July in a Jiffy

So many things happened in July,
that I'm going to just post one
picture from each activity
with a short description.
****
Jason had some time off of work
so we had a bunch of "staycations"
or day activities instead of taking a
big summer vacation.

***
July 1st was Carter's 8th Birthday Party
He invited only one girl
and she sat close to him,
in fact a little too close,
 the whole movie.
We watched an outdoor movie.
We started at 9pm and had the kids come in their pajamas.
We watched, "Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief."
We gave the kids pennies and had a concession stand
where they could buy whatever they wanted.
The kids loved being able to stay up so late!

July 3rd we had the celebration of the 4th.

We started the morning off with the parade

and in the evening Jason took Carter and Dallin

to the Demolition Derby.

Carter's birthday was on Sunday this year.

He isn't too keen on birthday cakes,

but he does like hostess cupcakes.

This year his cake was a number 8

made out of hostess cupcakes.

Easiest cake I've ever made!

July 7th, we decided to take a trip up to Ogden

to check out the Dinosaur Park.

We told Carter that if he could get through

baseball without a melt down that we would

take him where he wanted to go.

He loves going to Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum,

but Jason and I talked him into seeing what Ogden had to offer.

It was so much fun, we even saw a snake!

In the middle of July,

Carter & Dallin had their swimming lessons.

This was Dallin's first year!

I signed them up back in March for their lessons

and Dallin was scared the day I signed him up

and about once a week he would say,

"Is swimming lessons today?" 

He was so nervous, but I knew Mrs. Debbie

would help him get his confidence up.

After the first day he discovered

how much fun swimming is

and he passed his pre-school aquatics.

Carter is a pro, this was his second

time taking level 3 and he passed with flying colors.

We drove down to South Jordan just so they could

have their lessons with Mrs. Debbie.

I'm hoping to get them in more lessons this

winter at the rec center. 

July 24th was a very special day.

It was Carter's baptism!

I have been so nervous all month.

It is so much pressure on me as a parent,

I kept on thinking,

"Did we teach him enough...

Does he remember all of our FHE lessons...

Does he realize how special this is?"
I don't think I totally understood when I was eight.

He is such a good kid,

he understands way more than I did when I was a kid.

I'm so proud of him!

July 26th was Carter's first ever Cub Scout experience.

They had, "Cub Country," which is their two day

Day Camp.

He loved every minute of it,

and because I'm a Bear Den Mother,

I got to go with him.

They got to shoot BB Guns the first day

and that was easily the highlight.

Then last but certainly not least

Lyla turned 2

She loves Minnie Mouse, so I attempted a cake.

Only problem was that I really didn't want black frosting,

so I ground up oreos and put them on,

so when I put the top layer on the bottom layer,

the oreo crumbs fell down onto the bottom layer.

Oh well, I tried to put a Happy Birthday sign

in front to cover up the worst part

 instead of writing it with frosting on the pan.

(Which was what I was going to do before the big spill.)

She didn't seem to mind and I do have to admit

it tasted way better than plain ol' black frosting.

What I learned in July
I'm OK with my kids getting big!
Carter is officially a member of
the only true gospel on the earth
and can now be accountable for his decisions.
Lyla is no longer a baby, she is officially a toddler.
From what I hear girls potty train earlier than boys,
but even if she waits until she is 3,
I only have to buy Costco diapers 12 more times!
That is 12 fast Sundays, woot woot!!
But even still, I'm hanging on to my little toddler
for as long as possible.
And since Dallin missed the kindergarten deadline by 10 days,
I'm hanging onto having him home for another school year.