Swimming Lessons

 That is a picture of Luke to pacify those who say I don't post enough pictures of him and then refuse to look at or comment on my blog anyway.  Not that I'm bitter or anything... :)

The girls FINALLY took swimming lessons.  We put it off for far too long, but they did great.  Actually, Sara was too scared to get in the water the first day, but after some chats, reassurance, (and maybe the bribe of a happy meal...) she got in the second day and realized not only was it safe, but it was fun.

 They both passed off the first level and are ready to move on.  I will try and find them a class before the end of the summer, but even if we can't get them in more lessons, we will definitely be getting them in the water more so we can eradicate the fear Sara has.

This is Sara inching her way in on the second day.  I got her there 10 minutes early so she could ease her way in.  I am proud of her for conquering that fear and completing her lessons.  I know it wasn't easy.

Seven Peaks

 While we were staying at my mom's house during the fire, we decided to take some time to relax and headed out to use our passes at Seven Peaks.  It was a lot of fun.  We are glad we can go back whenever we want with these passes.  The kids loved it, and Ross and I would love to head there alone for a date as soon as I get the go ahead for physical exercise from my doctor.

 I spent most of the time in the shade with Luke and my Kindle.  It was loverly!

Princess Camp

 My cute friend Emily decided to promote her new pre-school by holding some fun week long summer camps for kids.  My girls were lucky enough to get in to her Princess Camp, and they LOVED it!  Here are some fun wands they made one day. 

 It was only an hour a day, but it was so fun for them to get excited about each day and gave them a good motivator to do their daily chores because they couldn't go to camp until they were completed.  It was also fun for Jack and me to have some one on one (kind of. . . the baby was there too) time. 

They have Art Camp with Emiy in a couple of weeks, and they can't wait! :)  If you are in EM and are looking for an awesome pre-school teacher for the next school year, let me know and I can get you her info.  She is wonderful!

 Also, here is a picture of Luke snuggling with me. 

The View of the Fire From Our Street

Last Thursday was a little crazy for us.  It started out normal.  I woke up, got the girls ready for Swimming Lessons and headed out.  After swim lessons, we headed over to my mom's house because Grandma and Grandpa Jones were driving through and we wanted to meet up with them when they stopped by.  While chatting with them, Heather mentioned to me that the news said there was a fire in Eagle Mountain and asked if it was close to me.  I told her I hadn't heard anything about it, so probably not.  I was wrong.  When we went inside about an hour later, I got on facebook and saw panic ridden posts from all of my neighbors because the fire was indeed very close to my home, and they were talking about evacuating our division because of the smoke and bad air quality.  Since I was already at my mom's house I didn't like the idea of taking my allergy crazed and asthmatic self out to a giant smoke cloud especially if I might get out there and be told I couldn't go home at all.  I called Ross and had him stop by home after work to grab some clothes and the dog, and we stayed at my mom's house to keep out of danger.  The kids loved this. 

 The fire was less than half a mile from our house.  Some  friends in our ward who live up on the mountain had some of their trees and pasture land burn, but thankfully there were no structures harmed.  these are pictures my neighbors took from our street.

 Look at all that smoke in the air!  We went back home the next morning to check on things.  The smoke and ash was so thick I could hardly breathe even in the house, and I got really dizzy.  We went back to my mom's for another night.

 My friend on the mountain took this.  They were trying to protect more of their land.  It worked, and you can still see the flame retardant mark on the hillside.

 My neighbor said she could hear the fire crackling at night.

 It burned our whole mountain.  It is all black now.  We are worried about the loss of vegetation because it might make the floods this year worse.  It has also led to lots of little critters coming down and invading our space.

However, nobody was harmed and our houses were safe, and that is not something that can be said of every neighborhood in our state that has faced such close proximity to these fires.  We are also grateful to my wonderful family for taking us in without any notice.  We are blessed.