For the Fourth of July this week, we went up to Sandpoint, Idaho to play at Lake Pend Oreille with our friends, the Lathen's. The kids had a blast playing in the sand and swimming in the lake. Kylene and I even swam out to the logs bordering the swim area and got up on the logs. It was very crisp (cool) water, but felt good in the warm sunshine. We had a picnic and played for a few hours. Then we drove home and got showered and cleaned up, then went over to the Lathen's house for a barbecue and fireworks. Practically no fireworks are legal in Spokane County (quite the opposite of Washington fireworks on the west side of the state!), but the kids had a ball doing the sparklers, snakes, and a few other little ones we lit. Then we went home and watched the impressive (illegal) fireworks our neighbors were putting on all around our house. I fell asleep while my kids stayed up late watching it from their bedroom window--ha ha, that's the way to go!
The little girl in the chair next to Andon in the picture above is his best little friend, Julia. Even though they don't actually play a lot together, he loves being with her, either at her house or ours. He asks almost daily to play with her. One day she was over at our house for lunch (with her two older sisters), and I offered her some hummus. She loved it. That also happens to be one of the few healthy foods Andon will eat. The kids started saying that means they are going to get married some day and have a hummus cake at their wedding. It was pretty funny.
My kids all got to go to the dentist this month, but it was Andon's first time. He performed like a champ and even let them do x-rays! I think it helped that every sibling took it upon themselves to tell them what the dentist was like and how "it isn't scary" and they are "super nice there." It is so cute to listen to your 9, 7, and 5 year old explain something to your two-year-old as if they are total experts.
We went to our first Rodeo as a family the second weekend in July. Our dear friends, the Edges, invited us to join them and it was a great night. The Cheney Rodeo is a small, hometown rodeo, and it was a great first rodeo experience for our kids. We had seats on the front row and the dirt would fly up on us as the horses ran past. The kids loved watching all the events and especially loved the shaved ice and other treats they got to eat. They did a balloon popping event for the youngins', and Skyler and Andon got to run out in the arena and try to pop balloons stuffed with money and prizes. They each got a free ice cream cone at McDonald's and a dollar or two. It was darling.
The last week of July, Kyle's sister, Christine, and her family came to visit. Alyssa was the only one that didn't get to come. It was our first time meeting Dallin and Maggie, Scott's children (Christine's husband). It was quite an exciting night when a thunderstorm came through an hour after they arrived and we lost power for six hours. We played "Ticket to Ride" by flashlight, the kids played outside until dark, and then ran all over the house in the dark with flashlights. By the time we got them all ready for bed and tucked in, the power came back on. They ran around the house so excited, like they had just won the lottery, and it took awhile to calm them down again. But it definitely was a night to remember. We have loved having family come to visit us!
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