July 2024

While we travel we have been lucky that our pet-sitter has always been available.  We found Soojung on Rover and she and her husband and their golden retriever, Bori, are Everest's favorite second home.  They first watched Everest when he was just over 6 months old during our trip to England.  He has literally grown up with them and he LOVES spending time there and it is excellent socialization for him.  He always acts happy to see us when we come back too.  

On the 4th of July Ezra and Jim rode bikes to our friends' house for the parade.  Elliott isn't crazy about all the noise, and Emmett didn't really want to go, so we stayed home and were able to watch the local parade on TV.  In the evening we walked to our normal spot to view the fireworks and the boys joined a pick-up soccer game while we waited.  

Pick-up soccer game in the twilight

On July 5th we went down to Pocatello and the boys spent an hour jumping and playing at Geronimo's trampoline park.  Then we went to the outdoor aquatic complex.  

 Emmett left July 6th for a soccer camp with his high school team.  They went to the University of Utah and had lots of fun playing soccer, going to a RSL Major league soccer game, hanging out, and playing more soccer.  While he was gone we went on a hike near Mackay.  It was along Lower Cedar Creek and ended with a waterfall that appeared to gush out from a rock.  We had a great time, but on the way back the dog was really struggling.  I'm not sure if the trail was too hot or the rocks too sharp, but his feet were in bad shape.  He spent the next few days trying not to walk, which makes getting him out to do his business very difficult with a nearly 90 pound dog!

After Emmett got back from camp it was time to take another trip to Utah, this time to Logan.  Emmett played in the Logan tournament with a school team.  We had lots planned to do while we were there.  We visited the Bricks and Minifigs store, ate at some good restaurants, went to Zootah (the Logan Zoo), went to the Pepperidge Farms factory store, the Gossner Cheese store, a few other stores, and spent lots of time at the fun hotel pool.  Emmett's team won their first game, but Emmett got hurt and didn't play much the rest of the tournament.  His team tied their second game, which sent them to the semi-finals, and then they lost that game, ending the tournament.  

A Lego throne

The hotel had an indoor/outdoor hot tub

Don't read the signs, they may be breaking the rules

The day after we arrived back home my mom arrived to spend the week with us and then take Ezra back to Oregon for the rest of his summer.  Ezra was able to finish the second part of his Algebra 1 class and get the last proctored test out of the way before his trip.  He took a whole years worth of Algebra 1 condensed into about 4 months and it will go on his highschool transcripts (as an A!).  While my mom was here we were pretty busy with work, but we got in some bowling and a trip to Heise Hot Springs.  We signed up for the Kids Bowl Free program and added Jim and I on, so we spent lots of free time bowling, and the kids got pretty tired of it, so I don't think we'll do that again.  Ezra flew back to Oregon with my mom and spent the rest of his summer going back and forth between my parents and Jim's parents.  

We spent the rest of July making the most of Summer.  Elliott didn't have much going on and got to be a pretty lazy kid.  Emmett did Speed Camp in the mornings and Soccer practice in the evenings, with a lot of down time during the day.  

Tortilla slap challenge

Emmett getting his first taste of Franklin's Famous Cheesesteaks

We got lots of updates from Ezra and we enjoyed FaceTiming as a family.  Ezra built a fort, did lots of hiking and fishing, went on a big boat down the Columbia, biked, visited parks, cooked and ate delicious food, and spent lots of time with his grandparents.