July - Summer Time Fun

More Bucket List activities were checked off the list:

Open up bank accounts 

Make a tent on the clothes line. This one included a fan and music! 

Baking yummy treats

And when our ice maker broke, Dallin was shocked and amazed that I KNOW how to make our own ice. It was pretty funny. We've been making our own ice ever since. 

7-11 day could not pass without getting as many Slurpees as we can. I think we got 3 or 4 in one day. 

We've been having some missionary discussions in our home with a couple who own a waffle truck. We finally got to try some and they did not disappoint. Next time I'll get my own so I don't have to share. 

Dallin got to try out something new at a friend birthday party - rock climbing! It was such a neat idea for a boys party. 

  

And the big game of dodge ball was pretty great too. 

 My hometown of Waynesboro does a Summer Extravaganza and fireworks show a few weeks after the 4th of July. It's a fun tradition to head over the mountain and watch the show. 

And the kettle corn is a must have treat.

Carmen had a busy few weeks of volleyball. She tried out for and made the Crozet Volleyball Club. Which was so exciting after not making the team last year. 

She also attended a week long volleyball camp at Lofton Lake with her cousin Peyton. The final day of camp was a family day where we got to come swim and watch a few games. 

We've also tried a new experience, a baseball game. We went to see the Washington Nationals play. It was hot and crowed and a really long walk, but I'm glad we've had the experience. 

Dallin brought that glove in hopes of catching a fly ball, but they never came to us. 

Charlotte and Dallin took some much needed swim lessons from our sweet friend Rylee. The goal was the achieve their green bands which means they can swim in the deep end by themselves. 

And she did it! Green band day was an exciting day Charlotte. And while Dallin got much braver about the deep end, he will still need another summer to work on it. 

David and I got to have a fun evening with friends trying to escape from the escape room. We actually made it out, due to no help from me. I honestly felt so lost the entire time. But luckily I was on a team with some really smart people. 

David Exits Frontline - Teledyne

After spending nearly 15 years at Frontline/Teledyne, David spent his last day at work. Soon he will be spending his time in the classroom instead of the office.  They threw him a "retirement" party at Burton's Grill. This cake was something spectacular and I hesitated to cut into because it was so cute. They had made him this camping/kayaking themed cake. It was such a nice event and they all said such wonderful things about David. It made me feel proud to be his wife. 

While is was hard to make the decision to leave Frontline, it feels rights and we hope for many wonderful new adventures to come.  

Bean Family Reunion

While Carmen and I were finishing up Girls Camp, the rest of the crew headed to Bear Lake in Utah for family reunion. Lots of games were played and laughs were had.

  Meanwhile, Carmen and I were stuck in the airport waiting for our flight to meet them. We eventually reached the slap happy stage and played around with picture apps and filters. 

We took some nice family pictures that included everyone except for one grandchild. What an impressive looking bunch! It is such a blessing to be part of this great family. So many wise siblings, fun cousins and uplifting conversations. 

All the Bean grandkids and great grandkids. Grandma Bean is one lucky grandma! 

 We took a hike through those beautiful Rocky Mountains. Hiking in Utah is way different thank hiking on Virginia. No humidity and nice cool mountain breezes. I could not get over the beauty of that trail. 

(they do occasionally get along)

Uncle Tim was teaching Dallin how to throw the football.

We played in the freezing water at Bear Lake and went out tubing on the boat. This was our first time here and it was just gorgeous. 

 If it wasn't board games, it was volleyball back at the cabin. These games got pretty crazy sometimes. 

Aliza and I were mostly cheerleaders

Each evening after dinner, families were assigned to give a little spiritual thought. They were all really great. I loved this one about holding to the rod and not letting go. At the end everyone got hugs from Grandma. 

So much food and good times. 

 We ended the week with a showing of Who Shot Juanito Bandito. We are all huge fans of Juanito now and would love to see more shows. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. 

And of course, you can't visit Bear Lake without indulging in raspberry shakes.

 After leaving Bear Lake, we spent some time in Lehi and Salt Lake City. We went to the children's museum with Rebecca and her family. 

No trip to Utah is complete until you've visited the BYU campus, bookstore and bowling. 

We also happened to be in town the same time as some of our Mountain House friends, so we met them for dinner. The Lehikoinens were some of our best friends to hang with when we lived in California. We sure miss all of our friends from there. 

And finally we spent time at Uncle Tims house eating, playing games, and hanging in the hot tub.  Cousins make the best kind of friends.  While we love Virginia, we wish we lived closer to our Bean family. Everyone just needs to move East. 

I'm not sure exactly how many trips we make to Lucky's to get snow cones, but it was more than once and each time they seemed to get a little bigger!