July Summer Fun

We had a lot of fun at Draper Days this year! Megan's mother-in-law, Susan Stewart, painted these kiddos faces. Don't they look pleased as punch? (Starting with Hallie on the left and going around the circle clockwise - Hallie, Kolton, Jonah, Abby, Nathan, Micah, Joshua)

Abby became a "rainbow puppy"!

 Joshua was delighted with his results as "Batman"

 Hallie was all smiles from the time she jumped up on the chair to the finish and beyond! She is a "Pink Kitty"!

Nathan was so excited and had to stop Susan's mother all throughout this process to check out her work in the mirror! She definitely satisfied this enchanted little guy! He is "Spiderman"

 Kolton was the first to start off our fun, face painting adventure. He is "Spiderman"

Micah was so careful to hold still! He, too, was "Spiderman" We are surrounded by Super Heros!

We couldn't leave our little Jonah out! His Grandma Susan painted a "spider on him" I couldn't believe he just sat there with a smile on his face and let her! Amazing!

THE GREAT WATER BALLOON AMBUSH!

The kids spent the afternoon playing in the water with water balloons. They had so much fun! Then, came the most brilliant idea! Let's get Daddy when he gets home, so we filled a cooler with water balloons and they sat outside for about 45 minutes waiting for Daddy to arrive. Boy was he surprised! Good thing Daddy is such a great sport. They were thrilled with the outcome!

We spend one morning at Kolton's horseback riding lessons! He was so happy to show us all he has learned. You couldn't wipe that smile off his face! We were all amazed at how well he did!

After the lesson, Kolton helps take care of the horse. He squirted it off with water and helped feed it as well as take off his bridle.

Lucky for us, we all got to chip in and help out!

Nathan enjoyed brushing this horse. Actually, the horse looks as though he is enjoying it too!

 Hallie surprised us all. She is usually very timid around animals but for some reason these great, big horses did not intimidate her and she jumped right in and brushed them as well as fed them. Wow! Imagine that!

The barn was full of adventures too! These helmets are so cool!

 If you don't want to jump on a horse, this is the next best thing!

Jesse amused by the his siblings!

We love to spend time at duck ponds! One of our favorite spots is Glen Park! (I'll post some pictures later of some of our experiences here this month, including what happens when kids get to confident on a large rock by the pond!)

Highland South Stake Trek.....

Ok, now I have to say that Jesse is a good sport! This pic was taken at 5 am Monday morning, right before we left to drop him off at the church.

We are really missing him around here!  I can't wait to hear about this adventure! They went up to Martin's Cove.

"This is the Place, Heritage Park"

We had a great time celebrating pioneer day. We went up to "This is the Place, Heritage Park" which is a pioneer village. They had all kinds of activities going on besides enjoying the quaint pioneer village feel. During a gunny sack race, the kids were photographed by the Salt Lake Tribune and their picture was in the paper. (You can read his article HERE)

Other activities included, breakfast, a flag ceremony complete with a firing of a cannon,

 The Cannon was really LOUD!

We were so surprised and happy to run into Aunt Pam and Uncle Brian! 

 A candy cannon! (not so loud, just really fun!)

You can see how each child has used their shirts to carry their candy loads!

We went on train rides.

Panned for gold.

The look of success!

 Josh was really into this adventure. He found many pieces of which severeal he turned in to receive tootsie rolls! Of course, he kept a few for himself.

Nate had started to get a bit teary eyed because everyone else had found gold but him! But Alas, with the help of Daddy, he found his teeny tiny piece and boy was he happy!

Abby surprised us all by climbing up on a bull!

Of course, she was happy to get back down again!

We explored some of the old buildings. In the school house, the boys were asked to be volunteers.

Josh was thrilled to be asked to help out.

He got to help teach some kind of special alphabet they did during that period of time!

Next, the teacher asked Nathan to come up and help him with a demonstration. Of course, Nate practically leaped off his chair with excitement...........

He became a little aprehensive when he found out he was demonstrating the "Dunce Chair" I love the look of concentration on his face as he tries to balance this "too big" hat on his head!

 

Jesse became the next "helper"! The teacher explained that when a child became 14 years of age which is close to Jesse's age, they, then, became the teacher to the younger students. The students were strictly disciplined to help keep things under control for such a young teacher. Jesse is holding a paddle they used in those days. The holes are drilled in the paddle to help it move faster during this type of discipline! YIKES!

Some of the other activities we enjoyed were making crafts, a bracelet with beads,

and a pioneer yo yo, 

a petting zoo, (Abby liked the goats!)

Joshua is the one leaning over to pet the baby bunny!

The boys loved playing in this water even more than petting the animals!

riding ponies,

and watching a pioneer parade down mainstreet. 

All in all, this was a great day to spend commemorating our great pioneer heritage here in Utah.