I have decided that the hardest thing about summer is trying to keep the kids off of the electronic devices.  I get them off the TV and suddenly I realize they are all on an ipad or computer.  Then I get them off of those and the next thing I know, everyone is in the basement playing video games or playing on a phone.  Finally I just put an end to it all and said whatever they are doing has to not require electricity.  It seems to be a good guideline, so whenever I say "no electricity" everyone knows what that means.  That seems to free up our time to get chores done (we actually got the whole house clean at one point and we have gotten a lot of weeds out of our yard as well).  We've also had lots of fun too so I will be posting some of the things we have found to do that don't require electricity.  :-)

The first idea was a lemonade stand.  I think Skylar and Adam actually did this the very first day school got out.

A few days later Adam was wandering around saying how bored he was, so he put together some lego boats and he and Rebecca tested them out in the hot tub.  They actually floated, at least for a little while.  For some reason the boats didn't make it into my picture.

Rebecca has discovered Pinterest and has a whole list of fun crafts and activities to do this summer.  Here is the first one we tried:

This one actually did require electricity because we used the heat lamp over the stove to melt the crayons.  It was really fascinating to watch as it melted and ran down.

Stay tuned for some of our other activities and adventures.

July Decorations

Last week I decided it was time to get out all my red, white and blue decorations.  Then I decided I needed to make a few additions.  Here are a few of our festive decorations:

Just used some left over red, white, and blue yarn to make different sized yarn balls and put them in a tall glass vase.  A very economical decoration....and it looks pretty cute on my table top.  :-)

Do you have some red, white and black beans in your food storage?  Just layer them in some tall glass vases and voila:  a fun decoration for just pennies.

I had a couple of red, white and blue bowls in my cupboard and decided to position them around my flowers instead of keeping them in the cupboard.  They look cute and now I remember to us my bowls too.

This ended up costing a little more than I thought it would because I had to keep going back to get more ribbon.  The directions called for a 12" wire wreath and I decided to use a larger one of 18".  I just tied 9" pieces of ribbon in double knots to make the design above.

Elevated Dog Lounge Bed - by Rebecca Powell

Rebecca designed and made this lounge bed for her dog, Ace.  He loves it!

Elevated Dog Lounge Bed

Costs about $40 to make

Supplies to make one for a large 60 lb dog

30”x35”

·   2     35inch pvc pipe

·   2     30inch pvc pipe

·   4     3 way corner pieces

·   4     6inch pvc pipe pieces

·   4     pvc caps for legs

·   open weave plastic mesh (outdoor material)  47”x45”

·   long rope that doesn’t stretch

·   ¾ inch grommets

·   grommet puncher

(all pvc pipe is 1inch diameter and schedule 40)

If you can’t find the right size for the corner pieces, you can use adapter pieces.

Piano Recital

Adam and Rebecca played in a piano recital last week.  They both did a great job!!!

SCHOOL IS OUT FOR THE SUMMER

For some reason that last month or so lasted forever.  It was hard to keep everyone motivated until school was actually over but I think we did it and everyone finished up strong.

Tanner had his Seminary Graduation on June 1st and then his High School Graduation on June 3rd.  His was the first graduating class from the new Corner Canyon High School.  It was a nice graduation ceremony and Tanner looked so happy.

 Grandma and Grandpa with Tanner

 Mom and Dad with Tanner

 Nate, Tanner, Tanner, and Tanner (yes, all 3 of them are named Tanner)

Tanner and Erin

Summer has arrived!  Now I finally have a minute to get caught up on my blog.  This will be a quick (or not so quick) recap of the last month or so.  It has been crazy busy but lots of fun.

END OF APRIL
Tanner got to play with his High School Soccer team in the Salt Lake Real Soccer Stadium.  They didn't win but Tanner said it was really fun.

MAY 17 

Adam and I went to the Scout Expo for a few hours and he had a great time!!  He especially liked the rock climbing and the obstacle courses.  The line was too long for the zipline...we'll have to do that next year.

 He is the Number 18 Kid

That evening, Rebecca had an end-of-the-season soccer party with her team.

MAY 21

We went with Tanner to an Awards Banquet at his school where he received several awards.  I won't list them all lest I appear to be bragging.  :-)

MAY 26 - MEMORIAL DAY

My flowers were blooming in my yard.  There were tons of flowers at the cemetery as well.  We visited Grandma Dodge's grave and spent a little time exploring the cemetery.  In the evening we had a bunch of friends and neighbors over for a pot luck BBQ.  

MAY 27
Adam played one of the 3 pigs in his 3rd grade play at school.  He was one of a few kids who actually had a speaking part and he did a great job.

We also went to an awards banquet with Tanner for his HS Soccer Team.  

MAY 28

Rebecca had a band concert at school.  She played the Bass Drum in one number, the triangle in another one, and the tambourine in the last song.  They did a good job but the picture didn't turn out so good, therefore it will not be included.  :-)

MAY 29

My mom turned 85 so we had a birthday celebration at my house with my brothers and their families.  We had cake and ice cream.... and yes, it was chocolate!   :-)

MAY 30

Tanner, Adam and David went on the Fathers & Sons Campout with the ward.   They had a great time as usual and Tanner was a good sport to go.  Adam was so happy to find out that Tanner was going to go.  (I wouldn't really call it camping though since they stay in these really nice cabins.)

MAY 31

A new addition to the back yard play area.... BADMINTON.  In the picture below, they are actually playing some sort of volleyball with a soccer ball but they mostly play badminton and everyone seems to be quite good at it.  The worst players are mom and dad which seems to delight the kids.  :-)

Well, that about wraps up May.  Stay tuned for some pictures from the first week in June including Tanner's graduation.