Meeting half way...

I forgot to add that we made another trip to Cove Fort in Utah.  When Matt, Carter and I went to Des Moines the kids and I met up with Laura and the kids half way to give up Ashlynn for a days.  Cove Fort was the perfect meeting spot to get out and tour this historical place and let the kids enjoy time with their cousins.  We had a sweet sister missionary that was our tour guide.  She was a delight to be around during our tour.

Official Tumbling Photos

Ashlynn's professional tumbling photos turned out so cute! She loves tumbling and has just about mastered her back hand spring. It makes me gringe every time she flips backwards...but she makes it look so easy. Ashlynn was asked to be on their competition cheer squad but she declined the offer because it does not interest her right now. I am not sure why she is so against any competitions..she likes to have fun with no scoring and judging. I do appreciate her honesty and she knows what she wants to do.  She has taken a summer break and will be starting up classes in September.  She wants to be able to do a back hand spring with out any support, so she is signed up just for this specific class (back hand spring) this year.  She can't wait to get started again!

The County Fair

Ashlynn came to me very concerned that she has never been to a fair before and she felt the need to experience this event.  I had to think about this..and my reply was well we have had lagoon passes and didn't need to go to a fair if she wanted to just ride the rides.  She said it was more about the animals she wanted to see.  So, we went along with our neighbors to the Davis County Fair and walked through all the petting barns, watched a elephant and bear show, and walked through the arts and craft exhibits.  Which we were so interested in the things people entered into the contest.  Ashlynn is wanting to enter next year with some of her creations.   We also grabbed some traditional fair food and rode a couple of rides. I think she was satisfied that she finally has been to a fair.

The Junior Olympics Tournament

 Remember a few posts back when I was talking about Carter has his hobby of cup stacking, well we were so impressed with his intense practicing most of the Spring/Summer that he begged us to let him go to the AAU Junior Olympics competition in Iowa.  He worked really hard to qualify to get into the competition and he did it!  This was a once in a life time opportunity for him! So, we went and he had the best time and left Iowa wanting to do more cup stacking and still talks about the AWESOME time he had there. We were very thankful for Matt's family for donating flight miles for us to be able to go to this tournament. Thanks for the support for Carter!     

 Carter met some new friends and they would hold cup stacking competitions in the hotel lobby and also met up in the hotel pool for swimming fun.

 We were very impressed with Carter's ability to stay calm and enjoy himself because I was a nervous wreck waiting for him to compete.  He was able to qualify for the finals and he was so happy about that! That was a goal he set for him self to make to the finals. He was slightly nervous for the finals but was able to beat his qualifying time and placed 7th in full cycle competition. Although he didn't come with a medal he was very satisfied with a ribbon and he is already planning on next year in Virgina...Yikes...! This was all started because of his fun PE teacher in 4th grade and Grandma & Grandpa Peterson supplying a gift card at Christmas in which Carter got his very first set of cups.  I love that this sport brings out Carter's confidence and happiness in him!

 After the tournament was over we ventured out in the city of Des Moines to do some site seeing.  We ate at some fun restaurants.  We found a place called Zombie Burger and it had the best milk shakes and the place was decorated in Zombie decor even the employees looked scary.  It was fun! Then, we hit the science center to end our fun.  Bright and early the next morning we caught our flight home and I couldn't wait to meet up with Ashlynn again.  She was staying in St. George while we were away. Thanks Mike and Laura for entertaining her! This was such a fun experience for Carter and we are so glad that it was a positive experience for him to remember for a long time.   

More crafting girl club projects

Ashlynn is still busy with her crafting girl club projects that Grandma Bobbi sends our way. She always looks forward to them in the mail.

24th of July Celebration!!

This was the year that we planned to attend the "Days of 47" in Salt Lake.  It was one of my things to do on my bucket list since living in Utah. So, we stayed in the Little America Hotel just a block away from the parade street (so we wouldn't have to worry about parking and get up too early to get a good spot).  

The day before the parade was Matt and I's 15th year Anniversary.  We have started a tradition that we catch a baseball game and there is usually fireworks after being the day before a holiday in Utah. So, that is just what we did, but this time we brought the kids since we were going to parade in the morning. We caught a Bee's baseball game with a great firework show then it was off to the hotel. We then walked to our spot for the parade and got a front row spot and waited for the famous parade to start.  We brought along hand held fans, misters and lots of water and treats while we watched the 2 hour long parade. We were impressed by all the fun floats and got into the pioneer spirit. We then headed back to the hotel to swim then headed home. We had a great time downtown and we are really considering starting a new tradition for pioneer day. It was a highlight to see President Monson in person. The kids were super excited that he was on our side of the road and waved to us as he went by. 

Radkids

The kids attended a week long course that taught them all about being safe. The radkids program supplies kids with such good information that I highly recommend it to every kid to attend. The information they teach the kids can be a little scary that is why you have to be 8 years or older to take the class but it keeps kids aware of things that could happen.  They were taught several self defense moves to get them out of situations where people have grabbed them.  The man in the BIG red suit was there for them to practice on and boy did those kids hit hard. They were also taught to be loud and make lots of noise and use every move they had to get away from the bad people. Studies have shown that kids that use these guidelines get away and avoid bad situations.

Ashlynn with certificate of completion.

 Carter with his Certificate of completion.

 Ashlynn suited up to defend herself.  She was too scared to fight the guy in the red suit because she is not a fan of anyone dressed in a costume, but she did practice her "stay back" stance and asked the man what the password was to see if he was safe to go with. Then she ran fast to get away.

 Then it was Carter's turn. He kneed the guy right in the tenders and caused lots of groans. Carter was loud and hit hard.

This was time spent well this summer! The kids are definitely doing this again next summer for a refresher course.