Tanner was gone the whole month of July so I tried to keep us busy.
We did some swimming:
Spent the afternoon at Hyrum Reservoir with the Kirksville buds. Mariah was almost too brave for my comfort. I was afraid she was going to float away a few times.
And Chet decided the beach was the place for him. He ate a lot of snacks and washed them down with some refreshing sand.
We set up our $5 pool in the yard.
And we even spent a day at the pool with Aunt Boo.
Mariah and Chet got to visit where mom and dad were married (Salt Lake Temple).
They kept me entertained while we got our tires rotated.
Those people know what they are doing...popcorn makes everything ok for toddlers, or maybe just my toddlers.
We celebrated the 4th of July...
We spent Friday night at my friend Sarah's home. Mariah loved the sparklers because they were easy on the ears. We watched the fireworks from inside because those things are apparently traumatizing.
A boy and his dog...or his Aunt's dog, works better for me. We did some parade watching.
hand holding
And a little dancing
And a little dancing
This was the Sunday after the 4th and I just wasn't ready to give up the red white and blue. I even dressed patriotic. I hope my children can feel the love I have for this wonderful country.
And we acquired some mortal enemies...
Mariah was walking through some grass barefoot and stepped on a bee. I had to pull the stinger out and she was pretty sad about it. Just a few days later Mariah and Chet were out on the deck and began screaming. I rushed them inside and Mariah kept screaming "Bee, Bee!" over and over. Chet took up the chorus as well. Did I mention I was on the phone with Tanner at the time? Obviously he wasn't stressed, because it's Tanner. I soon realized that they had been stung by some wasps. They got over it fast and they didn't even have much of a mark to show for their stings. So I decided that bee stings must be worse than wasp stings.
About a week later I was on the deck with the kiddos and Chet went to climb on one of the chairs. He was immediately attacked by wasps. Mariah knew to get out of dodge so she escaped unscathed. I ran to carry Chet in and got stung a few times myself. This time was different, very very different. I don't know if the wasps were going easy on them the first time, but the stings were way worse this time. Chet had blisters from them and they took over a week to heal.
Try not to focus on my alien toes and just see the sting marks. That was from just one feisty little wasp done in a matter of seconds. And boy did they smart! My foot ached for hours after and it was tender to the touch for several days. People, do not mess with wasps.
Just some of Chet's stings. I think he had over six stings on his poor little leg.
Obviously I had had enough of those little devils. We had some wasp killer in the garage so once the kids were asleep I dressed in Tanner's Carhartt coveralls and snowboarding jacket, hood and all. I went a little overkill but after being stung I did not want to take any risks. That wasp spray is amazing though. Once I sprayed their little nest they all dropped like flies.
So now we are all a little wary of wasps and bees. And for good reason.
We spent a day out in the rain.
They didn't last long carrying the umbrellas. Mariah decided to just embrace the rain and Chet walked under my umbrella.
And we spent some more time out at the ranch.
Cowboy Chet
Aunt Kelley and Jace tried really hard to pawn some of these kittens off on us.
Chet and I rode on a very tiny children's saddle, so I just sat on the back of the horse. Chet loved it. He kept getting mad when I would grab the reins. He wanted to do it all himself.
And Mariah...tolerates horses. She isn't afraid of them, but she doesn't love them either. She told me the other day she would rather have a pig than a horse...I'm not making that up. But I'm not giving up on her yet!
They had so much fun on the ranch. I think Chet especially needed that trip. After dad had been gone for two weeks he was getting sick of us girls and starting to act out a lot. A little Grandpa time seemed to help. Now whenever he sees a semi, tractor, or sprinklers he immediately says "Bampa!" (Grandpa). It's pretty sweet.
Daddy surprised us by coming home a week early! He was able to "frontload" his hours at the beginning of the month and spend a few days with us. It was just wonderful.
One of my best friends from college came to visit and I got to watch her kids while they went to a sealing. Our kids got along so well with them and it was wonderful to catch up.
We went to the Fair
Watching the cows.
We spent time with cousins
Just look at Mariah's little twinner on the left. I feel like Mariah is a dark haired version of Adrianna.
I watched Tanner's brother's kids for them so they could take a weekend trip. It had its crazy hectic moments but we survived. I even was able to get to church on time! Granted Sacrament meeting didn't start until 11, but I still consider it a victory. They are the sweetest kids and Mariah and Chet had so much fun with their cousins. But boy were they worn out, it was a busy three days. Mariah even took some naps this week.
We had a great July but we were so happy to have dad back...
Lets just stay together for the next couple of months mmkay?
