Lazy Days of Summer?

I am ashamed of myself. I have neglected my hundreds of readers (I know there are hundreds of you) and have deprived you of my wit and charm for long enough. Okay, the reason I've been a horrible Noblog is that this summer has been CRAZY! What was I thinking at the beginning of summer when I decided to sign the kids up for all manner of foolishness? We have swimming lessons two days a week, karate for Will two days a week, Little Gym for Lizzy two days a week... Give me strength! I shall NOT make the same mistake next year. On a positive note, it has sort of kept me sane. Less fighting because there is no down time in which the fighting can occur. Maybe I'm not so stupid after all?

So, this is a very photo-heavy post. And might get a bit wordy. Just look at the photos, guess what they say, and leave a comment ;).

One of the first things we did to ring in the summer was to go to the Andre Rieu concert. Love him! I know, you can call me a nerd, but he is so great. King of the Waltz. The concert was at an outdoor amphitheater and the evening was lovely and cool and the music was so beautiful. I think he is fabbity fab. His orchestra does little nerdy things like dancing around and they wear these extravagant costumes but it really is just so much fun. This is a picture of Steve and I before the concert started. We went with my mom and dad and had a grand time. If he ever comes to your city, give him a try. He's worth it.

I think the activity that began as the most stressful and has turned out to be the most rewarding of the summer is swimming lessons. A friend of mine recommended a program called Swim Kids which really teaches the kids to swim. Really really. They start with rescue techniques like floating on their backs and then floating on their tummies and then flipping over to their backs. They also learn basic strokes etc. My kids are swimming and they're two and four years old. I'm so impressed with this program. I have a fear of the water and didn't learn how to do proper strokes until I had Will. Yes, it's true. It is shameful, but true. The kids hated lessons for the first two weeks but have since LOVED them and their cute teacher Katie. The teachers are all very sweet and patient, but very no nonsense. They don't take no for an answer and get the kids to do what is required. I've decided to continue one day a week into the fall (heaven help me), so they don't lose the skills they've gained. Here are a few pictures of the kids at their lessons...

This is Will and Lizzy on their last day (of summer semester) with Katie.

Our neighborhood is THE BEST. Every year our street hosts a party on July 24th (Pioneer Day). It's called "Peak of Fire" due to the insane amount of fireworks brought to the party. Usually most of these fireworks are of the illegal sort but as we have been "caught" two years in a row by the police and the fire department, some of us put our feet down and banned the illegals. Somehow, a few got through this year and I must admit it's fun to hear the screams of delight from the crowd when the fire explodes in the air ;). We have several grills on the street and people bring their own meat and a side dish to share. There was a train for the kids to ride and ridiculous amounts of fun were had by all. This picture is of the kids covering their ears and screaming their guts out over those horribly annoying whistling fireworks. Except our little buddy Parker who couldn't be bothered to cover his ears and was just laughing at the other kids!

ANOTHER fun activity we did was to go boating with our good friends the Curlettis. It was a blast and the kids seriously have not stopped talking about it. Every time we see a boat they start up again ;). Very cute. I, being verboten from skiing, chose to take a daring tube ride with the kids. They thought we were flying through the water at amazing speeds. Hilarious.

Steve, on the other hand, got to ski. He loves it but doesn't get to do it often (as we don't have a boat). It was a grand day out.

I thought, one day when my friend Nicki was visiting, that it would be a super idea to go to This is the Place Park with the kids. It is this park located on the spot where Brigham Young stood when the Pioneers came into the Salt Lake Valley and said (I guess), "this is the place". Anyway, it's supposed to be very fun and you can do things like ride ponies, churn butter, spin wool, buy penny candy, feed animals, etc. The problem is that the day we decided to go was stupid "Family Fun Day". Well, let me just tell you, it was NOT fun. First of all, the entire city was there, second, they decided to shut down all the normal activities because of the volume of people, and last, it was 98 degrees. Literally. Not a fun day. It was fun to see Nicki but I feel terrible that THAT was the activity we chose. Stupid Family Fun Day. Here are Will and Lizzy over heated and hungry...

Okay, we're winding down. We hosted Steve's office party this year. We wanted it to be NOT tacky and on paper plates etc. but our choices were either that or china (too fancy). So, since we host parties a lot, we decided to go to IKEA and buy white plates and bowls and some cutlery and glasses for the occasion. It's great because now we're set for parties of 30! I also got some giant mason jars and put yellow roses in them and I think things turned out simply lovely (though I say it myself). The only thing I thought was missing was something for the folding chairs. Folding chairs are just ugly and I wish I'd had something to disguise that a bit. Ah well, you can't win 'em all ;).

And now we shall end with some excitement. A few weeks ago we were at my sister in law's for dinner and the kids were all playing in the back yard. Suddenly we hear a commotion and the kids come running in the house yelling about a snake on the back patio. Oh honestly! We figured it was just a little garter snake but we went to check it out anyway. Ha! It was none other than a baby rattle snake! Oh yes it was! Such a baby that it didn't even have a rattle. But it had some wicked fangs. Well, that caused a kerfuffle! Mercifully for the kids, this vile creature was in the process of eating a baby bird and therefore his mouth was occupied and could not bite the children. They were playing right there, not 3 feet away from the monster. Well, of course we had to take pictures. AND, we were able to get fairly close as the stupid thing couldn't get that bird past his jaws. Well, he finally did and revealed his fangs and started trying to strike at us but the bird weighed too much and he wasn't very fast. Nerd. He slithered into the bushes and we and the kids stayed indoors for the rest of the evening. Ha HA! Who got the last laugh?!

And no, I don't know what that horrible cluster of things is next to the snake. It makes me want to vomit. I can't help it. It's my trypophobia.

So, there is a summary of all things summery! Peace out,

Heidi