July fun

Wow. Here we are at the start of school. I have been reading blogs and missing mine, so here I go again! Just a quick catch-up and then, hopefully, a keep-up. In July, we took the opportunity to go to Utah for 2 weeks and we had a blast. We drove and drove and drove to get there and then relaxed and played. We were going to try to see both of my sisters' (they were visiting from Tennessee and Colorado, respectively) but we couldn't get there before my Tennessee-sister was leaving. I was a little bummed about that, but what do you do? We'd cut it close enough that she left Utah on the day we left Iowa. We drove all the way through that day, so technically, we just missed her. As usual, we stopped in Laramie for gas. We always stop on the West side of the city at the same gas station (Who knows why, we're creatures of habit, I guess....). I was in the bathroom waiting for Mason when....

Lo, and behold, my niece and my sister walked around the corner and into the bathroom!!!

It was sheer craziness!! We couldn't have planned it better if we'd tried. She only stopped to use the restroom and they had never stopped at that station before! Plus, we'd parked on opposite sides of the store (as we were getting gas), so if I hadn't been in the bathroom, we wouldn't have seen them at all. It was so great! We only chatted for a minute, they had a 27 hr drive home, but it was great to see them. And crazy that we did see them!

After all that excitement, we drove and drove and drove some more....

We made it safe and sound and basically hung out for two weeks. It was awesome, though. Jon went back to Iowa to work for a week and then joined us again for another week. We played with cousins, went swimming, hung out with our parents and siblings, and all in all just had a good time. Any time there was no one around to play with, my kids were begging to call someone. We loved it.
During our stay in Logan, we took the opportunity to go up to Bear Lake for a little visit. The water was a little colder than I was hoping it would be and the ground rocky, but we had a blast and the kids loved it.

Mason was fascinated with the sticks and the rocks and Julianne was just everywhere...
Jon tried to show the kids how to skip rocks, but it was kind of a windy day, so it only worked on occasion. We gave it a good try, though...
WE had a blast and enjoyed our time in the sun and being together all 5 of us. It seems we can never get that to happen anymore...

And, last but not least, Julianne got her very first haircut from her Aunt Jennie.
...and screamed bloody murder the entire time. Good thing Jennie is so awesome. At least Julianne was only screaming, she wasn't shaking her head back and forth or fighting Jennie. The haircut was a success and her hair looks SO much better!!

No amount of Angry Birds would calm the tears...
Even at the end, when it was all over, she had to pout a little more. She's such a boob and drama queen sometimes...
Or a book offer from Grandma... Oh well. It was awesome of Jennie to do it for us anyway...

After that we drove and drove and drove back home again. We were glad to be in our own beds, but sad to be home, too. Since then, we've played around our house and gotten ready for school. Brooklyn and Mason both got new backpacks and utensils for their classes and some new clothes. We're ready!!
This next week, Brooklyn and Mason start soccer for the first time. Julianne is always asking if they need their "leg thingy's for soccer" and is as excited as they are, I think. It will be fun, and {{{hopefully}}} help Brooklyn sleep at night. She is a night owl and I am very worried about getting her to school on time! We shall see how that goes.