Summer 2012

4th of July

This summer, we played and played and played. The weather was terrible, as usual, but we spent lots of time at the cabin out of the heat, in the pool or doing things indoors. We spent the weekend after July 4 in Heber and went to the parade and saw the fireworks there. We also watched fireworks at my parents, so it was an eventful few days. Elliot went to the cabin with Grandma Susie for a few days, so Brooks and I had Landon all to ourselves for the 4th, It was fun, but a little weird. The boys spend so little time apart and being separated was a little strange for them too. They play so well together and Landon was bored without Elliot here. After a few days, we joined them at the cabin and Landon and Elliot were reunited.

Showing off his dive on the 4th 

 

Landon loves that his name starts with "L" and he is showing off here.

He also really liked the dry ice effect.

Downtown Mesa had a Freedom Days celebration with food, games and water bounce houses. It was a hot night, so this was perfect for the kids. They went down this slide multiple times and couldn't get enough. I love watching how these two interact.

Museums

  
Museums were another way to get some relief from the heat and still have fun. The Phoenix Children's Museum is AMAZING! There are so many things to do and we stay for hours every time we go. These "race cars" are a favorite.

Doing some shopping

Octonauts became the show of the summer and Elliot was obsessed with vampire squids for about a month. He could talk about them for half an hour or so and would let anyone he saw know all about them. I am so disappointed that we didn't get it on video. Every one in both our families heard all about them and their extraordinary abilities. This can of squid caught his eye.

We also got a membership to the Arizona Science Center. This area in the front with water and the balls is their favorite part and they are soaked when we leave. 



The first time we went, they were connecting these pipes. Elliot built something Dallin thought was exceptional. He turned to Elliot and said, Elliot, you're a genius!" Dallin and Elliot get along well. I'm not sure if it is similarities in their personality or what, but they are drawn to each other and it is fun to see their relationship.

Swim Lessons

Landon and Elliot took 4 weeks of swimming lessons in June. After 2 days of crying through it, they had a completely turnaround and fell in love with it. Their teacher was amazing and they were swimming like crazy by the time we were done. They even jumped off the diving board at the local pool and swam to the edge by themselves. It was awesome to watch their progress. I'm sure we will have to start over next summer after taking such a long break from the pool, but hopefully they'll remember some of it.

Elliot really struggled with the concept of a dive. He was very entertaining to watch while I sat in the sweltering heat of the shaded porch. Next year, I may wear my suit. Ha!

While at the theater for the summer movies in June, Elliot tripped on his way up the stairs and hit his front tooth and gums right on the edge of the step. There was bleeding and crying and swelling, but after a quick recovery he insisted on watching the rest of the movie. We went straight to the dentist afterwards and he declared the strong possibility of a dead tooth. He said it would get darker over time. There was a slight chance the nerves would heal and the coloring would come back, but he wasn't hopeful. We watched over the next few weeks as the nerves were affected and his tooth got darker and darker. (It is noticeable in this picture.) After a couple months, it started to improve and now, it is no longer dark. I'm hoping it stays this way. The way the body heals itself really is incredible.

Zoo

Even with the heat, we braved the zoo a few times this summer. We got to the zoo around 8, walked around until 9 and let the kids play in the splash pad until 10. The kids didn't mind the heat at all, but I can't say the same for their mothers.

 Peterson Reunion

In early August, we went to the Peterson reunion. This spot is one of the most beautiful I have seen in Arizona. The green with the tall trees and the creek running through the middle is stunning and I was excited to come back after going last year. 

Dust storms, backyard pool and cute kids

Arizona monsoons are some of the craziest storms I've seen. Growing up in Arizona, I didn't realize or appreciate the grandness. It took moving away to a place that has such different weather to see how incredible these storms really are. We have "fireworks" a couple times a week when the lightning storms start. The dust storms rolling in seemed exceptionally impressive this year.

The boys played in the backyard pool almost daily until they learned to swim and then it wasn't quite as much fun. We did travel to the McKinnon's pool a few times or head out to my parents to swim a few times as well. 

I walked into the playroom and saw Landon and Elliot showing all their cars a movie. Awesome!