Swimming lessons

We started off the summer with swimming lessons. The boys did great! It was Lincolns first time having swimming lessons and I don't think that he was even a bit nervous. Carson has made great progress this year and has turned into a little fish. Just a few days ago Carson almost swam the whole length of our community pool. Both the boys jumped off the diving board. Lincoln was a little hesitant about jumping off the diving board, but Carson got way into it, and LOVED IT! I love that the boys love the water. What is more enjoyable during the summer months than spending time in a nice cool pool.

The 4th part 2

On the 4th of July itself we had a very busy day. We started out the day by going to the Rexburg 4th of July parade. The kids love the parade! Both Carson and Lincoln got WAY into collecting the cheap taffy that the people on the floats threw to the kids. Nate was constantly having to drag Lincoln back to where we were sitting, because he would wander away in search of candy. Lily was entertained during the parade with the help of a balloon. After the parade we went to the Rexburg rodeo. I think that the rodeo might be more entertaining for our kids in a few years. Lincoln was going stir crazy after about an hour and Carson only was interested in seeing the bull riding. I was terrified during a good part of the rodeo when kids were riding bulls! Seriously, I was shocked to discover that it is common practice to put children as young as 8 on bulls weighing 900 lbs. I was freaked out the entire time that some kid was going to get trampled right in front of me. Also the rodeo had a calf chase where all the kids go into the arena and try to pull dollar bills off of a calf. I asked my boys if they wanted to chase the calf and they both said yes. So we sent them out with all their cousins and about 100 other children. Well, no sooner had we sent Lincoln out there than he got separated from Carson and started crying. So Nate went and got Lincoln put him by Carson and told Carson to hold his hand and watch out for him. Needless to say Carson in the excitement of the calf chase ditched Lincoln and once all the kids were running in mass toward the calf Lincoln was left standing in the middle of the arena crying hysterically. When Nate finally got to Lincoln he was crying hysterically that he was afraid that the calf was going to attack him. In retrospect it probably wasn't the best idea to let my little boy who is afraid of cats go into an arena with a cow. Anyway it was one of those moments that was both humorous and sad at the same time. After the rodeo we headed back to my parents for our own fireworks show. The fireworks were awesome! I seriously think that we enjoyed the best home fireworks show in Idaho.

4th part 1

This 4th of July we continued our tradition of going to Rexburg. We started out the weekend hanging out around the house, playing in the sprinklers, and catching critters. I helped Carson catch the snake in the picture below. However, not being a expert snake catcher I had Carson hold it by the tail and it ended up biting him. The bite didn't hurt him just scared him a bit. Also on the Sunday before the 4th we went up to Mesa falls which is always beautiful.

Carson is 6!

Well, Carson is growing up on us. We celebrated his 6th birthday on June 30th with a low key family party. We sure love Carson! He is the best older brother. He is always sharing with and looking after his younger siblings. This school year Carson got a toy for good behavior every Friday, and almost every Friday he came home and gave his toy to Lincoln, just to be nice. That is the kind of kid Carson is, and that is one of the many reasons we are so glad he is part of our family. Love ya Carson!