Anderson Adventures: August 2017

The month of July can sometimes drag on as the kids get ornery when they are off of a schedule for too long. Our summers can be crazy, but I love having the kids home and free to do whatever. July was kicked off by celebrating the fourth of July at my parents with a good bbq and pool party. My brothers Chad, Kyle, and my Dad lit off some fireworks in the backyard for all of us and it was a great show until the neighbors palm tree caught fire. Luckily they got it put out quick with the hose and that was the end of that. The kids finished their last few weeks of swim team. I was so proud of the growth I saw over this season in them all. Bentley and wyatt worked so hard they developed quite the shoulder, peck, and ab muscles. The swam in the final Championship meets and Wyatt got a medal in the Butterfly. This is typically the hardest stroke for anyone, but for Wyatt it was his fastest stroke next to freestyle. Bentley did awesome in the IM(four lap medley), and freestyle. Bailey did great in was fast in the Backstroke. Once swim team came to an end the kids got kind of bored. However, we got busy and organized the house, went school shopping, and worked on reading and writing. There was still a lot of swimming and playing with friends as well. And of course lots of cool treats to help us deal with the heat and humidity the July Monsoon storms brought. We watched our neighbors dog Sarge and they allowed us to use their pool while they were gone which was nice. Our pool is making progress but it is slow going and feels like it will never be done. It will be nice to have that done so we don't have to load up and pack snacks every time we go swim somewhere when we want to cool off. The boys have continued playing hockey on Saturdays and they enjoy scrimmaging and playing with their team there. They are looking forward to starting flag football in the fall. Jon has kept very busy this summer and especially this month since he decided to move his office form Phoenix to Mesa. It was a lot of work for him to do but he has enjoyed being closer to home and avoiding the rough commute into Phoenix. After that he and I got away for a quick weekend to San Diego to see my good friend and college roommate Brittany get married to her finance Jim Mcfarland. It was so nice to be in the temple with Jon and to attend this sacred sealing of one of my favorite people. She and Jim seem great together and I know they will do great things as long as they allow the lord to be apart of their marriage. Marriage is a partnership not just between husband and wife but between them and God too. I have found when Jon and I put our pride aside and allow the the Lord to be apart of our marriage that is when we find the most joy and happiness. They had a lovely luncheon on the coast of La Jolla and the food was delicious. A few of us friends and family were able to stand up and share our thoughts to Brittany and Jim which was nice. After the Luncheon was over though Jon and I had to get in the car and drive home. While we were there we stayed at the nice Omni Resort in Carlsbad and had a beautiful breakfast together before the ceremony. It was also fun to see my other good college friend Corrine and to catch up with her. My parents were so kind to take the kids while we went. My dad even made the boys these cool cars out of wood and put their names on them and made them their favorite colors. The following weekend our good friends Laura and Mark Ellsworth invited us to go to up to Pinetop to stay in their cabin. It was a nice, relaxing weekend and we all enjoyed spending some good quality time before the new school started the following week. We went go carting, played games, watched movies, went on quad/ranger rides, fed the ducks, ate outside, and enjoyed the rain storms.