The Fourth of July!

The next few posts are my attempt to catch up on a summer full of blog neglecting fun! We spent most days at Cherry Hill, but I don't have one piece of photographic proof of our Cherry Hill Days. Here's the highlights for how we spent the rest of our time (minus the days we sat at home neglected at the beginning of the summer due to a bit of morning sickness and tiredness :) )

The fourth of July was a blast as usual! Great Grandma and Granpa Garner came down from Roosevelt for the weekend since our new cousin Aspen was also blessed that Sunday. Fourth of July is full of traditions for our family. We always start out at the Kaysville Parade in the morning. Head over to Pops and Grams Garners house for a bbq and water fight. This year rather than hitting the usual Kaysville fireworks Uncle AJ put on an equally good fireworks show. Also the night before we headed down to North Salt Lake for their annual fireworks show. My husbands most favorite thing in the world is fireworks, so you can bet we can be found at almost every possible firework show in our area during the month of July!!!

The kids with Granpa and Grandma Garner Great!

The kids with Great Grandpa and Grandma Francis

All the Garner cousins

Hunter and Jackson giving their respect to Old Glory

Sami was a little annoyed...

Cousin Lexi didn't love the loud sirens! Chillin with Daddy

The one time of the year we let our kids run out into the middle of the street to accept candy thrown on the ground from strangers....

Our fam at the parade

The biggest kid at the parade... seriously, everyone threw the candy right at us thanks to Daddy's hard work! We even earned some stuffed animals!

Mardi Gras?

Hunter would only wear the blue ones... a man has pride you know...

...even though he's sportin' a pink shirt...

Annual Garner family 4th of July water fight. Followed by a rousing game of water balloon volley ball.

Hunter really got into the water fight

The kids taking a dip

Daddy teaching Sami how to hit the shuttlecock
Hunters and old pro...

Pops reading to a bunch of pooped out grandkids!

Happy 4th of July about a month late!!!

Tracey Aviary

On the 16th of July we headed down to the Tracey Aviary with our good friends the Andersens. Jen and I were pregnant with Halle and Savannah at the same time and we just found out that we are now due within days of each other again!

The Tracey Aviary was great because it wasn't too busy and there was lots of room for the kids to just run free! It was also fun for them to get to see each other since we don't see each other as often since they moved out of the neighborhood!

Sami and Halle feeding the ducks

Carter (and Hunter... out of picture range) chasing the ducks

The kids waiting for the bird show
They were fascinated by the birds. Hunters favorite was the one that opened up the fanny pack and "stole" a granola bar"

Cool looking bird

More fascination... I need to get a bird if it will make my kids sit this still and quiet for 20 whole minutes! Carter giving Hunter a love... Hunter was too caught up in the show...

SERIOUSLY gotta get a bird!

Buddies...

Shakin' it before the bird show!

24th of July

You have to love living in Utah, because we get an extra holiday in Juy. Extra holiday= extra day off work= extra day of fun= more parades=more fireworks = VERY HAPPY GARNER FAMILY!

Every year on the 23rd we go to the Bountiful Pioneer Days parade. It was a blast as usual! Cousins TJ and Ben helped Hunter and Sami collect a huge bag of candy!

We also found out that night right before the parade that our new little on is a girl . We'd been waiting to find out before we told the family, and since we had everyone together that night we let Hunter spill the beans. He walked over to Grams and told her we were going to have a new little sister.

Showing respect for the flag

These squirt fans were the funnest part of the parade! We had a lot of squirt fights to cool off!
Sami figuring out how to use the squirt fan

The Mayan

On the night of the 24th we headed down to Sandy to spend the evening with the Tiney family. We decided to head over to the Mayan Restaurant for something different for the kids. They LOVED it. Hunter likes to watch reruns of an old kids gameshow called Legends of the Hidden Temple so he thought he was in the middle of his favorite show! It was hard to get him to eat because he was so excited and soaking it all in! We told me family that night about our new little one on the way and Hunter was so distracted he wouldn't tell them so I had to do it for him!

Sami and Aunt Stacy watching the cliff divers

Hunter watching the cliff divers

Hunter was lovin' climbing on the dragon outside the Mayan. I was my normal nervous "Helicopter Mom" self and wanted to help him, but he wouldn't hear of it...

...Sami... not so much...
After the Mayan we headed home and our friends the Mauers and the Binghams came over for a little fireworks show.

Sami and her best friend Kenzie Mauer being silly It's great living in Utah and having an extra holiday!

Like we always say... our favorite Holiday is the Month of July!

Can't wait til next year!

Bike Ride

Hunter got a "big boy" bike for his birthday... Transformers Optimus Prime of course! He loves going on bike rides with his daddy and it is really convenient to have the church parking lot in our backyard! Sami and I were watching Hunter and Daddy riding their bikes from our back porch and Sami wanted in on the fun, so Brett had me pass her over the fence and took her for a littlle ride! We really need to have a gate put in!

Snowbird

Last Tuesday (Aug 11) we had a company retreat with Bretts company up at Snowbird. It was such a blast! I was a little worried that we wouldn't be able to go since Hunter got his tonsils out the Friday before, but he recovered really fast and my pregnant bones had a hard time keeping up with HIM! Logica always has the funnest company parties and I think this one took the cake as the best so far (other than Cabo of course.... it was the best FAMILY party we've had so far! :) )

Sami jumping in the jump house

Hunter and Daddy going down the Alpine Slide By the end of the night Hunter was riding his own sled!

Daddy and Sami riding the tram to the top. The kids didn't get a nap that day, and they were so exhaused that they ended up sleeping the whole way down! I didn't dare move to get my camera out to snap a pic of my sleeping stinkers though!

Our little family at the top of the mountain

Sami and Dad walking through the tunnel at the top of Snow Bird

Can't wait for the next company party!!!

Wheeler Farm!

Brett was out of town for a week the end of July, so the kids and I headed down to Sandy to spend some time at my parents house. On the 29th we headed over to Wheeler Farm. The kids loved it!

When we first got there there was a lady sitting with this duck. She told us that she and her kids had raised the duck when it was a baby and then donated it to Wheeler Farm when it got to big to stay at their house. She held it still so the kids could pet it.

Chasing the ducks

My little monkey climbing a tree

Sami and "Paca" Tiney

"Driving" the tractor was one of Hunters favorite parts of Wheeler farm... second only to the huge, nasty rats crawling around in the pig pens!

We were lucky to get the kids to stand still long enough to get this picture!
We need to hit Wheeler Farm more often it was fun FREE entertainment!

Mueller Canyon

Saturday night we headed up to Mueller Canyon for a weenie roast with the Garner fam. It was a blast! The kids had fun exploring... a little too much fun, they all ended up in the "river" (which was really more like a little trickle) and and we had to strip them down and "cook" their pants and shoes dry by the fire. For the middle of August it sure felt like fall up there, it was perfect bonfire weather!

More updates on what we've been up to the rest of the summer later :)

Cowabunga dude!

Sami and cousin Halle

A great black mail picture for later on...Hunter and Sami hanging out with pops while their pants dry

the kids pants... not pops... pops actually IS wearing his shorts... hehe..

"Cooking" the kids clothes

Mommy and Sami roastin' the perfect 'mallow
Hunter and Daddy roastin a dog