What matters most...WARNING! Syrup ahead!

This past summer my goal was to do things with my kids that would build memories.  Not to fill their time with trips and activities that would cost lots of money but do things where they would build genuine relationships with each other and grow stronger bonds than the ones that already exist between them.

I remember growing up with my own siblings and mother and the things that are etched in my memory of when I felt our bond grow deeper and I wanted that for my own children this year.  They are so small and I know the sooner these bonds are made the stronger they will be as they grow older. 

In August I was thinking I failed at this goal.  I was discouraged thinking we spent too much time "running errands" and they spent to much time playing with their friends and not enough time together...until I started looking through the pictures I had taken on my phone.  I realized I'd accomplished my goal without even thinking about it.  Here's the results... 

We took a little get away to St. George with the Griffee family. I wasn't so sure I'd be able to go because I got out of the hospital a week before we went. This is the pool we spent 90% of our time in in our backyard.

 The toodles waiting for Kk at piano on Great grandma's front porch...fresh apricots make it all the sweeter. I love that they have such a special relationship with my grandma and they get to see her every week.

 She's such a goof and I love her for it.She is my amazing helper/babysitter and I don't know how we'd get along without her!

 Where I found the babies daily.  Waiting for Daddy to get home. I cannot express in words the feelings I have for my husband or the amazing man he is.  But this picture shows just how much they think of him also.

Favorite place to play after daddy gets home. There is a significant age gap between Kk and the rest of the kids but once they start playing together you'd never know it.

We spent a few days at the pool.  It was amazing to see them play and run with just the four of them.  Plus I survived the pool solo with all four:)

This little princess is a learning experience for me everyday.  Just when I think I've got her figured out she throws a new twist into her crazy personality.

We spent some time with cousins this summer. We loved going to see some of the game for the U19 World Rugby Championships. My kids and their cousins are more like siblings. Since Michael and I both grew up with strong family ties we LOVE this.

He is always smiling and he LOVES people.  ALL people.  I love that he is so much like his daddy.

More time with cousins at the Autism Carnival.  It's was so hot but they loved it all. Cage has played protector to her one of her cousins since they were tiny.  I love that they are so close and play so much.

We got to spend some time at the cabin the summer.  One of the times we were up there to work we got to spend a night by ourselves before the rest of the family got there. We realized it was the first overnight trip we had ever taken with our kids without some other family.  It was beautiful! The Boys favorite thing to do...throw rocks in the water.  Luke liked it so much that when we came home he threw them in Marley's water bowl for days.

This is the mom to Michael and Adam's best friends from high school.  It was so hot at one of the rugby games we went to she let all the kids take the ice from her cooler and put it on their skin.  They loved having her rub it up and down their arms also.  It was a sweet memory.

Most years one the 4th of July Michael plays in an annual Rugby tournament in Park City. This year his brother decided to come play also. Most already know that my Kk is a huge help to me but it's rare that I catch a picture of just how helpful she is.  I love this picture and how much it shows that she cares for her siblings and cousins.

One of the best memories I have from summer when I was little was playing in the rain. My younger kids are afraid of the thunder so they are perfectly happy to watch from the window while Kk runs and jumps and gets soaked in a down pour. But...after is a whole other ball game.  This puddle was there for days and they asked to go to it everyday...so we did.

On our walks and runs this summer there were several times this little guy fell asleep.  He tries so hard to keep up with the "big kids".

Not 5 minutes after we took this picture, that shows the full personality of the Cage so well, it turned into a torrential down pour.  We got  soaked and laughed and played the whole way home...until the thunder started.  Then they RAN.

During the week when Kk would go play with her friends these three would sit in the backyard playing for hours! Landscaping our backyard was some of the best money we have ever spent.  Their little magical minds think up a thousand different games to play with a trampoline and a tiny play house.

I love moments when my children recognize the magnificence of the world around them.  They stood and looked down on this beautiful world for quite a while.

A true family picture of all the crazies I live with.

The times we spend together without excess company (not that we don't love and appreciate it) are the times we grow the closest.

you will be hard pressed to EVER find this boy without a truck in his hand.  He will stop mid sentence to point them out. He will scream if you try to take them from him. 

I love the area we live in.  It is so beautiful year round.  We love to hike together as a family to enjoy fully the place we call home.

Michael's company had a Lagoon day and we had so much fun together.  We got Buddha onto 1 roller coaster and then he was done but Kk & Cage rode over, and over, and over.

I saw this fantastic facial expression 1000 times that day.  I never want to forget how just plain happy she was.

This boy LOVES his daddy.  We are so blessed to have such amazing little spirits in our home.

Baby boy fell asleep at aunt Hooly's house while I did her hair.  He NEVER does this.

Aunt Holly got a new "toy" and these crazies could not wait to try it out.  Thank goodness for Cousin Ty Ty to watch them and play with them.

We walk...a lot. There is a Target store pretty near our house so during the day when we need something for a treat we're making or for dinner that night we walk.  I love when we have enough time to let my children run there imaginations to their hearts content.  Sometimes it takes us 15 minutes to get there sometimes it takes an hour.

We had a lot of opportunities to do things for free or nearly free this summer.  Michael and I feel strongly that we need to expose our children to as many of these opportunities as we are able.  They love going and learning.

Ice cream is a summer staple in my opinion. (I'm going to blame that one on my grandma)  We found out this summer that Farr's Ice Cream has free kiddy cones everyday of the week so everytime we passed it my babies would all start yelling and asking if they could get ice cream.  Well like my grandma I can't resist a good deal or a good ice cream!

 

 

There are so many other moments from the summer, like finding fort on a mountain hike, running through sprinklers all day long, spending time with the family at the cabin, working together to build blanket forts, etc.  I love my family and know they love each other. I am working hard to grow their bonds and an experience the other day with Buddha showed that it is working. 

Buddha is a mellow kids who is usually more than happy to play anything you want and just be your buddy.  The other day someone said something to his sister he apperently did not like because I came into the conversation just in time to hear "you cannot talk to my sister like that!!  She is my sister!  you have to be nice to her!"  My children are becoming feircly protective of each other and I couldn't be happier about it.  There bond grows stronger daily and I know that it will be beneficial for them as they grow into adulthood.