Finishing up July

Thursday July 16th

 The stake primary was hosting a stake Activity girls activity.  I went to help volunteer for half of the day.  It was fun and they based the activity off of President Ballard's Conference Talk--"Stay in the Boat and Hold On" from October 2014.

 The craft they made was a cute little sail boat out of real drift wood from the coast. 

 Eating lunch with friends.

Friday July 17th

Alex had to fly back to Petersburg really early in the morning, so Garrett let him use his truck so that he didn't have to get up and take him to the airport.  So, that night all of us adults drove with Garrett to the airport to pick up the truck and to have dinner at this great BBQ place that's right there.  We left all the kids at home with a pizza.  

 I guess while we were gone, Sydney wanted to dress Lydia up like a cool greaser. Lydia's hair was full of gel!!  She looks cute though!

 Saturday July 18th

 Today we braved the heat and went to watch the Hillsboro AirShow.  It was SO hot!  It almost wasn't worth it.  Maggie was at a youth conference all day, so she missed it.  

 We usually just go to a park close to the airport and watch it from there. The Blue Angels were there this year, and they are the main reason I go!

Garrett and I left to go on a date (more on that in a second) and Jim and Georgia and Savann took the kids to see movies.  They split up and some went to see "Inside Out" and some went to see "Minions"

 For Garrett's birthday back in April, I got him tickets to go and see the comedian Jim Gaffigan and it was for tonight.  Garrett loves comedians and I love this guy because he is relatively clean.  And he has 5 kids so it's funny to hear his stories about having a lot of kids.  

 I tried to get a picture of him up on stage, but the lights were so bright up there it didn't really turn out.  

 So then I tried to get a picture of him on the screens and that worked a little better.  He was hilarious as usual and Garrett and I were dying!  The only bad thing was that it was SO short.  It felt like he was only up there for like 30 min. It could have been an hour or a little longer, but it felt really short!  I paid a lot of money for the tickets and I was hoping for a bit more entertainment!!  He was great though!

Monday July 20th

Garrett had to work that day, but Savann and her kids really wanted to go to the zoo, so they invited us along.

 Here's our gang

 trying to find the black bears

I really love this picture of Maggie because it's so funny!  We've been taking our kids to this zoo for their whole lives.  The first time we took Maggie, she must've been 3 or 4 and ever since she spotted the foot of this polar bear coming down from the ceiling, she's been terrified of it.  Even now when she comes, she hates going in there.  So, I had to get a picture of her at 15 and still scared of the fake polar bear foot.  She is so cute!

 It's also tradition to take their picture against this bear poster to see where they measure up against various bears. 

 watching the crocodile

 a sleeping cheetah

 goin' on safari

 Up in the Eagle's nest

The Guthries left to go back to Alaska on the 23rd.  

Friday July 24th

I was giving Lydia a haircut and Maggie out of the blue decides that she wants hers cut too.  Not just a trim but a hair cut.  She's had her hair long for so many years, the change was really cute!

 Such long hair!

 Not so sure!

 Before...

 ...and after!  

I thought it turned out really cute!

 I love that the kids like to play up in their "tree house".  They spend a lot of time out there!

Saturday July 25th

For some reason, Garrett and I were gone most of the day, but I have no idea where we went.  I don't have anything written on my calendar, so I guess it will remain a mystery.  While we were gone, the kids decided to have a tea party and a fancy lunch.  

I guess Lydia provided some musical entertainment and they danced around.  

Monday July 27th

 It was Maggie's best friend's birthday today and Maggie made Emma and herself these matching t-shirts.  She was so excited about them and they turned out really cute.

 That night Garrett helped Noah teach the lesson for Family home evening.  They taught about the anti-nephi-lehi's and how they buried their weapons and promised to never fight again.

 They gathered up all of Noah's weapons (and he has a lot!) and buried them in this basket and covered them with a blanket.  

 Noah showing off his muscles for the camera.

 Garrett helping Noah bear his testimony at the end of the lesson.

Wednesday July 29th

 For mutual, the girls were playing basketball, so these two decided to "dress-up" for the activity.

 Friday July 31st

 Playing outside--Paige decided to run through the sprinklers in her clothes.  

 riding his new bike

hanging out in dad's truck.  I'm not sure why the car seats were in the back of the truck.  

And that was our busy month of July!!

End of Summer Fun

I was so glad that we still had 3 weeks of summer left after we got home from our vacations. Last year, after we got back from England, we had one or two days until the girls went back to school. This summer was much nicer. We were able to get school supplies and school clothes BEFORE school started--that was nice! We had a fun time, but unfortuneatly, Garrett was gone for 10 of those days on a business trip in China and Hong Kong. We missed him a lot, but still went out and had some fun!

Here's some pictures from a few of our activities:

1) Building a Fort

The girls made a fort up in the playroom and kept it up for a few days. It was fabulous--they played in there non-stop and used their imagination in all sorts of ways. It was a hotel and a restaurant and a store...such fun. It reminded me of when my brother and sisters used to play in the summer. Our favorite things to play were school and office. Half the fun was setting everything up just right. We also used to build forts all the time. I love it when they play like this!

The Fort

4 cuties hanging out in the fort Pretending to be asleep Reading books

2) Oregon International Air Show

We were able to go to the Air show this year (minus Garrett). We missed it last year and we really love going. In the past, we usually went to Intel's Jones Farm campus and sat on the hill to watch the airshow. Then Intel decided they didn't like people on their property, I guess. Then we moved over to Griffen Oaks Park to watch it. So, that's where we headed this year. We packed a picnic lunch, brought a blanket, and our radio to hear the commentary. On the way over, it POURED rain! That was a bummer because now we had no where to sit, since we didn't bring any chairs. Luckily we found some benches available, and ate our lunch and watched a few planes. By the time we finished lunch, it started raining again. We brought rain jackets and an umbrella, so we watched it in the rain for awhile, but Paige and Bella didn't like that. So we loaded up in the car. I was really waiting for the Thunderbirds, because they are my favorite! So, while we were waiting...I thought we'd drive over to Costco because I had some pictures to pick up. So on the way over (we had to pass the Hillsboro airport--where the air show was) an F-18 (I think), flew over our heads--scared us to death because it was SO LOUD! It was so awesome, though. So we parked in the Costco parking lot and got out and watched. It was the perfect place to watch (even though you're not supposed to park there just to watch the show). I felt since I did some shopping there, that it would be okay! :) We hung out there and watched until the Thunderbirds were done. So fun! I left Bella and Paige in the car, since it was so loud--they both didn't like the noise, but Lyd and Maggie got out and watched with me.

Our picnic lunch

US AirForce Thunderbirds

Maggie and Lydia enjoying the Air Show

3) Seaside

I decided to take the girls to the beach, because the weather was supposed to be really nice and pretty hot here, so I figured it would be nice at the beach. I kept checking the weather and they said that it was supposed to be about 70 degrees and sunny. So we went for it. By the time we got there--about 3ish, I think, the temperature was only 63 degrees. We stayed for a couple of hours and the first hour wasn't too cold, but the second hour--Paige and I were a little cold. Maggie and Lydia didn't care what the weather was like. They had a blast playing in the cold water and playing in the sand. It was a fun to be there though.

Sand angels

Maggie--straight from the 70's :) Cute!

4) Oregon State Fair

We've never actually been to the State Fair before, we usually go to the Washington County Fair. But, we missed it this year. So, we went to the State Fair down in Salem. It was fun. The girls love seeing the animals, but their their favorites are the rides. It's so RIDICULOUS how much it costs to ride these rides--OUTRAGEOUS even. Yet, we always pay an arm and a leg so that our kids can have some fun at the fair. They really do have a great time--I guess that's what counts.

Paige milking a cow

Lydia saddling a pony
The girls petting the animals
Bella loving the babies
Admiring the cows
They loved the miniature horses

I thought this was a cute picture of all my "wanna-be" cowgirls watching the real rodeo cowgirls
Lydia and I on the Ferris Wheel

At the rodeo (although it didn't compare to the rodeo in Ogden, it was still fun)

Garrett and Lydia on a "spinning ride". Lydia loves these!

Me and Maggie on a ride like the Conquistador at Six Flags Arlington. It was her first time on a ride like this--she really liked it.

Merry-go-round
Look at those smiles!

Braving the Tiger Roller Coaster

Not sure why this one is so blurry

On that ride that goes across the whole park

5) Camping
Since we hadn't done a lot of camping over the summer, we wanted to go for Labor Day Weekend. We went down past Lincoln City a bit at a place called Chinook Bend RV Park. It was nice--somewhere we've never gone before. The forecast was calling for rain and cold weather all weekend long, so we were prepared to not go out a lot, but brought rainboots and rain jackets just in case. It ended up being a pretty nice weekend with not as much rain and definitely not as chilly.

"Shades" on the drive down

Pancake breakfast with fresh peaches
Going on a little hike
Our campground

We had to stop and watch the horses

Garrett's invention to keep Bella from falling out of her bed. This is her first time sleeping in the back bunks with the other girls. We were afraid that she was going to fall over the railing when she woke up in the morning, so Garrett used this old hammock that he made and fashioned a cover over the bed. She didn't like it at first (who would?), but that's where she slept all weekend long.

Checking out the beach in Lincoln City

Bella wasn't happy

Garrett racing his car on the sand

Maggie "lost her balance" and fell in the water. Inevitably my kids ALWAYS end up wet at the beach--even when they are fully dressed! :)

Bella practicing her fishing techniques