July was packed with adventures. We took Jefferson mountain biking and he did great for his first time on pipeline. We finished off Carter's birthday week with family bowling (with Michael Jackson moves from Carter whenever he got a strike or spare) and then his Minecraft birthday party- Brad's #7 pinata "fail" will always be remembered. We took a paddle board adventure with friends to Buraston ponds and the boys went on the rope swing. We rocked out at the Van Halen tribute band. We hiked to Gloria Falls. We played at the pool with cousins and went to a Bee's game at their new stadium with Grandma and Pop pop. We had a fun day at Lagoon with cousins and Carter surprised us all going on Wicked and Colossus for the first time. We taught the boys how to ska at the Blink 182 tribute band. We had a Splash Summit day and Carter went on all the water slides he was tall enough to do- so brave, especially because he lost his front tooth and became our "snaggle tooth Carter." On a hot lazy summer day we put together a Lego world, complete with a band, pirates ship, zip line, and eventually a roller coaster. The boys creativity was so fun to see, at one point Carter said "I need a pirates hat... I know I'll make one!" We took Bella to Causey and paddled father than we ever have- so so beautiful, by far our favorite place to take the paddle boards, especially with the mad moose for dinner afterwards! We checked out the daybreak art's festival and enjoyed a chill jazz night. The boys had a cousin sleepover and Brad and I did our annual backpacking trip to "our spot" in the mountains. Jefferson's summer dream came true when we went to (and got out of) an escape room- and thank goodness for Jefferson, Brad and I would still be stuck in there without his eye for clues. Bella and I started a weekly dusk/night walk around the island- so beautiful! We love our deck because we get to see all the fireworks on the 4th and 24th and play games- we even caught Bella watching the fireworks. We taught the boys (and mama) how to rollerblade and they asked to go again the next day! We took a day trip to Silver Lake Flat with Josh and Mary and the kids and Bella jumped from paddle board to paddle board and Jefferson and Connor climbed to the top of the rocks. We ended the month with a camping trip to the Spruces with Angie and Ryan and the kids- putting up tents, exploring, "camping food is the best food", games- yelling Frog Juice!!!, smores, and so much laughing and finally a walk around Silver Lake where we spotted a bald eagle- perfect ending for July! Sadly the gopher hunt in our back yard continues and Mary's ear keeps plugging up. There is always something- right. The boys finished up sports camp with basketball and baseball, both improving lots. Carter made us laugh when he woke up startled in the car and sighed with contentment and said "just a nice nap!"
