July 2023 Independence Day, Lindon and a reunion in Minnesota.

July 1 - The July 4th celebration kicked off with Farm Days at Bears Ears Buds farm.  Here we are on a hay ride. The kids also built pneumatic paper rockets and we shared dinner with Grandma. 

Monday the 3rd Melissa and the kids visited Scales and Tails. 

The parade was lots of fun on the 4th. Lilian is proud to be an America, with an otter pop. 

Lots of candy, floats, fun...

And cash!  Redd's Mechanical was launching dollar bills from a t-shirt cannon and Finn collected $5. 

Everybody all dressed up at the parade. 

Melissa and Grandma went to the park by themselves this year.  The rest of us were too hot. 

We had a BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa's.  Then the fireworks didn't start until 10:30 PM this year! It was a long wait, we ended up watching 90 minutes of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, having a glow stick rave on the front porch and getting "bored!" all before the fireworks started. 

On the 5th Hannah helped make breakfast for dinner.  Here we are cutting the largest pancake of the bunch!

Saturday the 8th we went up to Johnson's Creek to hike and explore with Goldie for the first time.  Melissa really is loving having a dog again, even with all the frustrations. 

Monday the 10th I was off work and we ended up in the shop.  We finished the crane Finn started with Grandpa (added a rope spool, improved bracing and glue), made a giant birthday cake for Hannah's Barbies (with built in candles) and cut out a Mama Cat for Lilian to decorate. 

I guess Lily was struggling in preschool because here she is in summer homeschool!  Dry erase worksheets to improve penmanship. 

Glasses! Reading books at quiet time. When you read as much as this one, you need glasses to prevent eye strain. 

All of this is still happening July 10th.  It ended up a "yes day." Wood toys, fun school, and shave ice while driving home from the grocery store to make dinner. 

July 12 - Melissa and the kids attended the 4H Harry Potter activity and made wands.  Melissa was an official volunteer all summer with 4H. 

July 14 - We received a package from Sarah! She sent Finn's dino puzzle and a bunch of treats.  In Lilian's words, "she really loves us, she really does!"

Rob Lyman came up with the idea for a boys backpacking trip.  Well, turns out Rob has a bad knee and we have 7 and 8 year olds!  We were feeling the desire to teach our kids about camping, because without the Boy Scouts of America as part of the church anymore... who else was going to teach them?  We decided against the hike, due to Rob's knee and our children and instead packed up the side by sides after I got off work on Friday night.  

We went to Johnson's Creek.  We had a really fun evening with the boys (both of Rob's came, 8 and 4) and by 10 PM we were all exhausted.  We slept much better than expected and it was almost 8 AM (July 15) by the time we all woke up.  We packed up camp, spent 45 minutes exploring around Dry Wash Reservoir and headed for home.  It was much more fun than expected. 

July 16 - After church Finn and I put together his dino puzzle and finished 1/2 a pack of English sweets. 

7/18 - Melissa and Alex Allen saying good bye during the kids gymnastics.  They moved to St George. 

7/20 - Poof we're in Lindon.  We decided to spend a couple of days with Nana and Granddad before AND after Minnesota. 

7/21 - Poof we're in Minnesota. Mom caught a couple of frogs during this trip.  Here is one with Lily and uncle Porcupine. Melissa was planning to visit Trisha and Jeremy in Minnesota this summer.  She ended up inviting Mark and Chrissy to come up from Ohio, which prompted Andrew to decide to join from Oklahoma, which meant Brian didn't want to be left out from Washington, and with all of them here, Grandma and Grandpa Workman stopped on the way home from the South Carlsbad beach week and flew in from Las Vegas!  Leave it to Melissa to make a visit with her sister into a family reunion. 

7/22 - Walking around Jensen Lake (one of the 10,000), nice that the cousins took to each other so easily. Ava and Hannah, Mya and Lily. 

Lake hike selfies!

So, we went to Minnesota during a heat wave.  It was in the upper 90s several days. Luckily the Frey's neighbor had a pool and weren't home.

7/23 - After church we went to lake #2 of 10,000 and Melissa learned to stand-up paddleboard.  Just ignore Mark not even up to his knees in the background, he's like 15 feet tall anyway. 

Dad and Hannah enjoying the smooth water. 

That night after dinner Jeremy setup a flag football game.  We learned that Evelyn and Lilian, while the same age, are not built of the same material.  Lilian got creamed while Evelyn was avoiding a flag grabber. Must be her 15 foot tall dad, but Evelyn is a tough player. Jeremy also totally knocked over Hannah. We aren't the sportiest family.

7/24 - Monday, finally with the whole family in town, we went to Hyland Play Area to enjoy and awesome set of playground structures. 

Mark and Chrissy taught Hannah and Finn to hit a baseball after all the playing and lunch. 

That afternoon it was off to the Mall of America!  Uncle Andrew (Lily's favorite), Melissa and the girls riding a Dora the Explorer ride. While Finn and I visited the Lego store. 

Hannah and Grandma on the Ferris wheel with Grandpa and Melissa while Finn and Lilian and I had a temper tantrum on a bench.  This was quite a busy week for a bunch of small town folk. 

The kids did finally agree to try the log ride.  Which resulted in at least a 30 minute wait in line.  Luckily I was able to get some smiling girls... before the ride started!  Finn may have cried the whole ride.

July 25 - Lake #3 of 10,000, Cleary Lake.  A long day of bike riding, swimming, paddle boards, kayaks, canoes, etc. The kids couldn't get enough of their cousins!

That evening was goodbye to Mark, Chrissy, Luke and Evelyn.  They were heading out to some of her family in Michigan. 

Girl photo. 

7/26 - We went to a pet store/petting zoo called Snake Discovery. The kids petted tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards and even saw a crocodile. 

Say hello to the croc!

7/25 - Time for a chill afternoon. Mario kart tournament.  Wow, my kids don't know how to work video games. They had lots of fun though.  Plus it gave them a break from the 90* plus weather in the enclosed porch, which had been turned into a Lego room for this trip.  Jeremy got out all his old Lego and Eli's Lego.  Our stinking kids were in there from morning until night, every chance they had and Jeremy was helping almost the whole time. 

7/27 - It was so hot we decided to go to an indoor playground, Edinborough Park.  It was huge.  As tall as the 3rd floor apartments surrounding it.  All the cousins, plus Uncle Jeremy, were having a blast!

And Hannah fell and broke her arm.  We took a break, went home to eat lunch, watched a movie, and when she got up it still hurt.  So off to the insta-care for x-rays and a temporary cast. Broke both the bones of the forearm. 

Uno!

7/28 - Uncle Jeremy is awesome.  He's nonstop ideas for fun.  Launching Eli's model rocket outside a local high school. 

Snuggling cousin Ava. 

7/28 - afternoon goodbye at the airport. 

9:30 PM back in SLC and on the way to Nana and Granddad. 

7/29 - The Bean museum at BYU.  Melissa took the kids on a little nostalgia tour, too; driving past some of her old apartments and the creamery.  

Posing with the liger. 

Hannah's favorite display!

Finn and his hammerhead. 

Sunday we had a big family dinner/birthday parties with wonderful food and lots of noise.  Monday 7/31 it was time to go home.  We stopped for an orthopedic eval for Hannah. The doctor didn't feel like the break entered the growth plate.  So they placed a pink cast for 5 weeks, then a brace for a week or two to regain mobility, then 6 month follow up. 
July was quite a month.  We don't seem to be able to keep things calm for very long.