Cohen Turns Seven

Cohen turned seven-years-old toward the end of July.  He wanted to have an Avengers party with his friends, so that's what we did.  We started out with lunch.  Even our lunch had a little Avengers twist to it...

All the kiddos outside eating...

After lunch, it was time to go through "Avengers Training."  I got this idea from Pintrest.  Of course, they had done this up super cute.  I didn't have the time or energy for that, but I figured I was dealing with a bunch of six- and seven-year-old boys, and they probably wouldn't care if things were done cute or not.  First part of training was learning how to jump from skyscraper to skyscraper--a.k.a. jumping from chair to chair...

Next, they had a little target practice to do. They had to shot Ultron (or at least a picture of Ultron) with a Nerf gun.  And, don't mind our grass.  Some parts of our lawn really struggled this year.  We finally got them green again mid-August...

Next, they were on to learning how to get through tight spaces--a.k.a. crawling through a tunnel...

Next was a training exercise on how to break through buildings--or a large stack of boxes...

Then, they had to jump over skyscrapers of various heights...

And, finally, shield throwing practice--with a frisbee...

After we finished Avengers Training, the kids went on a little scavenger hunt to find energy orbs--or little balls of tin foil that were hidden all over the yard...

Next was a rousing game of Spiderman Tag, using silly string to tag people...

And, last but not least, we played Hulk Smash.  The kids picked a circle, punched it, and received the candy and little prizes that were hidden inside...

After all the games, we ate cake and ice cream...

And then finished by opening presents.  I don't think I've ever seen a kid be so expressive when opening presents as Cohen is...

It was a fun little party.  I think all the kids really enjoyed it, even if it wasn't very Pintrest-y.

The following day was Cohen's actual birthday.  We threw him a family party that evening.  We had a little barbecue for dinner, then opened more presents...

And finished with more cake and ice cream...

Cohen had a great birthday weekend!  What's better than celebrating your birthday for two days, am I right?!?

I'm so thankful that we have Cohen in our family.  He is always so sweet and kind to everyone around him.  He is happy, smiley and a joy to be around.  He has so many friends because everyone loves to be around him.  It is not unusual for him to have 5-6 friends over at once.  People just gravitate to him...even the girls, who are quite fond of him as well.  He's always being chased and kissed by girls at school, and brings home love notes from them too.  We love our little Coconut!  --Lindsay

Pioneer Day in Fairview

When I was growing up, we spent every Pioneer Day in Fairview, a little town in central Utah where my Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Graham lived and where my Grandma grew up.  We would always go to the little town parade in the morning, and then spend the afternoon on my great-grandparents' farm eating and visiting with relatives.  The last time I was down there for Pioneer Day was in 2000.  I remember because Mike and I were dating, and he came with me.  We got engaged just a few days later.  My Great-Grandma Graham passed away a few years after that, and the tradition sort of fell apart.  But, I remember always looking forward to Pioneer Day in Fairview when I was growing up.

Well, this year, our family tried to re-create the tradition!  Some of my mom's cousins planned a family reunion in Fairview on Pioneer Day.  We had such a great time!  We all went to the parade in the morning, where the kids loaded up on candy.  Holy cow, do they ever throw out some good candy at this parade...

They apparently throw out hats too...

And otter pops...

After the parade, we all walked over to the town museum where some of my Great-Grandpa Graham's artwork is on display.  He was a talented painter and excelled at wood work too.  There is an entire room dedicated to his artwork.  The museum also has several pieces of clothing that belonged to my Great-Grandma Graham as well...

Once we finished our tour of the museum, the kids had fun trying their hand at stilts and other pioneer games...

And then we had a family barbecue in the afternoon.  I didn't get any pictures of the barbecue, but it was so fun to see so many relatives that I haven't seen in 15 years or more.

While we were all together, we decided to re-create some pictures from Pioneer Day celebrations of the past.  Here's one that my mom's cousins, Kim and Cindy, and I recreated.  I believe the original was taken in 1981 or 1982...

And, here's our attempt to recreate it.  Haha...

It was such a fun day!  I love my mom's extended family.  They are such a fun group of people!!

We left Fairview late that afternoon to get back in time to go to the Real Salt Lake game that night...

RSL beat Kansas City 2-1, and there were fireworks after the game ended.  That's what I call a good game...

We had such a great Pioneer Day!  It was so much fun to see so many relatives, and get to know new ones that I had never even met.  I love Fairview, and have so many fond memories from there.  I'm so glad we got to go back, so that my kids could experience a little taste of it too.  --Lindsay

Just Keep Swimming

July was a month of lessons at our house.  The beginning of the month, Connor and Aiden took tennis lessons--but, unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.  Why?  I have no idea.  The second half of the month, all of the kids took swimming lessons.  Here are a few (not very good) pictures I took.

Connor was in Level 6 this year, which is the highest level...

He has become a really good swimmer over the years!  He can do all the strokes and can even do flip turns when he reaches the end of the pool.  He passed off the top level, and his teacher said he would be good on swim team, if he could get his endurance up a little bit.  Connor said he didn't like swimming enough to be on swim team, so he declined the invitation.  Lame-O!

Aiden did Level 4 this year...

He has really improved as a swimmer as well.  He will need to retake this level next year to pass off a few of the last requirements, but he is doing great!

Cohen was in Level 1 this year.  He finished the preschool levels last year, and was excited to move up into the "big kid levels"...

He passed off the level with flying colors and his teacher was impressed with how good of swimmer he is.

Vivvie did Preschool Level 1 again this year...

I was so proud of her this year!  Last year, she was scared to do anything and everything.  This year, she did everything her teacher asked her to do, and she was able to pass off the level.

It was a good year of lessons.  All the kids had really good teachers, they learned a lot, and they had a great time!  --Lindsay

Livin' It Up at Lagoon

We spent a day at Lagoon again this summer.  We had a great time, and even got to try out the new roller coaster, Cannibal.  It was a really fun ride, and totally worth the hour and ten minute wait to ride it!!  Here's some pictures of our fun-filled day.  Sorry, it's basically selfies of all of us on rides.  Here's Aiden, Vivvie and I on Paratrooper (or, as we call it, the umbrellas)...

Mike, Vivvie and I riding Space Scrambler...

The boys riding Space Scrambler...

Break for lunch...

Connor and Aiden on Air Race...

Aiden and I on The Rocket...

Viv and me on Odysea...

Lady Bug Bop...

Log Ride...

Wild Kingdom Train...

Vivvie riding Skyfighter...

Carousel...

Baby Boats...

Puff the Magic Dragon...

Speedway Jr...

Dragonfly...

Moonraker...

Cohen, Aiden and I riding Musik Express.  They squished me so bad...

Can't remember what ride this was, but we were obviously having a blast...

And, we ended the day where we began it, on Paratrooper...

It was a great day!  The kids are getting to really fun ages where they are willing to try new, crazy rides.  Even Vivvie is getting braver!  She put her hands up on Bombora!!  Baby steps, baby steps!  Soon, I know she'll love all these crazy roller coasters as much as her brothers.  --Lindsay