Lagoon and other summer fun

One of my brothers called us up out of the blue one day in August and offered to pay for us to go to Lagoon with them. I went with the three oldest kids and we had an incredibly good time. In the past we have spent nearly all of our time in the little kid area. Our kids were even scared of some of the bigger kids' rides in the upper end of that area. However, when we got there, Mike's kids were very excited about Bombora, a new roller coaster, and other big rides. For some reason, just their enthusiasm and example made my kids all want to go on those rides too. When we got in line for Bombora, I was sure that at least Jonah would bail out in the end - but none of them did. (Jonah did have me hold his hand on the ride.) They all loved it and went on that and many other rides that I was sure were years away for us. They even went on Rattle Snake Rapids. I thought that my kids who can barely tolerate a shower would never want to get wet like that. Anyway, I was amazed, and it was a really fun day. It was great to be with Mike and his kids too. The downside was that poor John, who has longed for the day when he could go on some of the big rides with the kids, missed it all. So a week or two later, we bounced back and he loved it. It sounds silly to say we were so proud of the kids, but again, we just didn't anticipate this. If you had told me that Jonah's favorite ride would be The Bat - a feet-dangling roller coaster- I would never have believed it. And Tori and Eli went on the big roller coaster!

Now Maggie, on the other hand, hated everything. I had to take her off of the boats before they started, and although she's smiling in the merry-go-round picture, it was taken before the ride started. She tolerated the animal train, and that was it.
I'm including this picture because it may be the last time we'll get Eli on this ride or any like it. As much fun as it was, I am sad about the loss of the old era of spending my time at Lagoon waving to my little kids going in circles on little rides.

My sister, Kimberly, paid for my kids to go to a fun soccer camp. I wish I could say that they made great progress, but it would appear that my kids aren't willing to buy into the whole youth soccer craze. But it's always fun for them to be with their cousins:

These are pictures from a ward campout at Crystal Hot Springs. Maggie wouldn't swim, but the other kids loved it!

And then this was a fun camp we went to with my extended family. There were beautiful wild flowers all over. It was a really nice church-run campground that my mom and uncle arranged for us to go to. I didn't get great shots, but this is inside a cabin: