Summer Update

Hello!  That last blog post was just a bit of a downer, eh?  Let's cheer up a bit with some photos of some of the fun we've been having this summer.  Buckle down....this is going to be a long one!

 This is quite possibly my favorite picture ever in the history of the world.

 Feeding ducks with grandma and grandpa A.

 Aubrey has been having SO much fun with her summer nanny, Joanna.  She is one of the aides in Aubrey's class at school, and Matt knows her from high school.  We hired her to come and take Aubrey a couple of times a week for a few hours.  They go and do all kinds of fun stuff like swimming, bowling, riding the ferris wheel at Scheels, and playing at parks.  This is a photo of when she took Aubs to Thanksgiving Point.  It has been a huge help for me this summer...and freed up time for me to do things like grocery shop, run errands, and all sorts of things that are super hard to do with Aubrey and Charlie  in tow.  We just love her!

 It's been hotter than heck down in the Valley, so we head up to the mountains as often as we can.  It's still warm up there...but walking in the shade next to a cool river is much more enjoyable than the alternative.

Aubrey won't let me paint her toe nails...Charlie is a more willing participant.

Charlie enjoying "chocolate toast".

Swimming at Matt's brother's house on the 4th of July has become a bit of a tradition.  One that we love!

This year Aubrey got to swim twice a week at school, and it has made a huge difference in her confidence in the pool.  As long as she has her life jacket on, she is completely independent.  She can swim all over the pool, and even puts her face under the water.

The Avett Brothers finally came back to SLC this summer!  Hooray!  So obviously we got tickets as soon as they went on sale:)  It was at the Red Butte Garden's Amphitheater.  It was the first time we had been to that venue, and it was awesome!  This photo was taken while we were waiting in line to get in...for 2 hours...in the heat.  But we had fun playing cards, and people watching, and talking to the other people waiting in line.

 Of course the show was incredible, as it always is.  But this was our 6th time seeing them live, and I think this was my favorite one yet.  It had been pretty muggy and overcast all day.  Right after the band said "Thank you, we love you, good night!" it started to pour rain.  I mean, down pour.  But we all screamed and screamed and they came out and did 2 more encore songs while we danced in the rain with all the happy people around us, and its gonna sound lame...but it was a really beautiful moment.  We just had the BEST time.

We're cute, don't ya think?  Going to these concerts is my favorite date with Matt.

 Over the weekend we borrowed the N family boat, and invited a few friends to spend the day boating and hanging out with us at Jordanelle Reservoir.  We had so much fun!  Although I managed not to get any pictures of Dave and Mikelle or Brett and Carlee's family.  The boat is Aubrey's happy place.  She would stay on it all day.

 It was a long day for this little Gus Gus.

 How great is this picture?!

 Despite his somber face, Charlie had a lot of fun...and was so good all day.

 Love these folks!

 The cold water is my happy place:-)

 These guys have known each other for a loooong time.  I'm just sad Brett and Dave aren't in this picture.

Matt's happy place.

The end.  Stay tuned, because I have had a blog post churning around in my head for the past couple of days...so I will sit down and write that as soon as I get the chance.