Fishers Freedom Festival

The town of Fishers celebrates "freedom" the weekend before the 4th of July. There is a parade, fireworks, a race, and tons of vendors that set up their wares, as well as crafts, face painting and a Frisbee dog show. Our family helped pass out water to the run/walkers this year. It was hot but a lot of fun. The kids had a blast getting all of the free stuff that was being passed out and making the crafts.

Lightning

We have had the craziest weather this year for the month of June. Super hot weather, lots of rain and super hot temps. Nathan was excited to watch the lightning storms and got some pretty cool shots.

School's out so there is lots of time for other projects like building a volcano. Dayton was super excited to construct a volcano and then add the vinegar and baking soda to have it "explode." He would have liked it to have been a much bigger explosion but practice makes perfect.

Orange Belts

Testing for the orange belt was a week after school ended and the award ceremony was a few days later. All of the kids passed and received their orange belts which is very exciting because now they get to spar. They get padded gear to put on their heads, shins, feet, hands, wrists, and elbows. When you move up a stripe you can pass in a few ways. You can pass with a red stripe on your belt, which means you did everything perfect and one of the judges recommended you for a red stripe because you did something really well. You can pass with a blue stripe, which means you did everything really well and didn't make any mistakes. And finally you can pass with a white stripe, which means you missed something and should work to master that skill as you move on. Mackenzie and Dayton passed with blue stripes and Alexa passed with a red. They all did really well and they are super excited to start sparring.

With the gear on you can now have contact with other kids. They practice the right combinations of hits and kicks that are choreographed and each person takes a turn. At first they were a little hesitant to make contact with other kids. They had no problem hitting each other. Mackenzie was sparring with a boy and he came at her a little aggressively. She was first and did everything right but really soft. After he hit her a little hard she laid into him. It was hilarious. Next step...Senior orange belt.

Goofy with Grandma

We had such a good time in Ohio. It is just so nice to be able to chill at another location and have fun doing sometimes nothing. Next time Alexa may be taller than grandma and Dayton will for sure get there eventually.

Water Fight

Dayton wanted to have a water fight. So on Friday afternoon the fun began. Grandma and I filled up tons of water balloons and the battle was on. Kids against Dad and Grandpa. No one was off limits. I ran out to take a few pictures and was nailed. The sling shot changed sides about half way through. I'm not sure who won but everyone was thoroughly soaked.

Ride on Toys

When the girls were little they were given a jeep and 4wheeler by Grandma Barbara. We lived in Sandy, UT at the time and had a backyard with a fence. Alexa was pretty good about steering and not running into things. Mackenzie ran into everything. We moved the toys to Ohio and left them at grandma's house because she has a larger yard. The girls got back on them this week and it was pretty funny to see. Their driving abilities have improved drastically. Needless to say, they are far to big to be riding these toys but they spent a good hour on them one afternoon and the squeals of laughter we heard were priceless.

Rain

It rained every day we were in Ohio. Usually at night but occasionally during the day. I love Ohio rain storms. It looks like a sheet of water just falling from the sky. I love how green everything is. I hate the humidity but I live and have lived in the wrong places to complain. Dayton wants to move somewhere where it doesn't rain ever. He isn't a big fan of the thunder and lightening. I don't love the severe thunderstorms but the full on sheet of rain...bring it on.

Nelson's Ledges

Who doesn't like to climb on rocks and into crevasses? We love Nelson's Ledges. It is so fun and we could have spent a ton of time here but it was so muggy. We climbed under, over, in between and around all kinds of rocks. After a hour and a half we were all really wet due to the moisture in the air. So we headed home.

The Potato Chip

We were eating potato chips at Grandma's house when Grandma pulled out this huge chip. She gave it to Dayton and he wanted to save it forever. I took a picture to remember the experience but right after the picture, Dayton dropped it and it broke:-( So then he ate it!

Memorial Day

Touring the ship. Grandma and I stayed behind and the kids wanted to see the very top. Nathan and Grandpa wanted to see everything inside of the ship. The adults thought it was really cool. The kids thought it was hot and they had to walk too far. It is a massive ship.

Blowing Bubbles. This was really cool. It was a sheet of bubble making

material and if you blew softly you could have the surface bubble.

The kids all took a turn playing Mary had a Little Lamb.

Alexa is attempting to land the space shuttle. She crashes the first time.

It is harder than it looks.

Mackenzie and Dayton built structures on the moon.

We headed to Ohio for the first week of summer break. We surprised gma and gpa by showing up on Sunday night. They thought we were coming on Monday or Tuesday. So Memorial Day we headed to Cleveland to check out the Great Lakes Science Center. We have been there before and the kids have a blast every time. Who doesn't have fun with interactive science.