July Fun!

July is always an exciting month for us! There are so many holidays, I'm just going to post them all in one go this time...

The 4th of July

Unfortunately this year, we weren't allowed to do fireworks on our street and we figured we'd light some off at John house but that didn't happen... The kids were able to see some in the sky by our house though, so not too much of a loss...

On Sunday, the actual 4th we went to church and it was a pretty normal day. Monday was the first official "Grandcamp" where the kids got to spend the day with their cousins and Grandma and Grandpa Le Starge. We dropped them off with Grandpa in Provo for the parade and then John and baby Zack and I went and played frisbee golf at a park. After that, we did the Bridal Veil Falls trail and then went to Seven Brothers Burgers (the Max Burger was so good!!)

That evening we played games with everyone at John's parent's house. The kids had finished the parade and came back to Grandma and Grandpa's for mac and cheese and hot dog octopus lunches and to do a water slide and chalk in the backyard. They had a lot of fun!

John's birthday

John turned 33 this year! We celebrated with his requested dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Random, but that's what he was in the mood for. 

After dinner, he opened his presents. One gift was a game called Palm Island. Aaron was super excited and opened it for him before handing him his present. Haha! We were a little more careful after that. 

We also gave him some candy (bottlecaps, turkish delights, lifesaver gummys, and hi-chews) and a pickleball set! 

After presents and cake (John asked for his mom's jello cake recipe) we went to the park to play pickle ball. John and David played together for a bit and I was surprised at how often David was able to hit the ball! He may have found a new beginner sport he can get into.

John and I played a one on one game for a little bit and then doubles for a short time before Zack was crying too much and we had to go. At least we have the paddles now so we can play again soon!

Deb's birthday

This year I turned 28! And a few days later I realized I accidentally put the candles in the shape of 27 instead... Oops!

John took work off for my birthday this year to try to give me a break! He took the kiddos to the park for basketball and an arts and crafts thing while I made my birthday cake. He always offers to make me one or buy one, but I usually have a very specific kind in mind that I want to try out. This year it was the Smore's Biscoff cake by Cupcake Jemma. As yummy as this cake was, it was almost too much for me... I realized that I definitely prefer a lighter filling like custard if I'm making a rich chocolate cake. Also, one of the kids stole a taste a little early... haha!

Other than making a cake, we had a wii tournament with the kids and then John's brothers were super nice and watched our kids for us while we went to Olive Garden for dinner. 

Since John's main gift to me was a break (which was super needed and great!) the rest was pretty chill. The kids picked out some candy and a great metal spatula for me. Along with that, John made me a fun photo explosion box and fixed a pair of my earrings that I haven't been able to find a replacement for! Overall, it was a pretty great birthday!

Pioneer Day

A lot of parades have been canceled this year and as I mentioned about no fireworks being allowed on our street, we didn't actually do anything for pioneer day this year. With our extended family being out of town, we ended up working on the kitchen floor most of the day. Not really a holiday activity, but the floor's almost done now so that's great!

And with July being over, we're looking forward to Brooke's birthday and a trip to the Oregon coast coming up! That and school starting up again at the end of the month. One fun month ends and another ones is starting!