Another Month Goes By . . . July

July has come and gone again so fast. Time sure seems to be flying around here. The boys just keep getting bigger and bigger and smarter and smarter. We started the month off by going to the zoo. The first Thursday of every month is free with our dinosaur park pass so we had to go. We took Jaxson and Presley with us of course. Sam and Jack just love animals and always had a map in hand navigating us through the park. After about 11 o'clock it started getting too hot and pushing two kids in the stroller was taking its toll. We stayed until about 1 and then headed home after picking up some Wendy's for the kids. I don't think I'll brave the heat in August but will try again in September or October. Sam just loves it. Conner is like his mom and gets tired and Mikey is still a little too young. He did keep pointing at things and saying there, there.

When we got home I quickly got the kids in bed and tried to take a little nap but to be honest I couldn't sleep because I was too excited because Neil and I were celebrating our 7 year anniversary that night and the thought of having a night without the kids was exhilirating. I was supposed to leave by 5 to pick Neil up from work. I left at 4:30 pm to go get a pizza for the kids and a redbox. I stopped at a Maverik and jumped out to get the movie. When I went to get back in the car the door was locked and the keys still in the ignition. I about died. It was raining out but luckily I had my phone so I called Allison who was watcing the boys for me and had her get the spare key and rescue me. The kids were still sleeping so our neighbor came over to watch them. I was finally on my way. I picked up Neil and we went to the Roof for dinner and totally stuffed ourselves. They were serving their chicken cordon bleu which is my favorite so I was in heaven. Then we spent the night at the Anniversary Inn. I had bought a gift certificate a couple of years ago so we thought it would be a good time to use it since we had a babysitter, Allison. I let Neil surprise me with the room. He chose the Treasure Island room. It was so cool. It really was like you were on a ship. We had a wonderful time and it was so nice to get away. The next morning we got up and headed home. That night we set off some of our own fireworks. The kids love the little street ones as much if not more than the huge ones in the sky.

On the 4th we all got up and got ready to go downtown for the Layton parade. It was great. I love smaller parades and the kids loved that they threw out candy. That made their day. Mikey was so tired he fell asleep half way through.
People came through and handed all the kids an American flag.


After the parade we headed on over to Arby's for our traditional 4th of July meal. Neil and I went to Arby's on our first date on the 4th so we always have lunch there. It is never very good and we are usually disgusted after eating it but hey it's tradition. Can't stop now, we've been doing it for 8 years. At least they have yummy chocolate shakes. After Arby's we took the boys to see their first movie in the theater, Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs. We got popcorn and drinks which kept Mikey entertained until he fell asleep. Conner and Sam were so cute to watch. They kept talking through it and laughing loudly as they would at home. We sat near the front so it didn't really bother anyone. We got home and all took a long nap. We grilled hotdogs for dinner and headed on over to the Layton park for the evening entertainment and firework show. We pulled up to the park and Conner said my tummy hurts. Neil thought he would be fine but I was like pull over now. I quickly unbuckled him and as soon as I got him out and opened the van door he pucked 3 times. We thought we really should have went home but he was fine after that and played on the bouncy toys. We all got shaved ice and a huge elephant ear with honey butter and waited for the fireworks to begin. We weren't sure what to expect but I must say Layton put on quite a show. The boys loved it. We didn't get home until after 11 which made Sunday not so fun but it's ok to have a couple nights like that a year.


On July 11th we went with some friends in our ward, the Sydenham's, to Pineview Reservoir. It's about 30 minutes from our house. There's a little beach and picnic area with grills. It was our first time. It was really nice and the boys loved playing in the sand. It got us all psyched for our trip to CA. The water was pretty chilly so I didn't venture in and so Neil had all the fun with the boys in the water.


After Pineview I dedicated the next 2 days to sewing. I actually got all the outfits done with time to spare. They didn't look perfect but they were done. We left Wednesday morning, the 15th, for Vegas. We stayed in an awesome hotel, Southpointe, that had an oasis for a pool and a movie theater and bowling alley. We were so excited to go to the Rio buffet for dinner but were terribly disappointed. The food just wasn't that good. A huge waste of $80. We also stopped at In N Out Burger. Everyone always raves about them but we were totally disappointed. I don't understand what the big deal is. Neil even stopped at one on the way home to give it another chance. Still not good. Oh well. We went swimming that night which was nice because after the long drive with 5 kids, we had had it and done our fair share of yelling and being "mean" parents. It was great to have a little fun with the boys and enjoy them. The next morning we took the boys bowling and then swam until 11 and checked out at noon and headed to CA.

For probably an hour the kids would just jump off the ledge and we'd catch them. Mikey was the funniest. He was just fearless. He'd jump off whether there was someone there to catch him or not. Luckily after this happened a couple of times Al let me put Presley's floaties on him so he wouldn't drown.
Too bad this only happened once. The kids rarely slept in the van. It made for a long draining ride.

We made it to CA just in time for the pre-wedding dinner. It was really nice. It was just our immediate family and Heather's along with my aunt Joyce and my mom's friend Judy. After we ate we all went around the table and told why we thought Heather and Ryan should get married and why they were so good for each other. Definitely brought some tears to my eyes. We were lucky to be able to stay at Heather's Grandma's house. So all the Leets were under one roof. It was fun and there was plenty of room.

The next day it took awhile to get everyone going but we finally made it to the beach about 2pm. The water was freezing and it took me a couple hours to work up to it and I finally got in and even tried boogie boarding. Never got the hang of it. The water was so cold the boys hardly would get in but they had fun digging in the sand.

With the most important day upon us, everyone was nervous that with 7 kids to get ready we wouldn't make it in time for the sealing. My dad sat us down that night and let us know that we better be ready with our kids by 8 am or he'd be leaving us. We were up late ironing all the clothes and doing some last minute fittings but we were up and all ready to go by 8. We ended up getting to the temple at 9:30 and we didn't have to be there until 10:30. My Aunt Joyce, brave soul, watched all the kids while we were in the temple. The sealing was awesome. You could tell Ryan was so nervous but when all was over they were too cute. Can I just say what a handsome couple Ryan and Heather make. I don't know if I've seen a prettier bride. Heather was beautiful. It took awhile to take pictures and the kids were getting onery and hungry. Neil and I were so busy with the kids we didn't take too many pictures and I'm so sad.

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Leet


This grate kept the kids entertained for awhile

Luckily, Niki Young, had some cookies in her purse which made Mikey so happy

The little munchkins waiting on the steps. You can tell Presley has had it with the boys.

The reception that night was great. We did have to try to keep our kids from jumping in the pool. The food was awesome and the dance party even better. It was so funny to see Gavin and Sam get in the middle of the dance circle and show their moves. Sam broke out with a few Michael Jackson moves that I'd never seen before. If he weren't 3 it would have been totally inappropriate. Neil had to pull him off the floor or he would have stayed there all night. He crept screaming to go back in. It was too funny. Ryan and Heather left in a limo. I am so happy to have Heather in the family.

I'm so glad we got to go. I love being with family. It was such a whirlwind trip. Neil said he would never do it again with all 5 kids 4 and under. It didn't help that we drove straight through on the way home. Neil was the lifesaver on the trip. He drove but mainly he babysat all the kids so that Allison and I could be with our family. He never complained. Ryan mentioned to me that every time he talks to dad Neil just gets higher and higher up the totem pole. My family loves him. He is just amazing.

We got back on the 20th. Conner missed his first day of school, which was nothing, so I went up and signed him up for testing. Friday was pioneer day so we went to the parade in Salt Lake, supposedly it's the 3rd largest parade in the nation, I don't know if I buy that, and watched it with the Smarts. Sitting with them makes it so much more enjoyable, especially because of their brother-in-law Tyler. He cracks me up.

We had hoped to stay and go to the Smarts that night for fireworks but our car broke down. We were able to drive it home but we still haven't gotten it fixed yet since our fridge also died and we had to get it fixed so the $300 that was going to go to the car went to the fridge so we'll have to wait. We're doing fine with one car. I just have to take Neil to and from the bus stop or he walks. It killed me to throw all the food away in the fridge. I had so many speciality condiments I use to make sauces and dressings but when I came to think about it I haven't used most of them in 3-4 months. My gourmet cooking days are over. So I just bought what we really use and it wasn't so bad. Two of our toilets also run all the time and Neil ends up turning the water off. Last Saturday, Linda felt so bad for us, it just seemed like everything happened at once, that she and Beka came up to help wherever we needed them. My house at the time was still a complete disaster from all the sewing and trip so they went to work. Linda was able to fix one of our toilets and they cleaned the house and helped in the yard. It really helped out. You know when things get so out of hand you get overwhelmed and don't even know where to start. That is the point we were at so they really helped and gave us the motivation to keep it up.

We also celebrated Deet Deet's 30th Birthday. Al, Kathy and I went to the Red Iguana to celebrate. She wanted mexican and I had heard that this Salt Lake restaurant was featured on the Food Network's show Diners, Dives and Drive-ins so we thought we'd try it out. They are famous for their moles and make 8 everyday from scratch. None of us really liked them but our food was still really good. Neither of us had seen Kathy for a year or more so it was nice to catch up. I'm glad she's back in Utah.

We set up the kiddie pool last week and I put it in the shade so the kids wouldn't get burned but the water was so cold. The kids just don't care and love every minute of it. They got in it in the morning while Conner was at school. We had to go get Conner so they got out just to get back in when we got home and they also got in after dinner that night. The boys love water.

Friday night we went and played games with another young family in the ward. It was fun. We didn't leave until 10:30 so the boys have been extremely onery the last 2 days. Neil and I decided next time we have to get a sitter. It's not worth it to have such cranky boys. I didn't even take Mikey to nursery today. I just couldn't do that to them. Let me suffer. Once again it's been a busy month. August should be better. Now that Conner is in school we just don't leave the house and I'm okay with that.