These days we're looking for anything to get us out the door and away from the boredom that summer days at home can become.
Lucky for us there was construction just down the hill from us that provided hours of entertainment for the boys over the course of a week. Cole especially would wake up every morning and ask to see the "trucks", so of course we had to make our way down to the piles of dirt--usually around dinner time, right before bath time. :)
Cole is infatuated with vehicles of any kind, but the larger, the better. He was in heaven with the small bulldozer that sat in the grass for several days.
Don't you love Virginia clay? Since it never washes out of clothes, it really is the gift that keeps on giving.
I love this picture:
He was trying so hard to see inside the bulldozer.
Our friends joined us with their sleds, turning the dirt piles into red snow-covered hills full of fun and laughter.
We were definitely sad to see the bulldozers and dirt go, but don't worry--the memory is forever stained onto the seat of several small pairs of pants.
I think I read somewhere that we've received almost twice the average amount of rain this summer. Twice! While I enjoy the cooler weather the rain usually brings, it does put a damper on our outdoor activities.
Actually, it really just turns into a different type of outdoor activity:
One day while Lance was with his dad, these boys decided the rain was a perfect alternative for playing indoors.
It finally culminated in this:
Two little boys in their skinnies kicking up mud and having a ball.
Valuable life lesson #317: Don't let your 18 month old go down a wet slide while he himself is also naked and wet. He will end up turning into a human projectile, catching air on the bump in the middle of the slide and fly off the end with such force he lands about 6 feet from the end of the slide. Yep. Right after his three-year-old brother did it on the tunnel slide. Check. Lesson learned.
Have you ever been ice blocking? I'm embarrassed to say that I lived for four years at BYU without going once! I mean nothing screams "Mormon" like going ice blocking with all your friends. To be fair, without the help of alcohol and other "recreational" tools, you have to be creative when finding fun things to do.
Okay, so I still haven't gone ice blocking, but I did watch a bunch of people and Jude do it. I currently serve in the youth group at my church and for one mid-week activity they went ice blocking at a local park.
It was a blast! If I wasn't afraid I was going to fall off the block and bounce the baby, I would have been all over it!
Basically, you get these huge blocks of ice (you can buy them in Utah, but here we had to make them), put a towel on top and slide right down.
These kids got up some speed!
Cole wanted a piece of the action and since Mom wouldn't let him do it on the ice, he had to content himself with sliding down the hill on his tummy. It was not as effective as ice. :)
Jude spent a good portion of the evening rolling down the hill and throwing pieces of ice that chipped off the blocks. (Lance was with his dad this night, so he missed it!)
They did a relay race with the youth...
...but this little guy kept getting to the ice first and stealing it away.
Stinker. He actually made it all the way down the hill (with a little help). I've decided ice blocking is definitely on my list of fun family activities at a family reunion.
And to top off the evening?
More ice!
Crazy boys!
