Dear Family and Friends,

Hope everyone had a great fourth of July. My Mom and Dad came down that evening to stay with us which thrilled our kids (and the parents!). We had our annual neighborhood of fire with around 5 other families attending. We always wonder how many people will actually show up, as every year its different families that come as vacations/reunions pop up. Kids had a great time having a big water balloon fight (350 balloons), chasing parachute fireworks, waving sparklers around, watching Jeremy's big pyro show and eating as much junk as they could find. Jeremy spent the morning of the fourth down in Provo with his photo group taking pictures of the hot air balloons taking off. The rest of us had planned to sleep in till Spencer eager for the festivities to start started practicing the piano at 6:45. It was a great day.

Saturday we all went out to eat french toast at Kneaders - my favorite breakfast place. Stuffed and happy we went down to Provo to wonder through their colonial village. It was really interesting. All the people were dressed up in colonial dress and were showing how people lived in those times. They had a lot of information on the history of the printing press as that was one of the museums in the village. The most interesting tidbit for me for the day was learning that upper case and lower case terms come from referring to the upper and lower boxes (cases) the print type were stored in. An older lady was making little dolls out of wooden clothespins and fabric scraps and she gave one each to the girls. Robyn kept rocking hers singing Rock a bye baby - in a very loud voice - the rest of the morning. Snow cones and listening to some outdoor concerts topped the morning. We spent the rest of the day hanging out, cleaning the office, and planning out the sandbox Dad said he would build for us.

We are taking care of a little rat dog of our neighbors right now. He alternates between cuteness and annoying. Depends if he is yapping or not. Kids think he is great as he is no longer biting or barking at them.

Painted a bit in the basement this week and Jeremy put up door knobs. A little bit closer each week.

Monday we spent the day at the doctor with Lauri and trying to tackle laundry. It amazes me how dirty clothes can get and how many outfits kids can wear in a week. We're going for the stained look lately.

Tuesday Spencer, Allison and I went to 7-peaks, the big water park in Provo for the day. We had a great time. Robyn thought it was great to monopolize Meredith who came to watch her and Taylor. Spencer and Allison worked up the nerve to go on the smaller slides with me. I led the way by going on the boomerang first to show I could be brave too. That ride is like a giant u, you go straight down and then straight up. Didn't seem like fun till halfway down when I realized despite how I felt I wouldn't die. Spencer and Allison liked best just hanging out in the wave pool or on the lazy river. When its 98 degrees outside the water feels great. Don't forget just laying on our towels while kids ate massive amounts of snacks. It was fun and like all fun with kids, a lot of work too.

Wednesday Lauri, the kids and I headed up to Ogden. We went to Hill Air Force base to get Lauri's prescriptions for the next 3 months filled and then went on to the base museum. It is 2 hangers full of aircraft history plus many airplanes outside. Spencer became an official wheelchair pusher with Taylor and after a few scares till he realized he could never let go of the chair unless he put the brakes on he did great. Then we went on up to my grandma's house to visit and see my mom and dad. Our kids haven't seen them for over a year so they were very excited. Long day but a lot of fun.

Thursday was full of grocery shopping and going to the dentist. Was very relieved to get the root canal done as tylenol and antibiotics really weren't helping that much. Part of my tooth had cut off the infection making a little cyst inside my tooth that they "popped" with the drill. Ouch! But immediate relief as all that stuff drained out.

So another fun week of summer. Been running outside more lately at night. I keep taking Rocky as he wants to go so badly. But I am afraid someone is going to call me on animal cruelty as by the end I am dragging him behind me. Love to everyone and hope you are enjoying your summer.

Love Heather