Rock Climbing

First, a side note. It's been awhile since I wrote (obviously), but I'm finally catching up. Now that girl's camp is over I can focus on other things. There was so much to write about that I decided to talk about each event in a separate post. So keep reading. There's plenty to read about.

On to rock climbing. The first date Jake and I went on was rock climbing. Most of our dates consisted of rock climbing and we did it tons when we were first married. Then we had kids, and things just seem to get in the way. We've finally gone climbing a couple of times this summer. I love it! We definitely need to go more. These are pictures of climbing in AF canyon with Matt and Mandy Brown. We also used to climb with them in college. Now we climb with all of our kids. It's great. We found a perfect spot in the shade and the kids had fun climbing and running around. Jake didn't climb because he hurt his hand earlier that day. He was very supportive though:) Zack had fun climbing and swinging on the rope. It was fun to watch him trying something we love.

Cowboy Kids

We went to the traditional Oakley Rodeo with Jake's family. Of course I had to dress the kids up. Cost way too much money, but it was well worth it. Memories last a life time right? Kate wasn't exactly cooperating for the pictures, but she's still cute.

Girls' Camp

I made it! Girls camp came and went and I survived! Actually, it was a great experience and I loved every second of it. I admit that I was nervous beforehand, but once I was there it was great. The girls are amazing. I love working with the young women. Everything turned out really well despite the efforts of a bear to stop our camp. We started out Monday at Camp Aerie in Marion, and by midnight that night we were in a cabin in Midway. You can't stay at a camp with bears around. Especially not when you're responsible for everyone. Even with the change of location everything worked out wonderfully. The girls had a great attitude about everything and fun was had by all. I think I would stay with this calling forever if I could. I loved it!

Zack's Birthday

Zack's four! I can't believe it. Time flies. Zack requested a pirate cake for his birthday. He's way into pirates thanks to Grandpa Spjute. We had some friends over for cake and ice cream. Weeks ago he walked into the office and said, "Mom, I want a better batter baseball". Chalk one up to the advertising pros. They had Zack hooked. Even Kate talked about better batter baseball. So of course we had to get him one. It's actually a pretty fun toy and Zack loves it.

I love having Zack in our family. He is wise beyond his years and was blessed to have a sweet, sensitive spirit. I love that he can build better houses with his lincoln logs than I can. I love his curiosity about how things work, even though he ends up breaking everything because of it. I love his contagious laugh and I especially love his hugs. You haven't had a good hug until you get one from Zack. I can't wait to watch him learn and grow through the years.

Farmington Festival Days

I grew up in Farmington, and festival day events are becoming quite the tradition with our family. We do the 5k in the morning, followed by breakfast and a parade. We definitely kept the tradition alive this year. I ran in the 5k along with my sister Alicia, my dad, and my brother-in-law Toby. I managed to pull off first place in my age group. Not too bad for a *& year old:).

After the race we added a new part to festival days. This was the kids bike race. It was great. Zack got to ride in the race with training wheels on his bike. He was so proud to have his own race number. He got off to a bit of a rough start when someone crashed in front of him. He had to wait for them to move before he could get down to the business of racing. It was great fun to watch and Zack loved every second.

The kids race was followed by a delicious breakfast compliments of my mom. We stuffed our faces in true Spjute style. Then we headed to the parade. The kids took home a huge bag of candy, which means the parade was a success.

Then we ran home, did some yard work, and headed out on the boat with the Browns. Super fun as usual. Jake took a crazy tube ride and loved every second of it. The grin on his face was so big he looked like a little kid again. He was super soar the next day, but said it was well worth it. Quite the full day. Play hard, work hard...that's my motto. Even better when there's more play than work.

4th of July

We hung out with our own little family for the fourth. We ended up going to Cabelas (Jake's idea). Cool place for an hour, definitely not cool for three. The one store where men shop and women sit on the benches.

After our Cabelas adventure we drove up AF Canyon, over the mountains, and home to Midway. We had a fun BBQ with our friends the Seitters, and then of course we did fireworks. Zack was so excited for fireworks this year. He couldn't wait for it to get dark. All in all, a good day with the fam.