A few weeks ago we went down to Nebraska City to see the Arbor Day Farm and Tree House we'd heard about from several people. It is a nature trail with a bunch of activities and facts along the way. They had different paw prints on the trail to guess what animal it was. Brooks did a lot better than I did. 
Spencer climbed the stairs to the tree house, I don't think he realized what he was getting into when he started! It was no small job, but he made it!
This is the top of the tree house. What a great view! 
Spencer loved being able to walk around outside and pick up sticks and rocks.
There was a deer that we kept following through the trees. He'd run away, but a few minutes later we'd come across him again. If you look really close in the picture below there really is a deer!
At the end of the trail there were several activities to do. This waterfall was cool, but it was surrounded by bees. So we moved onto the . . 
Blocks!!! We couldn't stack them fast enough for Spencer before he would knock it over. 
. . . and the chimes. Spencer definitely has the musical talent, he just needs to get the strength to lift the mallets!
We even got two free trees from the tour, so if anyone wants to plant a tree, we still have them because we have no where to plant them!
On our way home we stopped by Kimmel Orchard to check the price of their peaches. It turns out they were a pretty good price if I picked them myself. So I went and picked peaches while Brooks drove around in the car so we didn't have to wake up Spencer. When we got home I weighed the box and it was a way better deal than I thought I was getting. So for the next week we had Peach Delight, home made peach ice cream, peaches and cream, and we bottled what was left :)
Spencer climbed the stairs to the tree house, I don't think he realized what he was getting into when he started! It was no small job, but he made it!This is the top of the tree house. What a great view! Spencer loved being able to walk around outside and pick up sticks and rocks.There was a deer that we kept following through the trees. He'd run away, but a few minutes later we'd come across him again. If you look really close in the picture below there really is a deer!At the end of the trail there were several activities to do. This waterfall was cool, but it was surrounded by bees. So we moved onto the . . 
Blocks!!! We couldn't stack them fast enough for Spencer before he would knock it over. 
. . . and the chimes. Spencer definitely has the musical talent, he just needs to get the strength to lift the mallets!
We even got two free trees from the tour, so if anyone wants to plant a tree, we still have them because we have no where to plant them!
On our way home we stopped by Kimmel Orchard to check the price of their peaches. It turns out they were a pretty good price if I picked them myself. So I went and picked peaches while Brooks drove around in the car so we didn't have to wake up Spencer. When we got home I weighed the box and it was a way better deal than I thought I was getting. So for the next week we had Peach Delight, home made peach ice cream, peaches and cream, and we bottled what was left :)We had a TON of cucumbers from our garden, and after a couple days we were cucumbered out. So I decided to make pickles out of the rest. We got grandma's recipe and bottled them up. We can't eat them for 6 months, so we won't know how I did for a while! Hopefully they taste just like grandma's!
The weekend after the 4th we spent a couple days in California with the Tingeys. We had a super fun weekend at Disneyland. It was so much fun just to be with everyone. 
The happiest place on earth! Doesn't his face just say it all?
Having so much fun is tiring. And when all is said and done . . . a good nap is all they need - big or small!! 
The weekend after we got back from Disneyland we went camping with a bunch of friends. Everyone told us that July was the worst time to go camping in Omaha because of the heat, but the weather was actually beautiful. It was the perfect weekend to go. Spencer loved being outside all day. Cameron and Hailey played ball with him all afternoon!We are all a little out of practice with the whole camping thing so there were a few things we forgot. It was quite entertaining to watch Chris chop the wood with a hammer! Yep, a hammer, but he did a fine job with it.
This is Spencer saying, "Get up Mom! Get up!" 
This was the first time using our new tent. Brooks stepped inside it and said "Wow! This is like the Marriott compared to our other one!" He can stand up in this tent, and with the other one Spencer can barely stand up straight.There was a lake right by out campsite and on Saturday we played in the water. It was a bit chilly, but Spencer loved playing in the mud and the guys had fun playing football. 
After that we tried Dad's new little boat he got for his pond and went swimming - if that's what you want to call it. It was so cold it was more like just trying to keep yourself a float long enough to get back to the dock before freezing! Dad had a new game for us to play this year called Ride-n-Tie. You have two person teams who switch off running and riding horses. We had four change points, where the rider and runner switch. Melissa and I were a team. I'm sure I held her back. I didn't think I was that out of shape, but I am just going to blame it on the altitude! At least we didn't come in last! 
We also did a scavenger hunt and pinata, and the infamous human rubber band. 
We pulled it out and all the little kids wanted to play so we created a way for them to safely play! Spencer loved the horses, four wheelers, and endless dirt and rocks. He did great sleeping in a tent, I was a little nervous about him waking up the whole tent of girls in the middle of the night, but I should have been more nervous about them waking him up coming to bed! He even slept in his own sleeping bag.
On the way home from Tabby we stopped to switch drivers and when I got out of the car my phone dropped out of my lap. I heard something fall, but it sounded like a water bottle, so when I looked for it and didn't see it I thought it had rolled away. It wasn't until we got home that I realized it was my phone. Pearl and I drove back up the mountain only to find this: Sad, but at least we made it home!
The fun didn't end when we left the campout, Monday night we all went to the Oquirrh Hills temple open house. It was beautiful, Spencer thought it was a little long though. After that we had a girls night. We had a night full of toenail painting, to popcorn with chocolate (yes, chocolate in the popcorn - a new idea Melissa added), and High School Musical II & III. Yep, how much more girly can you get. It was a fun night, it's been about a year since we had all been together. - - Way too long!! - - 
We spent the rest of the week hanging out with the family, all the cousins, and visiting friends and grandparents. Thursday morning Rebecca, Ben and I woke up early and hiked Bell Canyon. It's a short hike a few minutes from mom's house. It was gorgeous as always, and they loved it. Ben gave me a glimpse of Spencer in a few years, all he wanted to do is climb on all the big rocks! 
It was a busy week as most vacations always are. We could have stayed longer, but we were very excited to be with Brooks again. So overall we had a GREAT July! And now I'm wondering where the summer went, everything is turning into fall. Which is sad, but we've have some fun plans for fall!!
