Going to the Flying Horse pool over the summer is one of the best things to do to keep the kids entertained.  The pool usually isn’t that crowded and the kids are completely entertained between the waterslide, the playground, and the regular pool.  Our first trip to the pool was just with our family and the kids had fun having jumping contests from the side of the pool.  The next time we went the girls brought a friend.  Good times!

We came home one day and noticed there was a turtle in our front yard.  It was so cute but we could tell it was a long way from home since there wasn’t a lot of water nearby. 

Abby and I headed to the nail salon to get our toes painted while the other kids were at camp.  Since she wasn’t old enough to go to Activity Day camp we went and did something special. 

Katsudon is one of our favorite Japanese dishes to eat.  Mike found this amazing website where this lady has posted awesome Japanese recipes and videos to go along with them to really show you how to make Japanese food. 

Ever since we moved all the girl’s toys into the spare room in the basement we knew that it made sense to send all their Legos down there as well.  I went to IKEA and bought two open bookcases and flipped them on their side so the girls had places to put their different sets.  They absolutely loved it.

After my triathlon in Fort Collins we were able to spend some time with our friends, The Geysers.  Josh works for a dress up company and so he took us to his office and showed us all the dress ups.  He even let the girls pick one to take home.  Abby was so excited by her new dress up and wore it in the hotel for the remainder of our trip. 

In preparation for BYU tennis camp and trying out for the HS tennis team in the fall we have been giving Andrew private tennis lessons at Flying Horse with coach Mike.  He has absolutely loved playing tennis and has learned so much already.  This seems to be a sport he is naturally good at. 

Our good friends, The Demars, stopped by for a quick visit on their way home to Montana.  It had been almost 6 years since we had last seen them while living in Dupont, WA.  Many of their kids are our kid’s ages so it was fun for our kids to have “new” friends to play with for the afternoon. 

Abby wasn’t feeling well at all and since her temperature was approaching the scary range we took her into the ER for a quick visit to make sure everything was ok.  Turns out that there wasn’t anything to worry about.  Being sick is no fun but we were grateful she didn’t have anything serious going on. 

This year was a family birthday for Abby.  She was so excited to be turning 7 years old this year.  This year we got Abby a yummy cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes.  Everyone thought it was so delicious.  I went to the party store and collected some fun party favors for the kids.  Each of them got their own buckets full of jellybeans, party blowers, and other fun treats.  Abby really loved that.  For presents this year Abby got a jewelry box from mom and dad, the Calico Critters Supermarket from Grandma Anne and Grandpa Franz, a Calico Critters family from Grandpa Al, and some Frozen princess dolls from her siblings.  She was one happy girl.  We love our sweet, kind, and funny little girl.  She seems to be growing up too fast.  We are so lucky to have her in our family. 

I took Emma and Abby out to Bear Creek Park for a fun little photo shoot.  They had fun posing for me and being silly together.  I am so glad that they have each other to be silly with.  My girls are beautiful inside and out.  They are sweet to each other and to me.  I am a really lucky momma!

This year we tried to be a little smarter about what we were going to plant in our front yard.  The last two years have shown us things that don’t do well in Colorado weather.  We made a few trips to Lowe’s to pick up the flowers and then we had the kids help us plant our new flowers and weed in between the rocks.  The boys are never quite thrilled when we tell them they are going to do yard work with us but they always seem to have a good attitude once they start.  Luckily the girls are at an age where they want to help.  When the front yard was finished it looked so nice.  Poor little Abby started out so happy but later I found her in the front hallway in the house asleep on the floor.  The poor girl had a fever so I laid her in her bed to rest for the remainder of the day. 

Our last stop on our road trip was Custer State Park.  Since we were staying at Hill City it was only a short 15-20 minute drive into the western entrance of the park.  We parked near Sylvan Lake and hiked towards the Sunday Gulch Trail.  We had anticipated hiking around the entire trail but as we started counter clockwise on the trail we ran into a flood area that was impassible without getting completely soaked.  We still wanted to hike the trail so we turned around and headed clockwise on the trail and only did a quarter of the trail.  After climbing to the top of a ridge we decided to stop and let the kids play on top of the large boulders.  The views were pretty amazing from this point.  Peter and Emma enjoyed spending time digging up a really cool crystal rock.  From here we headed back the same way we came until we were back at Sylvan Lake.  Since it was a shorter hike than we had anticipated we got in the car and drove along the Needles Highway until we came to the Little Devil’s Tower Trailhead.  We hiked along this trail and then headed all the way to the top.  It became quite steep as we neared the top but the hike was totally worth it when we saw the views.  Abby was especially proud of herself for hiking to the top.  After getting back to our car we drove through the Wildlife Loop Road so we could see the big bison and all the other wildlife that was roaming around.  

We made it to Mt. Rushmore in the early evening and enjoyed the walk around the boardwalk underneath the sculpture carved presidents.  It was the perfect time to come to this memorial as most of the crowds seemed to have come during the day.  It was quiet and the weather was pleasant as we got to view the presidents from different angles and perspectives from down below.  After enjoying our walk we found some seats in the upper seating area and waited for the evening lighting ceremony.  Mike and the boys went back towards the entrance of the park to buy us some ice cream to snack on while we waited.  It was definitely worth waiting for the lighting ceremony.  We loved being able to see the presidents lit up in the night sky.  What a glorious place this was to visit. 

After leaving Nebraska we headed to South.  Before reaching Mt. Rushmore we stopped at Badlands National Park and spent the afternoon driving through the amazing rock formations and stopping to take little hikes.  The kids had so much fun climbing up and down the eroded buttes and pinnacles.  The views were absolutely amazing.  We could have spent all day playing at this National park. 

Our first stop on our summer road trip was to Kearney, Nebraska to enjoy some down time while Mike worked over the weekend taking call at the hospital.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn and there was a waterslide inside the hotel that the kids absolutely loved.  We spent a good deal of time on the slides playing.  We also enjoyed walking around the incredibly awesome Hi-V grocery store and playing at the city park.  The younger kids had fun playing in the splash park while Mike and Andrew biked around on the tandem bike we rented at the park.  It was a really fun two days.  As we were leaving Nebraska we drove past the smallest LDS church building we had ever seen.  We just had to stop and take a picture of it. 

I FINISHED my very first off road triathlon and I'm really proud of how I did. I did not do it to race it or have super fast transition times. I simply wanted to finish and finish strong. It was definitely a much tougher race than the other road triathlons I had done in the past. The swim was emotionally hard on me. Even though I knew I could swim 880m without stopping no problem the water seemed thick and hard to get through. Every 100m I had to breaststroke above water for 20 sec just to survive and keep myself moving forward. Still, my time wasn't awful but definitely an area I need to improve. The 12.2-mile bike was definitely the highlight of the race. It was freaking awesome!!! I had a really good time on that portion. The run...let's just say it was the harder than I had expected. The first 2.5 miles were straight up the mountain. I am a strong runner, even running uphill, but this portion of the run completely threw me for a loop. It was so hot and I felt like I was overheating. I ran/walked like most everyone on this leg of the run. Once I got to the top I flew down the other side and was passing people left and right. The breeze on the way down felt amazing seeing as it was approaching 80F and I haven't really transitioned into hot weather running yet. The only accident I had was that I fell flat on my face as I was running down one stretch. I must have tripped over a rock. I was lucky and only scrapped my knee and tore open the corner of my thumb. It was a small price to pay for such a rugged course. My favorite part was the end as I saw Mike and the kids cheering me on. Peter even ran the last stretch with me. I loved that. I'm so grateful for Mike and the kids who supported me and waited the LONG period of time it took me to finish. I completed the 880m swim, 12.2-mile mountain bike ride, and 4.8-mile trail run in 2:24:14. I came in 6th in my age group. Too bad I wasn't in the earlier age groups because I would have placed in the top 3. My age group was definitely the most competitive with girls who used to run for Colorado State University. Shaving time off my transitions times and getting my swim a little faster will place me closer to the fast girls next time. Something to think about for my next race!!