Jam-packed first 6 weeks of summer (pre-baby)

- slip n' slides / trampoline

- fun with Milo

- Classic Skating - total success!

- Activity Day Camp

- birthday central (Luke, Chase, Brynn, Ryan, Rachel, Whitney, Papa)

- discovered ladybug sanctuary in front yard

- store returns at the mall and Kendall almost peeing her pants (the store was close to closing and I was stuck in line, so I had Rachel take the kids outside near the fountains to wait for me, and Andrew and Rachel spent the whole time chasing Kendall to keep her from peeing on the grass)

- backyard fun

- splashpad

- Aunt Marilyn's pool

- American Fork HS Marching Band practicing down our street!  It was SO fun!

- bubble baths

- mani/pedis

- play dates

- dress ups

- horseback rides

- Brandon went to high adventure with the Teachers to Zions

- Whitney creating a new songbook for the YW for girls camp (originally asked to be ward camp director, but was released when we found out we were pregnant and asked to serve on the committee)

- girl cousin sleepover at Gma/Gpa Hale's

- Brynn's baptism - we clean up nice!

- Nana & Papa's yard was featured in the garden tour and they received the Orem beautification award

- Kendall passed her hearing test with flying colors (much to my surprise! she actually can hear me, she just chooses not to listen!)

- Overnight Anniversary date to SLC - went to a history of Hip Hop concert (ran into the Dobson's!) and went to Melting Pot for dinner

- Chick-fil-A appreciation day

- Kids set up Ninja warrior courses in the house (including spider-crawling up the doorways)

Summer Baseball & Softball

Rachel tried softball (machine pitch) for the first time this year and Brandon tried coaching!  He wasn't too thrilled about the idea, but then they got assigned the Cubs and that helped his excitement level - at least momentarily.  Brandon spent 1-2 evenings a week with these girls and Saturday mornings for practice.  This cut into his precious backyard project time, so the pergola took longer than he would have liked.  The girls learned a lot about the game and made a lot of improvements throughout the season.  Rachel had friends on the team from school (Milli, Miah, Maizy, Olivia) and they were a great group of girls and very enthusiastic.  

Andrew was on the Blue Jays, and his biggest hesitation about coach pitch baseball was that he might be on the Cardinals team and that his family wouldn't cheer for him.  :)  Avery's dad coached his team (Brandon helped out quite a bit there too, which ate into even more evenings), and he also knew Harper, Sawyer, Adam, Tanner, Ashton & Owen from church or school.  Andrew said that baseball isn't his favorite - he says it is too tiring.  When I asked him to describe what he meant, I think he meant it was too boring - he didn't like all the sitting around waiting to hit, waiting for the ball to come to him, etc.  His favorite part of the season was trying to be last in the hitting line up so that he could run around all the bases and feel like he hit a home run.  

Rachel turns 9

Rachel turned 9 years old!  And she planned out her entire party and gave me the notes, so that I wouldn't forget anything (see notes below).  She wanted a late-night party with cheesecake, and wanted to watch a movie and play night games with her friends.

Some things about Rachel:
- All of Rachel's baby teeth and molars were gone before her 9th birthday!
- Loves to plan things out and is detail-oriented
- Dislikes pizza (but requested it for her birthday because her friends like it) and prefers salad
- Costa Vida is her favorite dinner
- Loves dessert & baked goods (except for cake/pie)
- Dog-lover and must meet every dog within sight
- Has a new found love of rollerblading
- Good at lots of things, but most passionate about gymnastics
- Has her own, unique sense of style
- After Rachel heard an unnamed family member say a swear word (uh-hem - Nana), I thought I should have a conversation with her about swearing, so we chatted about bad words, potty words and swear words.  The conversation went great until she asked, "Mom, have you ever said a swear word?"  Then I hesitantly responded, "Ummm.... yes, I have, BUT your father hasn't!  Make your mind up to not say swear words and be like him!"  Brandon saved the day!
- Rachel watched me put together some camp songbooks for the YW and she just loved them and was so impressed I had made them.  She even said, "I hope I am just like you when I grow up!"

Spring Recitals

Rachel finished her year of gymnastics at Patterson's with a fun showcase recital.  I was really impressed with all that she has learned - particularly her hand stand on the balance beam and her back handspring is getting closer.  She also has long legs when she is in her leotard (like her momma)! Chase & Kennedy take gymnastics at the same gym.  

Kendall had her dance recital after taking classes at Dance Showcase.  She lost steam at the end of the year and was complaining about going to practice, until they handed out the recital costumes!  She did pretty good at the performance - the only issues were almost forgetting the part where she is the line leader and she had a lot of face itches (must have been from all that darn stage makeup).  She had fun and looked adorable!