Two Lanes of Freedom

I treated myself to a GNO to see Mr. Tim McGraw in his Two Lanes of Freedom concert!!  i LOVE Tim!! He is my country cowboy Brad Pitt :)

This is the 3rd year in a row I've gone to see him perform, but this year us girls opted for PIT tickets-- front and center=extraordinary!! 

Suzi, Reg, me, Chenille, Julee, Angelise, Donna

It was fabulous being up so close-- just like a small-venue concert.  The first part of the concert he played a bunch of songs I've honestly never heard!  I was totally taken back cuz I thought I knew ALL his music, but evidently not!  Of course he was just saving all the best stuff for last, including my fave, "Felt Good On My Lips" with a special [on-screen] appearance and new verse by Pitbull!!  LOVED IT!!!  

Most the girls had their hubby's in tow, so Suzi became my offical date.  Thanks Suz! 

ps: The side-shows [trailor trash, skanky hoes, swingers, drunken mess, chick fights] were as entertaining as always!  Where do these people come from?!

Fieldtrips 1+2

Thanks to my friend, Lisa, we have another summer full of weekly fieldtrips and bookclub planned.  It's so great to know we'll be getting out of the house at least twice a week to do something worthwhile.

Our first outing was to visit a

Honey Beekeeper's farm!

Our host taught us all about honey bees, showed us his worker's uniform, his tools, his bee's wax and, of course, his honey bees!  We also got to sample some fresh honey.  Very educational + very cool!

 Our second outing was

hiking!

We hit the Dark Trail up Settlement Canyon.  It was 3.7 miles round-trip, easy, shady + fun!  The boys especially loved crossing the logs + throwing rocks in the water :)

Summer Haircuts

The boys got new hair-do's for the summer:

Wyatt--high + tight

 Ezra--mohawk!



Fitting, eh?

SeVenTeEn

 Jarom turned SeVenTeEn!!
The fam headed out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  Jarom was a good sport and hopped on the saddle while we sang to him.

Then we went miniature golfing!  Fun times!

We finished off the weekend celebration with the Gygi family party:
He was spoiled with everything he could've asked for :)

Jer made Jarom's favorite cake:
Raspberry Cheesecake
[from scratch, of course-- so delicious!]

Mindy's birthday is a couple days before Jarom's, so we celebrated hers too-- Happy Birthday Mindy!

BaseBall

Wyatt played his first year of Minor League Baseball!

He was lucky enough to have Dad as assistant coach!  Jer's bud Shaun coached, and his son, Zach, Wyatt's friend, was on the team.  It was a fun season + the boys played really well.  Wyatt is an excellent batter, and really enjoyed playing 1st and 3rd bases.  He even stepped up and did some pitching-- very nerve-wracking-- for both him and me!!  

Meanwhile, the whole fam got baseball fever and often could be found at the batting cages or playing catch.  Great spring season!

Ezra opted to play spring soccer instead of baseball.  He had his best season yet!  He's a great offensive player, scoring his share of goals!

[pic to come]

Here's the little treat the coaches received :)

Run s'more!

My uberly awesome sisters ran another half-marathon together!!  Utah Valley.  They rocked it!!  I was bummed I was stuck at scout camp for the umpteenth time and couldn't join them :( 

Way to go, girls!!

 Here's a couple motivational quotes for my runner sisters, my triathlon hubby, myself training for my next tri, and anyone else out there who's working their hardest towards their next goal:

I just have to throw in this cute treat I brought for my primary class when I subbed last week:

[got the idea online]

And this fun treat we had for Family Home Evening--

unfortunately, it was more fun to make than tasty.  Biting into frozen pineapple and kiwi is as painful as it sounds, even if it is chocolate-covered!

Birthday + Baptism!

 Ezra celebrated his 8th birthday!!

He had a party with friends--

Colten, Wyatt, Tyler, Zach

Cody, Ezra, Jake

He opted for donuts instead of cake, which he wanted decorated like Pokemon balls:

...which Cody must have know about, cuz he showed up with this cute, personalized card:

He scored a new bike (he's been through 3 hand-me-down bikes-- finally a NEW one!)

We took the boys to play laser tag!  I was on the green team with a bunch of littles, Jarom was on the blue team with another bunch of littles.  Guess who won?  Why, the green team, of course!!  I took second place in score and first place in accuracy!  Pretty proud of my laser shooting skills ;)  So fun!  I wish I could talk Jer into going to play with me sometime (hint, hint)

We also had the Gygi-fam party:

Ezra wanted breakfast-for-dinner-- crepes, hashbrowns + sausage!

Enjoyed a Pokemon cake

Hung out with the cousins

And received many more great gifts!

 Turning eight is extra-special for us LDS folks, cuz that's when we get baptized!! 

Ezra was baptized on his actual birthday, which is rare, by Jeremy and confirmed by Grandpa Alan.

Thanks to all the family who came out to share in this great day :)

 He received his own set of scriptures too, which he's been avidly reading everyday!

Love you Ezzy!!