We went bowling with Jack's buddy Adam and his sisters.
Our tomato plants have been going crazy; we can't keep up with them! We pick them all the time, and I'm always gifting them or bringing them to parties, but still we have too many. 18 plants may have been beyond our reach, I'm afraid. Luna sure loves them! She can see the plants from her bedroom window and whenever we look out, she and I wiggle our fingers at them and whisper, "Grow, grow, grow." She's super content to help us pick them, too.
I took the kids out on the Fourth of July to see the fireworks, while Todd stayed home with Luna so she could sleep. She'd had a rough time coming home near midnight from Utah, and we didn't want to give her two late nights in one week. It was totally sad to not have the whole gang there, though. Just not the same.
Our back-door neighbors invited us to a pool party that day, as well. We haven't had much contact with them, other than the time Todd was told he couldn't build his dream tree house, so we made an effort to accept the olive branch and go. The kids had tons of fun, but it was socially awkward for me. There were lots and lots of people there, and we didn't know any of them.
Speaking of backyard projects, Todd finished the zipline, and the kids are in love with it. It's getting tons of use, and has been a big hit when friends come over to play.
I took the kids to the zoo. The giraffes drank from the stream, and the elephants pooped in front of us, so we got a good show. This docent also gave a great presentation on elephants that was interesting to listen to while we stopped for lunch. We learned that you can make paper out of elephant poop, and that they can remember each other even when they've been separated for decades. Pretty cool stuff.
Some days with Luna have been really hard.
The kids finished their swim team season strong. Everyone got a first place ribbon at some point, and they all enjoyed the Sharks team. We will be back next year!
Thursday, June 19th, Hope, Vlad, and Luna joined us on our drive out to Utah for the Bonner family reunion. It was a long day in the car. We stopped at Circus Circus in Vegas for the night, and let our kids go swimming and check out some circus acts at the resort and stretch and rest. Then we finished the drive on Friday and arrived at Laura and Tyler's cabin (mansion) in Bicknell late afternoon.
We saw this delightful sight on the way - Napoleon's Pizza, complete with an Uncle Rico truck parked outside! I was excited Todd stopped the van for a picture.
Hazel was excited to see a tetherball set outside. Apparently, she's quite the tetherball master at recess. She sure schooled Vlad!
Tyler and Laura were great hosts, showing us around to some of their favorite places near their cabin. We had a huge game of tag on the sandy hills out here.
Todd and I won the cool Uncle and Aunt award and got all the 10-and-unders to want to ride in the truck we were driving up the mountain on Saturday.
It was a beautiful day.
Back at the cabin, the cousins shared their mini motorbikes. Hazel and Jack were both really excited to learn to ride them.
We went out for shakes at a place with some table games. Gemma, as usual, was a fierce contender at air hockey.
Jack held his own against Vlad in foosball.
On the walk home, we stopped at the local park and played for a while. Todd did some tricks. He also tried to make himself barf because he felt queasy after eating some rotten pineapples in his shake. No success, but he put on a great show in the meantime!
See, I told you it was more of a mansion than a cabin.
Back at home, the kids - inspired by some people they met in Vegas - have been working hard to learn some magic tricks. They put on a show for Todd and me, and it was adorable.
Sadly, I have no pictures for this one, but the 31st was Harry Potter's birthday. We went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream - and the kids wore their Hogwarts cloaks! - took quizzes to see which Hogwarts house each of us would have been sorted into, and painted our nails to match. Hazel and I are firmly in Hufflepuff, while Todd and Jack are both Griffindor with a strong Ravenclaw second, or Griffinclaw. Gemma, meanwhile, was one percent more Slytherin than Griffindor, making her a Slythindor.
That night, the kids watched the first Harry Potter movie with Todd (while I was at book club) and made cookies in the shape of sorting hats and wands. Adorable!
