Here they are at his last lesson.  

Something we've never done - the Alpine Slide in Park City.  Megan and kids did it with us and Dad and Myra came to watch.  We had a frustrating time with Caleb's sled so Grandpa Brian spoke up of course and we all got to go down again!  

This is the one photo from the night of July 4th.  We decided to go sit and watch some neighborhood fireworks being done by people in Erin's ward.  A little ghetto (especially from the picture), but the fireworks were splendid and went on FOREVER!

Spent the morning of my birthday with some favorite people at IKEA.  Browsing and then meatballs for lunch.  Then that afternoon - this was delivered!

Strange b-day occurrence:  actual balls of hail coming down at our house for a few minutes - July 6th, what?????

Oh yea, it's my 40th!!!!

We all went to dinner to celebrate with my siblings and Mom and Rick - Sushi!

This was taken the night before Megan and kids left for home - love this picture and all of them!

Happy Birthday Mom!  We had them both over for dinner and then finished off with ice cream!

Such a great hike up to Donut Falls together!  They especially loved navigating their way across the stream as we went...

We enjoyed a summer night at the ballpark watching The Bees play.  Caleb and his team baseball team got invited to go out on the field before the game and were introduced!

Another new place to explore - Tracy Aviary at Liberty Park!  We had a great time walking around to see all the birds and saw a few shows while we were at it.  Probably the favorite was the big guy at the end that they let out and just let walk around - crazy!

First row, bleacher, and partly-shaded seats to the Pioneer Day Parade downtown!  Lucky!

I think Jack would pick Avery as his favorite lately!  Although they do all love him and he finally adores all of them - took him long enough!

Caleb

 Avery

Presley

Super colorful and creative sea creature window boxes was a favorite art class this summer!

Yes, these are backpacks and a class line!  Back to school (year round school) at the end of July at a new school - Eastlake Elementary in Daybreak.  Definitely mixed feelings about it.  The beginning of fifth grade for Caleb and second grade for the girls.  Oh, and they are going to be in the same class for the first time since preschool!

Spring busy-ness!

For a few months in the spring, we did an art class or two on Fridays in Bountiful in addition to the Saturday classes at mom's house. Yes, it kept us very busy, with the girls usually doing the one on Friday with their cute friends and then Caleb waiting until Saturday at grandma's house! So many fun projects!

I love these monster faces to go along with what they created!

Amberly, Erin (and Henry) and I went up to East Canyon for a little getaway for a day and a half - look at all the yummy food we made for ourselves!  Lots and lots of talking, a walk here and there and maybe a movie...my sisters are the best!

Then for a couple days during spring break, we went up again and spent some time just as a family (dad too for the first part) and then with Jeppson cousins.  It wasn't a very pretty time of year because things weren't quite greening up in the mountains yet.  In fact, the second morning we woke up to a dusting of snow!  But, the kids brought their bikes and rode around quite a bit and we played miniature golf and there were movies of course!  Amberly got out some fun chocolate molds at some point and had everyone gather...

It's that time of year - Easter Egg decorating!

Congratulation Avery and Presley!  Here they are before going into the Bountiful Library for their 3rd year Let's Play Music recital - way to finish!

Here's the five girls in their class - they're singing Let's Find the Root with their sunglasses on and getting into it with their snapping!

They both played their very own songs flawlessly on a beautiful grand piano!

The Johanson's came to support them - so nice!  And dad handed them each a rose.  They worked so hard for this day - all the classes, practicing, homework, flashcards, more practicing.  Good job girls - and mom!

One of the last art classes we looked closely at pictures of butterflies and did these - they turned out beautifully!  Favorite step was doing the frame with the soft pastels...what a creative idea.

How's this fun collaborative Syrett kid drawing?  Not anything from art class, just a spare time, take your turn and draw an animal thing - not even suggested by mom!  Awesome!

The Johnson's welcomed their fourth baby into the world - Jax William!

Something new and a little uncomfortable for Caleb - a GREEN retainer that fits onto his teeth and sits on the top of his mouth.  It's going to help his bite widen out a bit on the top.  Good sport!

Dad's company that he recently started working for, Overstock, had a Lagoon Day.  Lucky us!

These pictures were taken at Station Park in Farmington.  Probably one of our favorite places the last little while - movie theater, fountains, and lot of places to get a treat including a huge candy store we recently discovered!

And the last very important thing that happened this spring was the discovery of this house in the Daybreak community in South Jordan.  We'll be moving again soon!