Starting Summer Off On The Run!

We did not mess around getting to the fun this summer!  The very DAY after school let out for the girls, our ward hosted a fun run.  As usual, David (Elder's Quorum) and I (Relief Society) did a lot of the behind the scenes work and it ran pretty smoothly.

On your marks....get set....

Go!  That's Joshua in the gray T-shirt over the long sleeved white shirt.

And here comes Bronson in the green shirt.

Nicki took 2nd place in the YW division.  The first place winner was this year's state Cross Country champ, so there's no way anyone was beating her!

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We spent many evenings on Grandma and Grandpa's back porch enjoying treats.  Looks like this picture was taken when Paige was in town for EFY.

We also visited Kristin's family and their sweet dogs!

 Look at that adorable Fin!  Josh loves him!

And Ali is playing with Fin and little baby Percy.  He is HUGE now!  It's funny to see him when he was smaller than Fin.

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We hit the pool early and often!  We knew that with Grandpa retiring after his term ended, this could be our last year at the Country Club, so we tried to take advantage of it!

Josh drying off on the hot pavement

Quin doesn't seem to be enjoying it quite as much...

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Ah, Lagoon!  How we love our annual trip to Lagoon! That is another thing we'll miss after Grandpa retires and we no longer get discount tickets.

Quinton on one of the few rides he would go on.

All three boys.

Grandma was a trooper and went on the spinny ride that makes me sick.

It really came in handy to go as a big group because we had enough adults to split up.  Grandma stayed with Quin and me. Grandpa took off with Josh and Bron, so they could go on more adventurous rides. Kristin went with the teens on all the big rides.  When David got off work, he picked up Quinton, and the rest of us all gathered together for the night.

L-R: Payton's friend Logan, Payton, Megan, Alison, and Nicole on the Cliffhanger. This ride basically waterboards you!

Here's what they looked like afterward.

Kristin and Grandma on the Tidal Wave!

I didn't go on many rides - between Quinton not being too adventurous and me being only a few weeks post-op, I just hung out and watched most of the time.  But somehow Quin and I got talked into going on Rattlesnake Rapids.  We told Quin it was just a fun boat ride and that he probably wouldn't even get very wet. As you can see, we went directly under a waterfall.  Quinton screamed like he was in a horror movie and probably still has trust issues to this day :) I think Josh is faking like he's upset in this picture.  He actually tried to get soaked.

Two very happy girls (Alison and Kristin) on the Tidal Wave

Nicki and Bronson on the Sky Ride

Isn't that pretty? Nicki took it.

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We signed Joshua up for a police-taught safety course called RAD Kids for the first week or two of summer.  He went for a couple hours per day, learning about fire danger, phone safety, natural disasters, sexual abuse, stranger danger and self defense techniques.  I was quite impressed with the things he learned and will definitely sign him up again (as well as my other boys when they get old enough). On the last day of class, we were invited to come for a demonstration and graduation ceremony.

First they warmed up and demonstrated some of their moves. I think this is called the RAD Kids Stance.  They step back, throw up their hands and yell, "Get back!" at the top of their lungs.

Then, they had a special visitor join them.  The man in the black is one of the two police officers that was their teacher.  The man in the red is also a cop, but they had never met him before.  He tried to abduct each of the kids, one at a time, in several different ways and the kids had to use the moves and skills they had learned to get away.  Of course, the best option is to yell loudly and run away, which they all did.  But if that's not an option...

You may have to punch, kick, or headbutt your way out of harms way.  Josh did an amazing job.  He did NOT pull his punches (they weren't supposed to) and yelled "No! No!No!" over and over again. When he was attacked from behind and lifted off the ground, he got away pretty quickly. 

It was kind of a horrifying and comforting feeling at the same time to watch your child be attacked and to see him fight his way out of it.  I'm glad tht he is at least aware of some of the dangers out there and has some tools to protect himself if needed. I also appreciate the good role models those officers were for my boy!

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Alison attended the Teen Writers Conference again this year.  This time her friend Cameron and her cousin McKenna went with her so, I think it was even more fun than last year!

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We went to at least a couple movies in the park this summer! How fun are those?!?

Waiting for the sun to go down.

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Quinton really wanted to build a bug house out of sticks from the yard, but he was getting frustrated.  So Daddy helped him.  What a good dad!