We live a charmed life around here

After looking at pictures on my sister Marissa's blog of all the fun things they've been doing this summer, I've been feeling a little bit guilty about how we've spent our summer.  A summer full of moving and construction is not exactly every kid's dream.  We've missed out on a lot while we had to be at the house waiting for hours on end for drywall guys or cable guys, etc.

Today I'm letting the guilt go; mom's can't do everything, right?  And while we didn't do everything that I wanted to this summer, looking back at my own photos, we've fit in a lot of fun this summer too.  So here are way too many pictures of what we've been up to this summer.

Taking walks with friends around our new neighborhood

 Teaching our kids to be computer geniuses.

 Looking a little too grown up on road trips

 Testing out the bungee trampoline at Larry's Aunt and Uncle's

 Having the cutest Pioneer Day celebration ever at church.  Creed still wears that bandanna around all the time.

 Trying to find a decent splash park in Provo

 Settling for a baby pool in our backyard.  See that luscious grass? Oh, I didn't mention that the sprinkler system at our house hasn't worked in years and the whole yard is dead?  A big project I'm forgetting about until next year.

 Playing secret agent.  Creed keeps his backpack full of secret agent gadgets like headbands that help you see really far away when you slide them over your eyes.

 Watching thunderstorms and spotting rainbows.

 Cheering at the Fourth of July Parade.  We start teaching our children how to deck themselves out for the holidays at an early age.

 Enjoying barbecues and fireworks with friends (this one was hosted but the Sycamore Street Press team and Creed serenaded Keri.  He told me that he might marry her.)

 Who wouldn't want to marry this adorable guy even if he is twenty years younger?

 We enjoyed being outside every chance we had, and it was always more with friends.

 We had a few middle of the night tv sessions to distract an unhappy, teething baby.

 We made many trips to the library.  Yes, those are the movies my son selected for himself.

 We tried not to get too much sun.

We enjoyed Grammy and Papa's treehouse.  Do you think we can convince my dad to build one at our house?

 Speaking of, we spent some time with Grammy and Papa while they graciously let us live with them for a few weeks.

 We had some fabulous puppet shows from the loft.

 Enjoyed snowcones

 Wore ourselves out partying.

 Took advantage of our zoo pass, especially since there have been dinosaurs visiting the zoo.

 We made it to the drive in because it seemed Cars 2 would be best seen at the drive-in (but we only made it to the drive-in once because Ollie threw up on me 2/3 of the way through the movie so it was a LONG drive home)

 We even made it to Lagoon for a day because we couldn't resist free tickets, even when it was stinking hot.

 The Zoku popsicle maker was busy making popsicles with whatever was in season.

 There were many shows at our puppet theater

 Many trips to cool down at the pool

 A few more trips to the zoo

 Visits to admire friends' gardens and impromptu concerts

 Storytime whenever we could steal a moment because Ollie has also fallen in love with books.

 We were a little sad every morning Larry left for work.

 Larry and I even snuck out for a REAL DATE, which included dinner at Sundance, followed by Singing in the Rain in an outdoor amphitheater and being dowsed by rain just as the Maria sang about Raindrops on Roses.

  And thanks to the Randalls, there were outdoor art projects

 first times bowling

 and there were even pictures of me because Melinda was around

 We even attended a Princess tea party where excellent manners were observed.

 And a quick trip to the Randall's cabin for some R & R

 And some zipline adventures (Ollie refused to be left out of that one)

Knowing what was ahead of us, I wouldn't have guessed it could be such a magical summer, but it was my friends, oh yes, it was.