A Really Big Summary of July

Let me start out by saying that I know this post is really, really late! We have had a wonderful month and somehow I just never had the time to sit and update. So, needless to say, I went through my computer and pulled off all the pictures I found that had to do with this month. There are tons and they are in no particular order, but here they are!

We just returned from Richfield and the Rooster Valley Classic, a softball tourney that is a tradition for the Roundy family. This year, all 5 brothers played and they actually placed 2nd! They played 7 games and even golfed Saturday morning at 6am! I don't know how they weren't dead, but they weren't! You would have thought all of the wives had played that much ball the way we all whined! Hey, it really is exhausting sitting under a shady canopy watching softball and kids all day! Actually, the hardest part was trying to fit the whole family into his mom's house, but ... we did it! Once again, we conquered the Richfield Demolition Derby in grand style. This year we weren't decked out in DI shirts, but I think we made quite a statement anyway! The highlight was definitely the truck demolition where several trucks actually flipped on their sides! It is always fun to just sit and talk while we watch the derby. It is a great memory! Krystal did a really good job at taking pictures all weekend, so I am sure I will have some great pictures to post in the (hopefully not too far off) future! We even finally got a family picture of all 5 families! YEAH! I don't have it yet, but here are some of the pictures we took of our own little family. We didn't know until Saturday night around midnight that we were going to take pictures the next day, so no one is matching and they aren't professional, but they are still fun!

Here's our little Alli! Still all smiles and such a wonderful baby. She has been such a trooper with all these fun trips.

At the end of June, the kids and I headed to New Mexico to visit Lance, Shanna and Jackson. It was supposed to be a 6 hour drive. On the way there, I missed a turn, had to stop to feed Allison a few times, had to stop for potty breaks and meals, and finally made it in about 10 hours! We were too busy having fun to take many pictures, but this is a picture from the Glen Canyon Dam. The kids had a blast learning about the dam. We even walked across the bridge, but I have to admit I was a little uneasy. It just isn't natural to feel the ground shake beneath your feet like that!

Another pic at the dam. Those are dinosaur tracks they found while building the dam.

Brock, always the brave one, had no problem looking over the edge. The rest of us were too scared to get too close!

On July 14th, we headed up to a little cabin in Pine Valley with my mom and dad and my dad's family. All in all, we stayed about a week. It was fun to have everyone together again and especially fun to watch the kids play with my cousins. I love this picture of my mom and dad looking like a couple of old fogies in their rocking chairs while the rest of us were fishing!

All the kids getting ready to fish for the first time. We didn't catch anything and even got rained on, but the kids still thought the experience was great! Dylan gave them some fake fish and I think they were just as happy with those!

Uncle Greg, Savannah and the kids coming back from the river. No luck there either!

A little peace of heaven!

Moments like these don't come all the time, but when they do, my entire life seems to fit into place!

My sexy man! Poor Cole had to work each day that we were out at the cabin, so we hauled the bike to the cabin in our trailer and he rode it back and forth each day. I especially loved Brandon's little backpack that he threw on to bring home a few things I forgot! What a man!

We went to the cabin few days before the whole family came up and went on several "nature explorations." There is nothing like watching kids enjoy nature and enjoy just playing outdoors. They were absolutely fascinated with the way the water changed their reflections as it flowed by!

Poor Kaitlin! She was the most daring of the kids and crawled across the first log. Unfortunately, a while later, she was also the one that was a little too risky and toppled bum first into the water!

Best friends!

Brave little girl! She was the first to cross this log!

This picture is out of nowhere, but, well, it happened in July, too! I love it! I think we can all remember playing in the tub when we were kids!

I am embarrassed to say, but we only went to the water park once this summer! Hey, at least we went once though! We live a block from it, but somehow, it is so difficult to get there! Anyway, this day was a blast! We went with Kaysie and her boys and Ash. Here is a pic of cute, little Chase getting ready to throw the ball. (Kaysie, I'll try to remember to get this to you!)

Brandon and Brock were like little fish; they loved it! Last year, they didn't love it quite as much!

Allison, on the other hand, was not a big fan! The water was cold, but mostly, I think the bright sun just kept bugging her! She spent a lot of time being held by mommy! Thankfully, none of the kids got burned like I did that day! I blistered within 2 days and peeled 4 days later! Ouch! Why do I always forget to put sunblock on myself!

The other thing we did a lot of in July was attend the library activities on Thursday. One day the kids had various crafts they made, another day they made collages with chalk and another day the made these fun pots! It is so fun to take advantage of all our community has to offer.

The kids had a lot of fun playing with friends this summer. This day, we had Jaeden and Avery over to play so Darcee and CJ could go to dinner for her birthday. They are making Darcee birthday presents!!!

My mom and dad took the whole family to Tuacahn on the 7th of July! (I told you these weren't in order!) Cole was at scout camp, so he wasn't able to come, but the rest of us had a blast. It was really fun and the perfect show to take a bunch of kids to! The weather was beautiful and we even won free tickets to go back later that week to watch High School Musical 2, which my kids absolutely loved!

Sisters! Me, Heather (19), and Ashley (23)

All the grandkids (except Allison - Ladd and Krystal watched her for me!) with Grandma and Grandpa

I'm not sure what happened to the rest of my "pool" pictures, but we have had a lot of fun swimming at the community center pool this summer. Allison has loved the water. Even when it was a little cool for me, it didn't faze her, she just kept kicking, grinning and squealing with delight!

Just in case you thought she was always happy... she does get mad on occasion! Cole bought me a set of golf clubs for his birthday! .... Yes, you read that right! It has been fun to finally have my own set! After being married to a golf pro for almost 9 years, it is probably a miracle (and a disgrace) that I didn't already have a set anyway! We have spent a lot of time at the driving range and I am getting pretty good! I love a challenge, so I think I was always a little afraid of actually trying golf, because I knew I would like it! I do! This particular day, Alli had had it! She was dang tired of sitting in the grass trying to entertain herself while the rest of us hit balls!

One of the kids favorite things to do is our traditional "decorating display" on the 4th of July. This year they decorated cute little volcano-shaped cakes. I love watching their imaginations take shape and seeing how their little personalities show in their decorating.

Brandon's cake...to the point, no wasted decorations, all one type of frosting!

Kaitlin's cake...filled to the brim with decorations, patterned, organized, cluttered and covered with both chocolate and vanilla frosting!

Brock's cake...just whatever, where-ever!

July has been a blast! Believe it or not, this actually IS NOT all! Stay tuned for the next installment!