ALL the summer things

Oh summer! We love you. It's so wonderful to get to hang with my kids and see pure joy on their faces when they are having fun. Carter and I have been counting down the days until Cars 3 came out and made a date to go see it! We both loved it!

 Brielle has met a cute little girl next door named Avery. They have become such good friends and spent most of the summer in their swim suits in the pool. On this day, the barbies were invited to a pool party.

 We went to school lunch often and heres a cute picture of Rylee enjoying pizza day! I was glad when friends came and ate lunch with us!

 And then theres the not so fun and glamorous summer days. Yes alot of days looked like this. Half dressed kids, eating cereal from the box as I'm just rolling out of bed. Notice Bri is still in her suit!

 Taking 4 kids to the store in the summer is one of my lesser favorite things to do. But Carter discovered he could give Rylee piggy backs and it helped me SO much. He was excited to get her out of the car and carry her into the store. And she of course loved it! I'll miss that when he's back in school! I love the special bond they have.

 Again a not so glamorous day....the food looks glamorous though! When it's just too hot to cook, we escape to the basement with plates of food like this and put on a show. On this particular day, Chad was working LOTS of overtime hours so it was just me and the kids and it was actually really enjoyable.

 Because we played so hard most days, many of the kids passed out in funny positions like this. Rylee went through a shoe phase and often fell asleep with shoes on her feet and barley hanging on the edge of her bed. This one was a pretty good one. Notice the shoe!

 And we always hit as many splash pads as we can to beat the heat! This one is West Valley is a favorite for all of us because I can bribe kids while I shop to have good behavior so they can go get wet when we are done! It works most every time!

 Oh and Rylee does NOT like splashpads.

 We've had a really fun summer and played very hard! Stay tuned for a few more trips and back to school! As fabulous as summer is, its always a good day when we are back to a schedule and normal bed time!

The Little Mermaid with my little mermaid

Me and Mol dont get many mom dates, but when we do we make sure to do something fun! Her good friend from across the street, Haley, was in the Little Mermaid play so of course we had to go see it! 

 Haley in her outfits during intermission and after the play.

 In the weeks leading up to it there was an Ariel's tea and Haley took Mollie with her to it. She got to meet all the characters and have cookies and color with them. Here she is enchanted by Ariel

 Coloring with Ariel and Enchanted by Eric.

 Scuttle and Ariel's sister.

She had a blast at it and we really enjoyed the play! We are so glad that we got to see Haley perform in it too! She did a great job!

A haircut and a bloody murder scream

It was just another day in the Hymas home. When one of the kids ran in with a wad of hair in their hand and said the dreaded words.......

BRIELLE CUT RYLEES HAIR.........

whhHHAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTT???!!!!!!

I screamed. Not just the "what" part....like a warrior getting ready to attack scream. It started with a growly sound and escalated quickly to a high pitched awful noise. It was ugly. 

 Then I felt better. And I knew there was nothing I could do. I'm sure the neighbors heard the scream...but I didn't really care.

 We've made it through 4 kids with no haircutting experiences. 4 kids! And here were are on the last one her sister decided to help her out.

 It's bad. There's a big ledge on the back of her head. Every time I look at it my blood boils a little.

 But then I smile. Because it is funny. And now looking back I can laugh a little. ....It still looks pretty bad. And I look forward to the day it will blend a little better!

Yes Brielle is still alive. And truth be told, that warrior scream might have saved her life. I truly felt a little relief of the demands of motherhood. Try it. You'll feel better. And it might save someone's life.

4 Fishies

No we didn't get a bowl of fish. I was blessed with 4 little fishies for kids! Every single one of them LOVES the water. Something they did NOT get from me. I was crazy and signed all 4 of them up at the same time which actually ended up working really well! Ry Ry was stoked to get to swim too with me in the mom and me class. 

It felt weird to leave Bri alone in the pool but she had no reservations whatsoever about being in the water. She by far is the biggest fish of the 4. She LOVES to be in the water.

We took the neighbor girl with us every day (Haley) and she was a big help to me! Carter did incredibly well this year and he can finally swim! He was doing front flips off the diving board by the end of it! He is fearless in the water. I wish he was a little more fearful! And Mollie went great strides as well getting more and more comfortable in the water and trying to swim as well! It was a good time had by all! 

This Man

He doesn't know how perfectly he is what I need him to be. 

 He is patient. Kind. Handsome! Loving. Spiritual. Happy. Carefree. FUN! Hard working. So many other things.....

 AND SUCH A GREAT FATHER !  He's been wanting some good running shoes for a while and he felt so guilty splurging a little (ok a lot!) to get these shoes that fit specific to his foot. I teased him but was glad to let him do it. Dads rarely time the time or money to spoil themselves I think! And I was happy to let him do it.

 He always takes time on HIS special day to make sure he spends time with all of the kids.

 And they are especially drawn to him on Father's Day because they want to show him how much they love him. Even if it disturbs a little napping. And he's ok with it!

 These girls (and boy) love their dad SO much. As do I. And I hope I can convey that better to him in the coming years. Thanks for being such a family man Chad. You're the best! MUAH!

Antelope Air

This year I really wanted to get back to Antelope since we haven't been for a few years and even when Chad wasn't able to go I was determined to brave it on my own. It started out beautifully! There's something about the air up there. It smells different and settles in my lungs easier. Its clean and refreshing and so many memories come rushing back to me when I breathe it. It's always the same, yet different each year. This year we went earlier in the season and it was covered with WILD FLOWERS of every color! It was beautiful so the first thing we set out to do was see all the flowers and do some sight seeing. 

 The bridge was always a favorite hang out spot as a young girl with my cousins where we would soak our toes and sit and chat for hours until the smell of dutch oven cooking would bring us back to camp. This year because of the snow pack, there was SO much water! It was the highest I've ever seen it in the 25ish years I spent going here.

 As always, the snack table at this reunion covers just about 2 large tables! The girls were in heaven when they found the cheeseballs!

 The grandkid fish pond is a big hit with the DeGiulio grands. Mom and Serena didn't dissapoint with the prizes!

 Bri's face!

 Good ol gramps had his trusty 4 wheeler up there. THIS was a highlight for me when I was a kid to get to be the one who got a ride on the 4 wheeler. And I'm sure we drove grandpa nuts asking him a million times to take us. Times have changed. Life has slowed down for him a lot. This was a huge highlight for him on the trip. I thought the girls would be scared but after a few slow laps, Rylee didn't want to get off! Gramps got a kick out of that.

 Wherever there is mud, it finds Brielle! Although I was slightly irritated that she found the mud it was really cute watching the great grands play in the same stream I did as a kid and that always had a watermelon or two staying cold in the creek.

 Poor Mason's pants just couldn't hold all that water and he eventually quit caring!

 Carter learned how to carve with a pocket knife this trip and was hooked after a few strokes on a stick. He now wants a pocket knife for his birthday.

Around this time, I went into my tent to get something. It had rained a little on and off and had been a cold damp trip. I moved a sleeping bag and it was really wet. I began checking other bedding and lots of stuff was wet. If there's anything I really hate its wet camping gear. UGH! From there on out the trip took a sour turn and I was starting to get anxious for home. Clyde and Evelyn didn't live too far and so I made the call to pack up and head there for the night for a bubble bath and warm bed. I was so glad I did even though I was sad to miss the campfire poems. But I was still glad I went even though it was a little bit of a trying trip. It was good to spend time with Grandpa D since he may not be able to do this trip for many more years. And to see cousins I rarely see anymore! And of course to clear my head a little and breathe some mountain air. I love nature!!!