Pioneer Day

 This day started bright and early with the kids and me heading out to Cedar Fort for their Pioneer Day pancake breakfast with some friends of ours in the area.

When everyone was sufficiently sticky with syrup, we headed over to the museum which had some fun displays of pioneer culture and memorabilia pieces. There was also a bell out front, which the kids got a little fixated on.

 I thought my mom would like this. Things don't seem too bad now, do they?

 After running off some syrup induced energy at a park, we got ready for the big event- the parade!

 For such a small town, they actually put on a pretty good show. All the kids came home with candy, and beanie babies.

 For three moms, this was a lot of little people to take care of, but they were all really well behaved. I was grateful to Katie and Heidi for inviting us. We had a really fun morning with them

 This was Jack's favorite part. Is that not the cutest thing you have ever seen?

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house, fetching a mama kitty and some kittens to stay with us for a bit, and lighting off some fireworks in front of our house with the Packs. I didn't get any pictures of the rest of the day, but it was a good one. I wish Ross had been home for more of it. Everything is better with him around!

Major Award

 I won a banana split in a Facebook contest, because I am kind of a big deal. Such an auspicious occasion called for a family night at the ice cream place. :)

 Sara LOVES licorice ice cream. Makes her Grandpa Jones proud.

 Apparently Luke needs more practice on this particular dessert item.

Jack refuses to believe that his owl hat doesn't fit him and is not necessary when it is more than 100 degrees outside. Pick your battles, I guess.

Zupas

 We all have a thing for the tomato-basil soup at Zupas. I turned around for a second, and this guy made sure that none of it went to waste. Liked that thing clean, he did!

Swimming Lessons

 We put the older 3 kids in 2 rounds of swimming lessons this summer. They have all had some phobia issues with water, so we were hoping to overcome some of that with extra support and exposure this year. It has helped a lot.

One day while I was hanging out during the lessons, a baby bird fell from a nest in the tree over us, and landed on our towels.

 When it got overwhelmed with all the little faces peering at him (I wouldn't let any of them touch it) he jumped into Emma's back pack. We had to get creative on safely getting him out of there and out of the reach of other kids.

 All the kids advanced at least one level in the 2 sessions, and Emma advanced 2. They are still behind where they should be at this age, but it is getting better, and I am proud of them for facing these fears.

 Mr. Luke was usually a joy while we waited for his favorite play mates to come back to him. I got a lot of reading and Gospel Doctrine prep done during those times, which was really nice. Some days it was the only hour I ever had to sit and not work.