Oh, What Do We Do in the Summertime?

Summer 2011

We play baseball for hours

And take outdoor showers

We ride wire spools

And catch the full moon

We relax on the swing

And do crazy things

Especially Justin on the trampoline

On Sundays we take a long drive

And enjoy the fresh air outside

A Boyd Visit

July 2011

We always look forward to our summer visits from Shawn and Kellie's family. Our families seem to blend well together and of course Kellie and I love staying up through the wee hours of the morning chatting without an ocean or phone line between us.

The smaller kids had a great time playing in the sprinklers and pool and we went through quite a bit of sunscreen in 2 days. It was so nice to sit on the porch swing and watch them from the comforts of our own yard instead of needing to put on momma bathing suits and try to keep an eye on our own kids among a pool full of strangers and splashers. And there was no panic (or very little panic) of drowning involved.

We love simple summer dinners! Bread & milk or burritos and everyone is happy...even the moms who don't have to bake in the summer heat or clean up a big mess in the kitchen.

Our kids pair off perfectly and each pair has it's own unique qualities and cuteness. Derek and Brendan both love to create and build things with their amazingly brilliant minds. Justin and Jeremy are the entertainment of the crowd. Not just loud but funny. They can take off together or pal around with the younger kids but they are seldom alone.

Nathan and Andie are just adorable together. They are like a little couple. They are best friends, they argue, they can sit quietly to read or color or they can have the whole toy room set up as they play imagination in their own pretend little family.

Hyrum and Hailey are our babies. Hyrum adores Hailey and she doesn't seem to mind the hugs. This time around the age difference didn't seem to get in the way near as much as they played together and filled the role of "kids" for Andie and Nathan's playtime.

Nathan and Hyrum get so excited when Shawn comes. Since LeRoy's back surgeries he is unable to wrestle with the boys or throw them around like he did with our older kids so Shawn fills in. He can really make them laugh with his stories and they always feel so important after hanging out with Uncle Shawn.

Kellie was able to sneak a picture of Levi on the way to Arizona. He usually hides from the camera so we are always excited to catch one with him looking and smiling.

Levi and Shawn have been buddies since Levi was four. They wrote back and forth through Shawn's mission and a tour to Afghanistan and Levi even joined Shawn and Kellie in a picture at their wedding where it would look like he is their kid. Shawn and Kellie started taking him on trips with them when he was about 12. They have been to Disneyland, Las Vegas, many museums, Peru and Machu Picchu, a Grand Canyon camp and hike, and this year they went to Arizona for camping and hiking. Levi fits in so well with Shawn's family that he is almost like one of the brothers but he also holds a bit of the big brother roll for Shawn and Kellie's kids.

I regretted not having any pictures of Kellie and I together from when she lived here for a couple of months so this trip I made it a point to get some. It just so happened that I was having a friend, Michelle, take pictures of me as part of a birthday gift for LeRoy and Kellie was going with me for the pictures. She also knows Michelle so it was very comfortable (and FUN) to get our pictures taken together. It was a really good thing we did it this way because the two of us aren't in any of the other pictures that were taken this trip.

Edwards vs. Edwards

LeRoy and Louie

July 2-5th

It was a great to have Louie, Donis and Lilly with us for a few days. Little old Rexburg doesn't come close to California but we had a great time together. Derek and Lilly were once again inseparable and silly to no end (just like last summer during the Edwards family reunion in Texas). And it was quite obvious that Lilly and Erika are related. They could be sisters.

Day 1: LeRoy, Louis, Donis, Lilly and Derek went to Jackson Hole to play tourists. LeRoy worked there for a couple of years so is quite familiar with it and makes a very good tour guide.

Day 2: we loaded up our families and headed to Yellowstone Park. The older kids and I hadn't been there since Derek was a toddler and we had gone in on snow machines so it was like visiting a completely different place during the summer.

We started with a picnic lunch near the entrance of the park. The kids had a blast splashing in the river. . .

while LeRoy made up the traditional Edwards' picnic lunch of peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

We spent the entire day wandering through only the first 30 miles of the park yet it never got boring. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was perfect and it was so great to be out of cell phone range. We were mesmerized by the paint pots, steaming "whistles", animals, remains of the Yellowstone fire of the 90's and the beautiful new growth since then.

After about 4 hours of walking, the older kids parked it on a bench on one of the trails. They (mostly Lilly and Erika) donned random accents and started asking everyone who walked by where they were from, trying to get the same question asked of them so they could wow and impress with their linguistical talents - or lack thereof. Most people kept walking and ignored them, some would simply answer where they were from as they walked by and there were even a few who stopped to chat - they were the ones visiting from other countries.

There's always some kind of competition with these two. Even to see who can handle a camera the best. Louie won. He just had a better camera, even if it was brand new and he didn't really know how to use it yet. This is the result of them staring each other down in a photo taking contest.

On the way home we stopped to see Mesa Falls. The mosquitos were so bad, swarming actually, that we literally ran to the falls, took a quick picture and ran back to the cars. It was torture standing still without swatting hands while being eaten alive! I was so thankful that Erika had volunteered to keep the younger boys in the car. There was a lot of panicked "Shut the door! Shut the door!" yelling going on as we loaded up as fast as we could.

Day 3: We went to the Rexburg 4th of July Parade. Donis and I had a great time sitting back in our lawn chairs to soak up the sun while LeRoy and Louie made sure the kids didn't get run over while snatching candy out of the road.

The Edwards boys put on an evening fire works show for us. They seemed to have fun even with the burned fingers, deafening noise and a cold Idaho evening.

By the time they got ready to leave I had to make sure that Louie or Donis didn't sneak Hyrum into their car. He took quite a liking to the two of them and they were so enamored by not only his adorable smile and fantastic hugs but his complete lack of teenage sass that I was afraid they'd take off with him.