Summer fun for all

 Kirsti and Ryan went to Hawaii in June.

Steven and Tamara went to Michigan

Noah and Lucy came to Columbia for Grandparent Camp.

  Lucy and potty training went very well (thankfully)

 

Steve and I had some great plans, most of them involving water but not the kind that falls from the sky which is what it did most of the week!  So, we had a rather "boring" camp.  But, the kids seemed to have fun regardless.  Steve made cookies with them one day.  They helped him pick blackberries and raspberries.
 

They watched lots of movies.
We took the dogs on walks every evening.

 One morning, we strung beads to make necklaces

 

 Notice that Lucy is holding a stuffed bat in the above picture.  It's name is Lulu.  And, during bath time, she played with an alligator.
 

Her communication skills have just taken off like a rocket.  All week, she would ask "what is the bat doing?" and rather than want me to tell her, I would say "what IS the bat doing?" and she would then tell me.  She never tired of this kind of talk.  

Grandparent camp started Sunday, July 5th and we took them back Friday, July 10th.  They were so excited to get back to "the red house" (as Lucy calls it) but the poor girl got a bit car sick on the way and finally lost her breakfast literally one block from home!

  Here we all are at the end of Grandparent Camp. 

4th of July

 Our 4th of July began like it has for the past several years - at the Parley P. Pratt Memorial Run.  This year, the name was changed to the Freedom Run.  It is always well attended by members of the church and community.  Steve and I took a more active role this time - Steve worked in registration
 
 (often dealing with long lines of participants)


and I took photos to document the event for a future news release.
 And, off they go....

 

Gerald Neuffer, age 95, ran the 4-mile in just under 60 minutes!  He is the great-great grandson of Parley P. Pratt!  How cool is that?

Melanie and Bacon came for a bit - but left as soon as the starting gun went off.  Bacon, already traumatized by several nights of fireworks around the house, didn't like that very much.

 Later in the day, the Southerlands arrived and we enjoyed a cookout and fireworks.  No more Fire in the Sky from the football stadium. Now they are shot off from one of the downtown parking garages. We found a nice viewing spot next to the Mizzou credit union.

My friend, Lizzy, joined us

 It was a nice night.

Quinn worn out from it all...

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Swim Lessons

In June, the Southerland kids were enrolled in month-long, twice-a-week swim lessons at one of Ballwin’s indoor recreation centers. 

 

 I happened to get to attend one of the last classes and document.  Noah had a fun time and made some great progress in his swim skills. 

 

 

 Quinn was in a Mommy-and-Me class so he was happy (and fearless).  

 

 

 

 Lucy, on the other hand, HATED every minute of it – from the first class to the last.  

She cried in the van on the way .

She cried waiting for her class to begin

  (Even Quinn was a bit concerned by Lucy's crying)

And, she cried ALL the way through class

 You may not be able to tell, but she was crying here, too.

 Here she is looking back at Emily and Quinn, still crying

 her teacher could not do anything to comfort her

 The ONLY time she stopped crying was when class finished and it was "free swim" for everyone
Here she was pretty happy...

 
  Notice Noah's underwater skills

The tears returned, however, as soon as free swim ended and it was time to leave.  Then, not only Lucy but Quinn started to weep and wail (and scream) - in the locker room, past the registration desk, on the way to the car, on the ride home.  Oh, my.....

End-of-June roadtrip

 After my sister's Teaching Guitar In The Classroom class in St. Louis, I helped her drive back to Arizona. We got as far as Tulsa on Friday, Albuquerque on Saturday, and then on to Mesa on Sunday.  Highlights included a stop at the Russell Stover outlet and an antique mall in Lebanon Friday afternoon.  Dinner at the Frontier Restaurant  (I had an amazing enchilada :)
 
 and dessert (pralines and cream) at Baskin Robbins in Albuquerque Saturday evening - all amid a dessert cloudburst.  And exploring some new country in Arizona on Sunday


 
 
  as we cut down through Eager, AZ (where we attended sacrament meeting) and the Salt River canyon.
 
 
 Here I am at the Salt River canyon overlook.  I was sure glad Juli was driving during this part.  I have become a "flat-landed tourister" (in my dad's words).

It was a fun trip.

I managed to catch my preferred flight Monday morning (still flying stand-by) and landed in St. Louis early in the afternoon.  I joined the Southerland family on a Monday evening outing to an ice cream store. 

I stayed the night in St. Louis and Tuesday morning, we took a little walk to a nearby park for a picnic. Notice the chain of events in these next four photos.  Those geese were many and aggressive!

 

 

 
 You can see a mini splash-park in the background of the last photo.  Of course, the grandkids had to play in it, even though we didn't pack swim suits.  Oh, well, it was a hot, muggy day and it was just water.



 

 

 

Steve drove in to St. Louis Tuesday afternoon because that night, it was Mormon night at the Cardinals game.  Too bad, the White Sox won :(