Miscellaneous June Stuff

June was another fun month for the Leslie family. I love June so much, it is probably my favorite month. Too bad it disappears so fast. Here are some of our highlights.

When Ross and I got back from Park City, we hung out at my parents for a while before going home. While we were there, Ross and the kids got in the hot tub. Leah absolutely loves playing in the hot tub, but this was Corbin's first time. While he was in it I got thinking that Leah's first time in the hot tub was at 4 months old, but Corbin didn't get to try it out until he was 15 months old. Second baby syndrome strikes again. Poor kid. But he still had a great time and loved splashing around in the warm water.   

Speaking of  Corbin being 15 months old, he went to his 15 month check up in the middle of June. Here's his stats from his doctor visit:

Weight: 17 lbs. 11.5 oz (1%)

Length: 28 3/4 inches (1%)

Head: 47 1/2 cm (67 %)

(One of these stats is not like the others!)

Yes he is still really small, but developing just fine. He is very much on the go. He climbs everything he can and keep us on our toes. The only concern is that he's not using many words yet, just "ball," sometimes "dad" and very, very rarely "ma." His pediatrician wants to see him using 7-10 words by his next appointment, but I don't see that happening. We've tried and tried to get him to use words, but he's just not interested.

One of the best things about June is that the weather is great! It's finally warm outside, but not so much that you can't stand it. So the kids and I spent a lot of time playing outside in the afternoons. Here's Leah playing with her good friend, Millie. They had us tie their jump ropes in the tree like swings and they had fun swinging like little birds on a perch.  

One day when we were just playing inside, I made a hut for the kids to play in. They loved it, but Corbin had a hard time realizing that he couldn't climb the blankets. He fell through the roof a few times. 

The water faucet in backyard wasn't working, so we had a ward member come take a look at it. Luckily it just needed a new part. He had it fixed in just minutes. Afterwards, I let the kids play with the water from the hose. They loved it. Leah watered all the plants and ran through the sprinkler. And Corbin had fun playing in the water in this little plastic container. It's been so great to have a fun way for the kids to cool off on hot summer days. 

We wore Leah out so badly one day that she fell asleep on the couch like this. Sometimes life is exhausting when you are just four year's old.

Some other fun things that happened in June that we sadly didn't get pictures of include:

• Ross's brother, Kyle, came for a visit on his way to Fresno State for his internship. Leah and Ross got to hang out with him one afternoon. They went out for pizza and then went to the nickle arcade. We also went to Ross's mom's a couple times for dinner while he was here. After he left, Ross and I both regretted not getting a picture with him before he left. 
• This one isn't so much fun, but eventful nonetheless. We had someone come do a tune up of our A/C and heater and realized that our 24 year old heater was in really bad shape. The 20 year old A/C unit wasn't much better. So we decided to get them both replaced. It is so much better to have an A/C unit that blows out cold air. Sometimes you even need a blanket when you are right under the vent. Great investment!
• On a Saturday night, Ross and I got a rare date night at the Strawberry Days Rodeo. His mom kept the kids while we went to the rodeo with some of our Miller family. I love rodeos and the strawberries and cream dessert was so yummy. It was great to have some couple time and we even got to see some fireworks at the end of the rodeo. (I thought it was odd to shoot off fireworks over a bunch of livestock, but whatever, I enjoyed them.)
• We got to go to dinner at Ross's mom's for Father's Day. Stuart and his kids were there too. It's always fun to have Sunday dinner with family. Just before we left, we had a great discussion where Ross and his mom shared some of their memories of Ross's dad. 
• Leah got to go to the art class at BYU's Museum of Art. This time Ross got to come too. Leah had fun as usual. And Ross enjoyed being able to be there with her. 
• At the end of the month, Ross and I got to go to Mia Shalom to visit the young women in our ward for girls camp. I always love going to Mia Shalom. There is a special spirit there. And it was especially great to see our young women having such great time and to hear them bear their testimonies around the campfire. It is not as much fun to drive back down the canyon in the dark, but that's okay. 

Van Tucker Family Reunion 2014

At the end of June we had our annual Van Tucker Family Reunion. Van is my wonderful, dearly beloved Grandpa who passed away 13 years ago. We went to the Spruces campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon. This was a favorite camping place for our Tucker family from when I was growing up. It is always fun to be able to go back there, even if it is just for a day outing. 

Corbin had a great time walking around and exploring things. 

My aunt Susie and her family were in charge of this year's reunion. They planned some fun activities including a scavenger hunt for the little ones and some games we could all participate in. Here's some of the great-grandchildren lined up and waiting for the next activity.

Corbin loves playing with Leah's sunglasses.

When our family gets together, one the favorite activities is the water balloon sling shot. My cousins fill up a whole bunch of water balloons and let the kids launch them across the way and some of the adults and older kids try to catch them. The kids love it and in no time at all the balloons are gone.

I found Corbin a little water balloon to play with. It had a tiny hole in it and was slowly leaking, but for Corbin a ball is a ball and he liked it regardless of the hole and the fact that it kept spraying him with a tiny stream of water. And it was great because it didn't ever break when he dropped it on the ground. So he thoroughly enjoyed playing with it until it was just a wilted little shell of a balloon and I had to take it away from him (which he didn't like).

One of our Tucker family's favorite dishes to eat is "Dutch Oven Heart Attack Potatoes." It's made with sausage, bacon, potatoes, onions, sour cream and mozzarella cheese. Certainly not healthy, but oh so yummy. When some of us gathered to peel the potatoes, Leah decided she wanted to help out too. She's really been into peeling vegetables lately and my aunt had a peeler tthat was really easy to use. So Leah had a great time helping peel potatoes. I'm glad she thought it would be a fun project. I HATED peeling potatoes when I was growing up and still have a hard time getting myself to want to peel them.

Here's some pictures of some of the family members gathered round the campfire waiting for dinner to cook.

Leah and especially Makynlee became good friends with my cousin's husband, Chad, while we were there. They climbed right up on his lap and wanted to hang out with him all evening. I think it had a lot to do with the game they were playing on his phone.

Our family loves to cook in Dutch Ovens (even when we're not camping). This definitely came from my Grandpa Tucker. He was an amazing cook and was always up for something cooked in a Dutch Oven. I don't ever remember going camping with him when there wasn't something cooked in a Dutch Oven.

While dinner was cooking, someone got out a bubble machine to keep the little ones entertained. It certainly worked. The kids crowed around it and couldn't get enough of chasing and popping bubbles. We had a hard time keeping them from climbing on the tables to reach the bubbles.

Like all good things, the day came to an end way too soon and it was time to clean up and head back down the mountain. It was fun to get together with my Tucker family. We were such a close family when I was growing up. Now it seems like we just don't spend time together like we used to. It was especially great to reminisce and think about all the great memories I have from time spent with my Grandpa Tucker. He truly was an amazing man and even after all this time, I still miss him so much. It makes me so grateful for the great Plan of Salvation, for the eternal nature of families, and the knowledge that I will see him again! I love you Grandpa!

Hogle Zoo with the Turners

At the end of June, Lesley and her family came for a couple week stay. So we planned some times to get together while while they were here. On one day we took a trip to the zoo. We ended up with a bigger group than expected. That morning my mom decided to bring my niece and nephew and come along also. So we had me, my mom, the four kids, Lesley and her kids, her parents and two of her nieces. It was very hard to keep everyone together since it seemed we all explored the zoo at different paces, but it was still fun to be there with them. And Leah and Hannah had a great time spending the day together. 

The kids LOVED climbing all over these lion statues! Even the baby boys joined in the fun.

This was the first time that we have seen the new lion exhibit. We only got to sees the two lionesses, but it was cool how close up we were able to get. 

Corbin refused to stay in the stroller. So I carried him through most of the zoo. But that gave him more of a chance to see some of the animals up close, like this monkey that was resting right up against the glass.

We got to see this elephant up pretty close too. Corbin was very fascinated by it.

I had to get this picture of Leah looking at her map. It is such a typical Leah thing to do. This girl loves maps! She always wants to know where things are at on a map. And even after we got home, she got the map out several times and wanted to talk about where the animals were on her map.

More animals to climb on! My kids aren't ones to miss out on climbing. Corbin also insisted being right up there with his sister.

The kids loved the splash pad, well most of them anyway. Taysom couldn't get enough of walking around in the water. Corbin, on the other hand, refused to let his feet get wet. He just wanted to be held the whole time.

Here's Corbin and Seth watching the seals and sea lions swim by. Corbin was really into watching them swim.

We had a hard time keeping up with Leah, Hannah and especially Makynlee. They had so much fun playing together and were less interested in seeing the animals. At one point they were pretending to be pirate fairies.

No trip to the zoo would be complete without a ride on the carousel.

And just before we left, we went for a ride on on the train. Leah and Makynlee got to sit on the very back. They thought they were pretty big sitting back there by themselves and getting to face backwards.

When we got the kids all loaded in the car, it didn't take long before all four kids in our vehicle were zonked out. We had had a long fun day at the zoo and they were exhausted! It was fun to get to spend that time with some of the Turner family.