Summer Recap: July

On July 4th we went and watched the parade with friends.  The kids got candy, ice cream bars, frisbees, balls, chick fil a meal vouchers, etc.  No pouches of Idahoan mashed potatoes this year though, so that was disappointing.  That night we went to our usual spot to watch fireworks, just a short walk from our house.  It was a little rainy, but I think it just delayed the start by 5-10 minutes.

Emmett worked on online Driver's Ed classwork through June and got his 6 hours of driving with an instructor done in July.  Now he has his permit and can drive with an adult in the front seat.  He needs to complete 6 months and 50 hours of driving before he can apply for his license.  

Emmett heading out to drive with an instructor

We got a 3D printer and Ezra and Jim have been busy trying all different projects on it.  

We got a small pool for our dog to cool off in and he loves to lay in it and drink from it.  
 

This is what happens when you laugh while drinking milk

Emmett went to a soccer tournament in Logan, UT and his team all stayed together at a cabin in Bear Lake.  His coach wanted to do a team bonding activity and it sounded like they had so much fun doing their meals and activities all together.  Ezra, Elliott and I went down to Logan and stayed 2 nights in a hotel to watch the tournament.  Emmett's games were all inside or late at night when it had cooled off.  We also had plenty of time to do some fun things.  Number one on Ezra's list to do was go to a store called Bricks and Minifigs.  It is a lego store that has tons of bulk legos, sets, built mini-figures and build your own mini-figures.  We went to the Pepperidge Farms factory and stocked up on cookies and goldfish crackers.  We also went to the Gossner Farms factory store and got cheese and flavored milks.  We went to a splash pad, did some shopping, ate lots of yummy food and spent plenty of time at the hotel pool, which had a water slide.

Our Pepperidge Farms haul

Karie Anne's gelati

Emmett's only outdoor game was at 9pm and we watched the sunset

Emmett's team was put in the high school division and played a couple of teams that were two years older.  We ended up in second place out of 8 teams.  They were really disappointed that they lost the final game because it was a team that we had beaten before and we were up 3-0 at the half.  They came back to tie the game in the second half, went into extra time and still ended up tied.  They did a PK shootout to determine the winner and we lost.  

Team Captain, Emmett, with medals to hand out

We drove to Oregon for a short trip and had an extra driver.  Emmett drove for almost 2 hours and didn't love it.  We got to spend time with both families, pick blueberries, play at the creek, shoot a gun, visit my grandma, walk down a hobbit trail, go to the beach, eat seafood, visit some parks, etc.  Our dog did really well on the trip and just loves being with his people.  We left Ezra in Oregon to spend time with grandparents.  While he was there he got to go fishing, hiking, build a little go-kart thing, go to the county fair, go to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, another museum, visit parks, eat special food, etc.  

Emmett driving on our trip to Oregon

Walking down the Hobbit Trail

Ezra and Crab Legs

While Ezra was in Oregon Elliott worked hard at the library summer reading program and earned some rewards, the favorite being a giftcard to an arcade.  He enjoyed trying lots of different games there and using the tickets that he won to buy a pop gun.

Jim was getting ready to do a hike with a friend and planned to spend a night at the trailhead.  He set up the backpacking tent to make sure it was ready to use and Elliott and Emmett spent a night in it...on Elliott's bedroom floor.  

Jim and his co-worker Tristan hiked to the summit of Borah Peak, the highest point in Idaho.  The hike is relatively short for how much elevation you gain and is more of a climb/scramble and quite exposed.  They were happy to make it and Jim was very exhausted afterwards.  

Emmett did another Spikeball/Roundnet tournament and this time was on a 2-man team with his friend Braylon.  Braylon's mom made them shirts and they were probably the best team shirts there!  They got first place and did well playing all afternoon in upper 90 degree heat.