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July 2016 - Bear Lake & Grandparents

We got visits from both sets of grandparents this month--hurray!

Marmie and Grandpa came up for the 4th of July and we had fun lighting up the street and playing with cousins and sparklers.  Isn't Tad the cutest little patriotic baby :)?










I laughed at the counter in the guest bathroom when I went down one day.  Can you tell that Tyler was helping Grandpa get ready for the day?  You always need some good weapons when you're brushing your teeth.


We also got to do a family session at the busy, new Provo City Center Temple while they were here.  It was extremely crowded, but neat to go through the new temple for the first time.


And last but not least, we had a great Swingle family tennis match.  We played around the world and realized how very out of shape we all are.



We had a fun Ludlow family reunion at Bear Lake over the 24th of July weekend.  It seems like the group is getting smaller and smaller, but we had a great time with the extended family playing cards and hitting the beach.  It's usually the only time we get to go boating and the kids enjoyed tubing on the lake.  Garr brought a bunch of great games like potato sacks and ties for 3-legged races.

We were blessed to be able to do 3 loads of laundry in our 48 hours at Bear Lake.  Tyler threw up, Tad pooped everywhere, and then Tyler got a bloody nose.














We took the kids to the big Utah rodeo in Spanish Fork with Mom and Dad thinking that they would absolutely love the mutton busting, bull riding, and horses.  Turned out to be a bust.  They could have cared less and all they wanted to do was play tag in the grandstands.



We had our big Thrive Convention at the end of the month and Kyle brought the kids up to Layton stay for two of the nights.  I had the special privilege of being part of the opening act.  Mom and Dad even came up to watch.  Our big focus was on the new freeze drying plant and the opportunity it gives us to control product offerings and quality, as well as "Thrive-a-lot".  We launched a few new products, including a freeze dried pulled pork and a berry parfait mix that I'm slightly addicted to.

Kyle the Brave had Sara and Jason's girls for Friday afternoon and they spent the night in the hotel room with us.  It was a little crowded and slightly complicated with baby Tad needing lots of naps and being in the same room as all the energetic kids, but Kyle braved the hotel pool with 5 kids ages 5 and under thanks to an arsenal of life jackets.





Alexa has been doing gymnastics this summer and she has really loved it.  It was one of her big birthday presents in May and she loves her pink, sparkly leotard and shorts.  Because of gymnastics she got calluses on her hand and when she realized it she said, "Look, Daddy!  I have strong spots just like you (points to calluses)!  I am so strong!"

Our fun July stories:
Me: You were a really good helper, thank you.
Alexa: That's because that's what I want to be when I grow up.
[heart melting]

Alexa: What's a law?
Me: Rules to keep us safe.  Like not driving too fast, not hurting people, no stealing...
Alexa: Oh yeah, and no running at the pool.

Some things I want to remember:
--Tyler loves doing his hair and it's so cute.  He sprays it with water and then stands in front of the mirror and spikes it up.  He loves to have "Sonic hair" and make himself "handsome."
--Tad has reached the age where he wakes up talking and babbling to himself in the mornings instead of crying.  It's so sweet.

And here are some random pictures of the cute kids to end the post.  Tad has started eating solid foods better and Alexa loves any excuse to pick him up and carry him around.  They have some great friends in the neighborhood and spend most of the day running around outside together.


















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