Thawed Out

Hello Family,

Thanks to Kevin, I found my longer post! Here you go... :)

Written July 7:

Here we are in July, and it's sunny and beautiful here in Calgary. I have loved seeing the city come back to life this spring/summer!! I don't think I fully appreciated the area when we moved in a year ago. There is so much green everywhere. Calgary really is a beautiful city.

School is now over (just got out the very end of June), and summer is finally here. The boys are done with baseball (I'll be honest, I'm not complaining... it was intense), and are now on to bike rides, shooting hoops, and playing in the sprinklers out back. Ryder's baseball team ended up winning the championship game, and I don't think you could find a happier boy on the earth at that moment. Cute boy. He and Cannon both had a great time. Hudson enjoyed his soccer team, but he constantly talked about wanting to play baseball like his brothers. Maybe next year.

We made our way down to Raymond for the July 1 festivities. Todd's grandmother is here visiting for a few weeks from St. George (she recently moved there), and it was great being able to visit with her. We enjoyed the famous Raymond parade, a family bbq, watching bits of the rodeo from the backyard and the fireworks show that night. Our Fourth of July wasn't quite as eventful, but I have big plans for hosting future celebrations. :) Todd operated on his sister, Robyn, that morning, so the boys and I spent the day helping her recoup.

We've enjoyed getting out and about now that the snow is gone and getting to know our city better. There are some great forest areas just a few minutes drive from us, with access to the Bow river and plenty of rocks for the boys to throw. And we made our way west a few days ago to Kananaskis country (just before Banff) and enjoyed a small hike to some falls. Todd took the older three boys on their first camping trip a few weeks ago, and it all came to an abrupt end when Hudson threw up all over Todd at 3am. Needless to say, Todd is not planning any other camping trips for the near future. Poor guy. But the boys had a blast the night before, so I think I may be able to convince Todd to give it another go sometime. We really do feel so blessed to live in such a gorgeous area! Come visit, and we'll show it to you! :) Todd has a couple of days off this week, so we're off to explore a lake here in town tomorrow and are heading to Calaway Park (an amusement park) on Friday. It's a scorching 75 here this week... haha! I don't know how my boys are going to survive the California heat during our visit. ;)

Todd's practice is moving along well, and we feel very grateful for the blessings of the Spirit and personal revelation as we try to make decisions for our family. It looks like we'll be moving to a different rental in August, which will make the end of the summer sure busy. Ryder, Cannon and Hudson are all attending a sports and adventure camp at the nearby Canada Olympic Park two weeks before school starts, and the timing will be super helpful as I pack and prepare to move. They are excited (and a little apprehensive) to try their hand at ski jumping, the luge, mountain biking, etc. Ryder still can't believe I'm making him do so many "Canadian Sports"! ;)

Only a few more days until the boys and I make our way down south to Utah before heading down to SoCal. We're excited to see you all! I'm looking forward to lots of time at the beach! Yay for summer!

Love you all!

Jenny

 The older boys with their cousin, Colton, at the Raymond July 1st Parade.

 Cannon on the last day of school.

 Ryder with his team after winning the championship game. Ryder is in the front left, next to the trophy.

 

 The fam at the family July 1 BBQ.

 Hanging out on the back deck after playing in the little pool and sprinklers.

Ryder on his last day of school.