The Month of July

Ok, here is the other stuff that we did in July. We were able to have S with us for 2 weeks and we had a great time with him. He is a great kid. We went boating and all the kids went wake boarding. They are getting so good at it. S and E even tried and they seemed to like it. We went to the Virgin River for family night and had a ball. I think Mike liked it best of all. He ran and ran an played as much as his huge body would let him. We stopped for root beer floats on the way home. We spent the Fourth of July on Beaver Mtn. The weather was perfect and we loved trying out our new tent. It worked great and we are grateful to have it just in case the need arises. Grandpa and Grandma can to join us and the kids always love it when they come. They get much attention from them and they soak up every minute they can. Although, grandma realized that I have a little cheater on my hands. G loves playing slap jack but for some reason it turns into slapping anything and so she wins each time. Grandma Katie was a great game player for G. We relaxed in the mountains and didn't think of much except how fun it is to spend time with family in the great outdoors. On the 24th of July we decided to give our kids a pioneer experience. Joe's 4th Great Grand mother is Ellen (Nellie) Pucell Unthank. They have a bronze statue of her when she was ten years old on the campus of SUU in Cedar City. We drove up there and told our kids of the story of Ellen and how she was such a good example of perseverance and strength. You can read her story here, it's worth reading,
http://www.handcarttreks.com/General/History/Martin-Willie%20Personal%20Stories/ELLENPUCELL.pdf . Then we went to Brenda's for a fabulous BBQ and open plunge. We always have a good time at the Blake's because of their great hospitality and love and support that they always give. I have been reading a book, which is great, and it says that the most important room in the house is your back yard. You can make so many memories there and so Joe and I decided to re claim our back yard from Mike. We sold our wave runners this month, boo-hoo, but it has given us a little extra in the failing economy so we took a little of that stash and are re-making the back yard into a family bliss. We took the kids to Home Depot and bought wood and materials to build Mike a dog house. It was a lot of fun. The kids helped with nailing and screwing and Joe did all the carpentry work. It took all day but the kids were so excited about the finished project. Next, on the list is a fence to make a good size dog run with shade and then re-due the grass and fix the tramp. Mike may not be to fond of this idea but he'll have to learn to live with it. I will keep you updated about the backyard and maybe show pics. This next week is the last of July and I get to take my girls to 4-H camp. I will update on that next week. I hope all is going well with everyone else and enjoy the pics. Love you all!