We had a great time enjoying the summer in July. Here's a barrage of photos to prove it!
Playing with Tanner's circuit experiments.
Morning cuddles. Dallin always comes into our room in the morning to cuddle. Tanner comes in, too, about half the time. I love it! If they get wiggly and talkative, we send them to the library to play with legos and books, and this lets me snooze a little longer.
Spam museum visit.
Free school lunch. We went almost everyday that we were in town this summer!
Father-Son campout at Jeff Anderson's property by the Mississippi. Boys had a blast.
Here are my counselors that serve in the primary presidency with me!
Dallin had another indoor picnic with Daddy.
We found Dallin spraying down the house one evening. He had fun trying to spray me, and watching the water run down the glass window.
The boys loved playing basketball in the warm evenings on our backporch.
We had a few weeks of no rain! Had to bring out the sprinklers, and the boys were THRILLED. They had so much fun. I enjoyed watching in the shade.
Another cuddly morning.
Swim Lessons! We tried an evening class this year, and that was fun because Jeremy could come and watch. We decided that this swim lesson program through Parks and Rec is a complete waste of money because they learned absolutely nothing, but at least the boys had fun in the water.
I like this picture because Tanner looks so little. Him and Dallin wore the same size swim-shorts this summer and shared shoes.
Watching a show.
Free Concert at the Paramount. I took the boys while Jeremy went to youth group or something. We waited here while he came to pick us up. (Remember, we are a one-car family).
We had friends spend the day with us while Kari went to work. We sure had fun together!
Look, Mom! I'm a walrus.
Dallin is very good at getting himself food without making any kind of fuss about it to anyone. I LOVE that he does this! He mostly chooses appropriate foods and appropriate amounts, and if he spills or makes a mess, he tries to clean it up. He also puts food wrappers in the trash can, his dishes in the sink and sometimes even puts the stuff back in the refrigerater. On occassion, he pours too much milk that ends up getting wasted, but I prefer that over whining and begging for food that we don't have. Thank you, Dallin, for setting such a good example to other children!
I helped host a kids event at the Hormel Home called Shaping History. There was an interactive tour, a shape snack and shape craft. We had 20 kids come and I led 3 tours, and it was fun.
Tanner fell in love with lego making in July.
We went on a fun bike adventure one Saturday in Lanesboro, Minnesota with Riley and Kristen! We biked on a 5 mile trail that led to an amazing Pie Shop, ate pie and then rode back. Tanner did the 10 miles with no problem! The weather was gorgeous the entire day, not super sunny or hot, and not cold or rainy. It was just right!
Getting the bikes ready. I was really excited about my camel-back water thing. And Jeremy wanted to capture how dorky I looked.
Here's Dallin with Kristen's son. They were mistaken for twins several times. They sang songs in the trailor together (and also had their moments of arguments).
Now we know why people like biking in Lanesboro. It was so beautiful!
When we got to the pie shop, Tanner was having a really hard time with the heat and bugs. But the pie was INCREDIBLE, and once he finally tried some, he started to feel better.
After our ride, we let the boys fish for awhile.
Then we ate at this fun restaurant in downtown Lanesboro. Dallin was excited to sit next to Kristen.
Then we decided to check out this historic museum, and I was so glad that we did! They had tons and tons of old artifacts to look at. I loved this room of dresses! And the boys were super curious about everything.
During the summer, the boys were having too many issues at bath time together. They were getting too big to fit in the tub at the same time. And they were being too silly, egging each other on instead of bathing, making tons of water messes. So I decided it was time to move on to our next phase of life. Tanner now showers all by himself in our shower while Dallin bathes in the tub. Tanner turns on the water himself, shampoos, soaps, turns off the water and sometimes dries himself, too! On good days, Dallin will also turn on his own bath water, fill up the tub, turn off the water and wash himself, but he still needs a little help with the shampoo.
Park playdate with Angie and her son. Our boys got along SO well.
Conert in the garden at the HHH. This time it was a Polka band and I did polka dancing with Tanner and Dallin! We made a lot of old people laugh and smile.
Trip to dairy queen. Dallin makes the cutest faces when he eats ice cream cones.
Another evening of swimming lessons.
I had a date night with my friend Margi! We went to see the Riverland performance of Sweeney Todd. It was phenominal! Afterward we got pie. Luckily, it wasn't one of Mrs. Lovett's meat pies. ;)
"Look, Mom! I'm a farmer."
Dallin took these pictures of Jeremy so that he could get insurance on his bikes. The red one is the summer bike and the green one is the winter bike.
Dallin really loves to help with chores.
With Dallin's help, I got this bathroom closet cleaned!
More legos!
Playdate at the Ekins house
I found Dallin like this one day when he skipped a nap. Poor kid couldn't quite make it to dinner time without zonking out!
Tanner was highly motivated when I told him if he keeps his room clean for two weeks, I will buy him more legos.
Then he drew this of me and him, showing that he chose the right to vacuum his room! And he eventually earned the legos without me ever having to remind him about it!!
