Last Day

All good vacations must come to an end. We drove to Park City this morning to hit the Nike outlet. All the kids got new shoes for pretty good prices. Tiffany and Justin came up this afternoon to swim. I also got to visit with Annette and hear about some of her great stake primary ideas. I'm excited to pass along all the amazing things they do. Nikki and Luci are both swimming like little fish now. They both swam half of the length of the pool without any help. Then we headed to dinner with Margaret and Steve and packed up the car. It's so much easier to pack for the return trip. Aaron went fishing with Steve just before dark and caught a lot of fish, and even more mosquito bites. I'm so sad to see it all end.

Skunks and Good-Byes

After a week of trying to capture the stinky skunk on the property, it finally got caught in the trap this morning. So the remaining four Nadauld families drove the skunk to it's final resting place..the creek. It was sad drowning it because it was just so cute with it's fluffy little skunk tail. It went pretty smoothly accept for trying to retrieve the top part of the trap not attached to the rope.

We went to Margaret and Steve's ward and then ate dinner with a couple of Aaron's brothers and their families before they all took off. Aaron's friend Damon came to visit in the late evening and we had so much fun meeting their little Deacon and catching up together.

Dancing King

The brothers left on a four wheeling ride this morning. No one got stuck, no one got hurt...it was quite unusual As usual, they had a great time with lots of funny stories to tell afterwards. The women and children swam and played together. We went to a free outdoor concert while some of the families went boating again int he evening. Cameron has quite the moves. I love watching him dance; he does it all the time these days.

Our Last Parade

I love parades. And I LOVE Provo's fourth of July parade. Fortunately for us we hooked up with the Ashtons for the perfect parade set up. We drove to the Ashton's home and then to their friend's house, one block from the parade. There was no traffic at all and when we arrived Gary had a tent and chairs all set up for us. Annette made some delicious cookies and the kids were so happy with cousins.

I say it was our last parade because I don't think Aaron wants to go back again. The space between the floats made it a little long, but still enjoyable. We left a little early so we ended up missing all traffic entirely. Our favorite ones were the missionaries, Jimmer, and Studio C. And then the song God Bless the USA always tugs at my heart. What a blessed country!

Once we got home the Nadaulds had just finished the annual triathlon. We played and and swam some more and then had a tasty barbecue. We were going to head up to Midway for fireworks but we had so much fun last night at our outdoor movie night that we felt a repeat was needed. We watched Here Comes the Boom with the same concession stand. After the movie we put all the kids to bed who fell asleep (everyone but Cameron who napped for four hours today) and then we gathered around the fire with the adults for some serious entertainment. I love just sitting and chatting with all the family.

Fire Pit, Slides, Boating, Crafts, Movies, and Uncle Adam

The fun is non-stop around here. The finished slide is a huge hit. Besides the bees at the top, the kids are in heaven. The men finished the fire pit yesterday. It's super cool and at night us adults gather around it while chatting. The families went boating today. Noah got up on the surf with Nick. The kids did crafts with Susan and we prepped for the big family movie night, August Rush, under the starry sky. We used the reclining pool chairs for some comfortable seating.

I love watching Nicole and Matthew play and swim on the steps all day. I overheard Matthew say something hilarious today..."Do you want to know why I want to get married So, she can answer all of my questions and I can pick off her plate."

Cameron spends most of his day following Adam around. He really likes him, that "other daddy". It's so interesting since they know that they are different, but they still feel totally comfortable with each other's twin.

I remember one reunion in Island Park, when Noah was little, he would get upset anytime he saw Adam holding Cole or Dane, because he completely thought it was Aaron. Now that the kids are older it's easier for them to tell and thankfully Adam doesn't mind a few extra little shadows.

There IS crying in kickball!

One of the first things we did besides swimming, train rides, and visits with all the cousins was play a round of Nadauld family kickball. Some adults played, but most of us watched while the kids created teams. This was the first time Matthew could play without being held or using a wheelchair. All of his surgeries on his hips and legs now allow him to hold up his body with the use of his crutches, something he couldn't do before the beginning of this year.

Matthew is strong enough to balance his body on the crutches and swing his lower body forward to whack the ball. It was quite a miracle watching him. We all cheered with excitement. He used his crutches and made it safely to first base. Because crutches require so much effort Adam came and helped him run to second and third.

When it was time for him to head home he started on his crutches. But because it was slowing him down too much, a few feet from home he threw his crutches down and flung his body forward. Then he crawled a little and stretched his body touching the plate with his nose.

There wasn't a dry eye in the crowd.

More Family Time

We continued swimming throughout the day. There were lots of workers at the house finishing up the pool, cement, driveway, garage...we had a front row view on the pool lounge chairs. I know Margaret and Steve have been working so hard to prepare the house for this week and have spent a lot of money on our entertainment. I feel really grateful for all that love and generosity.

We watched U.S.A. lose in soccer this afternoon. Since we couldn't be in Brazil for the World Cup we thought we would head to Tucanos for a real taste of it. And of course, it was delicious. I understand why children, six and under are free. They pretty much ate their favorite salad bar toppings...olives, sunflower seeds, canned peaches/pears. pineapples, and grapes. They did like the sausage they brought around...or hot dogs (as Cameron called them).

Then the kids played around with Rebecca and James' kids until bed. They all get along so great. Mary's tooth fell out as she was brushing her teeth. I'm so glad because she was feeling a little bit worried about it and it was affecting her ability to eat.

It's been another wonderful day for this sun-burned lady.