Ty Warner Sea Center

 

 

While in Santa Barbara Tyler attended camp at the Ty Warner Sea Center on the Santa Barbara pier. The older boys have all attended this camp, and have loved it!  The camp is located in the most beautiful place. Tyler had fun learning about different sea life, how to take care of the ocean and our environment, dissected a squid, learned more about sharks and made lots of friends. There is a touch zone located in the building and they get to handle star fish, squid, sea hair, sea cucumber, crabs, sea urchins, small sharks and several other sea animals.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technology is AMAZING!!!

Technology...is Amazing!!!

We flew Will and Jackson to Santa Barbara for a week right when summer started so that they not only would have some one-on-one time with Nana and Papa, but also participate in a summer camp.
Will chose stand-up paddle boarding. One of the afternoons, while at camp, my mom was taking pictures of Will and FaceTimed me. My mom was walking on the beach, and later on the pier, capturing some great shots of Will and FaceTiming us. It was so great to be able to see Will instantly and watch him paddle board live. I was able to screen capture a couple of moments. Incredible. Simply incredible!

BUSY!!

I thought the last couple of weeks of school were super busy and hectic, and I was thrilled when summer began. Sure, there are several summer activities and camps planned, but I thought we wouldn't be as busy as we had been during the last couple of weeks of school.

The last couple of weeks of school included:

The Preschool graduation for Brigham - (Naters will go to preschool for one more year, they just include all the children's in the performance and ceremony.)

The school carnival - I was helping with buying most of the food, some raffle stuff and selling tickets.


Jackson's 6th grade promotion - which I planned and was in charge of. The elementary schools here don't celebrate graduations, except for high school. That's lame! So, when Will was in the 6th grade I planned and put on a promotion for his class. Last year, no one stepped up. This year, I did it again for Jackson. Next year I will have a break and then the following year I will again do it for Tyler. Every other year you can count on me! I did have a lot of help and support and it turned out great!!

The school wide talent show - where Gavin performed on his violin.


Field Day for the entire elementary school - I helped with the 6th grade class a little. They played fun water games with each other. Scott and I bought over 300 Popsicles and handed them out to each student. Then, the kids ran through the sprinklers. THANKS to Mrs. West for paying for those Popsicles!!


On June 6th was the last day of school. Parties, goodbyes, and more parties. After school was let out, my kids went to different pool parties.

The summer officially begins. Here is our 50 FUN summer activities poster we made. We already have over 10 items marked off!!

Later that night, Scott drove Will, Tyler and Gavin halfway to Cedar City to meet up with Scott's parents. The big kids were invited to spend a couple of days working at their house for some extra money.

While they were in Cedar the Utah Summer games were going on. Will participated and received two medals (one Gold and one Bronze)! It'll be a new tradition for the boys to play in those games. THANKS Grandpa for setting all that up!!

During the time the big boys were gone, I planned fun activities for the little ones. We went to the zoo, a splash pad, made cookies, bought a blow-up pool for them and they played for hours in it.  Then I took them out for ice cream and McDonald's dinner.

On Sunday the 9th of June, it was a cousin's farewell. He's off to serve a 2 year mission for our church in Canada. I am thrilled for his faithfulness and desire to serve the Lord. Such a great example!!

On Wednesday of this last week, we met up with the big kids and headed to Yuba Lake for some quality family time. It was so beautiful and fun. I am glad we were able to squeeze that quick camping trip in.

Now we're totally into summer. There's been no sleeping in, no lazy summer days around the house. No boredom around here.
Tyler and Will have football camp all week long that starts at 7:30 IN THE MORNING!! Who plans that? Just typing 8 is so much better than 7:30! The boys are loving it, of course. They wear their gear around the house and get into ready position. They head outside with the little ones and show them how to catch and tackle. I am THRILLED football season is almost here! YEAH!!

Gavin has had Suzuki violin camp in Draper that starts at 9am until 6pm. It's his first year and we're enjoying it a lot. There are several people from our area that are attending as well. There are 500 kids participating in either the Violin, Viola or Cello groups. Gavin is focused and gaining a lot of experience. I am thrilled for him.

We purchased our Utah Pass of All Passes a while back and have already been busying utilizing them to the fullest. They offer so many discounts and free admissions to several attractions around the valley.

On this past Monday night, after camps, we headed to Orem to watch Tarzan the Musical as a family. It was an outdoor theatre and we had a blast. It was great weather, fun musical, and we had a good time together.

On Tuesday night, after camps, we were off to the SLC Bee's baseball game, my very first game ever. The boys all enjoyed themselves as well. They all brought their mitts hoping to catch a foul ball. I was a bit late to the game. I was invited to witness a sealing in the SLC temple with Brian and Ember. It was such a neat experience, truly. The spirit was so strong. I felt the warmth and love of family members on the other side of the veil. I felt the spirit confirm to me that temple ordinances are important and my attendance to the temple is needed more often.

Father's Day came and went and we spent the entire day together. The kids each wrote, drew or made something for Scott. We put together this tree picture for him and this: Every hour and half hour Scott opened an envelope up. There was either a coupon inside or a sweet message from one of the boys. After dinner, we hiked up to Donut Falls. It was a beautiful evening. It was a wonderful day spending with one another. 

Rock with Bach

 

 

Over the weekend Gavin attended a violin day camp called "Rock with Bach". The kids decorated their violins, played games, practiced songs and had a performance. It was a lot of fun for him to see other kids his age jamming on the violin. Way to go Gavin!!

 

 

Olympus Football

 Will and Tyler wanted to play football this year, and Scott and I were all for it! They went to agility camp a few weeks ago and this past week was tackle camp. Both boys loved it and learned a great deal. At practice yesterday Tyler made a touchdown!

 The coaches broke the group up in two groups and had an obstacle course race. Here is Tyler running through the course, tackling and dodging.

 Will was on the opposite team and he hit and ran it hard.

These boys did a great job and are excited for the season to begin. They have a few weeks off and then football practice will begin for them. They wish it would start sooner.
Great work boys!

CAMPS!!

In May when I went flew to Santa Barbara I planned out the entire summer. We blocked THREE fun-filled weeks of different camps and activities for the kiddos to participate in.

The first week Brigham and Gavin went to Zoo camp. Will, Jackson and Tyler attended Art camp. All the boys had a fun time. They were at camp for most of the day which was a nice little break for me. Nathan and I had a little one on one time and we too had fun.

Week two Will went to baseball camp. Jackson and Tyler had Zoo camp and Gavin attended Safety town camp. Brig's hung out with Nate, Nana and me.

Week three no one had camp. We hung out and played at Nana's house. We went to different parks, went on walks and hikes, the beach (shocking!), Geo caching, Fiesta activities and most importantly Scott came to visit.

Safety Town

Safety Town is a wonderful camp for children to attend here in Santa Barbara. Will, Jackson, Tyler and now Gavin have all attuned this fun camp. Children can go 1 year before kindergarten and 1 year after only. So, it's for real young kids. They are in different groups in a little town. The Post Office group, Fire Station, Bank, Police Station...This was Gavin's first year and he had a blast. The camp runs for a week and is from 8:30 to noon. On the fist day The fire fighters came and all the children learned fire safety, how to call 911 and their home number, not to play with matches and spray water from their hoses. Here is Gavin after day 1.

On the 2nd day of camp some members of the police department came and taught the children not to talk to strangers and learned a song.

On the 3rd day the MTD came for a visit. (The bus system). The children got a free ride around town in a a bus.

On the 4th day Smokey the Bear came and they had some people from CALM teach them about bad touch/good touch.

On the last day they have a graduation ceremony. They sing songs and teach child receives an award.

Here are Gavin's counselors in front of his area, the Post Office.

GREAT job Gavin!! THANK YOU Safety Town!!