What we've been doing this summer... told through cell phone pictures

Because I hardly take photos with my real camera anymore. These photos will be familiar to you if you follow me on Instagram so feel free to skip this if you'd like. I tell you, Instagram has killed my blog.

So here's what we've been up to:

I chopped off half of my hair. It was time for a change. Now, I can't decide- go even shorter (I love short-short hair) or do I grow it out again (I really miss the versatility of long hair). Decisions, decisions.

I ran a 5K in Logan with my sister-in-law and her friend. It was fun!

Chris and I went to see a favorite band of mine play in SLC. The whole experience made me feel really old- gone are the days when being around sweaty, smelly boys was appealing-  but it was awesome anyways.

We bought passes to Seven Peaks this year and while we have only gone to the waterpark once, we mostly use it for taking the boys mini-golfing or bowling. It's been such a great way to have some fun family time without spending a lot of money.

 Brendan also learned to ride his bike without training wheels finally! I was so proud of him! It was a big, scary thing for him but he faced his fears, never gave up and is now able to ride like a pro. He seems so big.

The boys and I have had lots of lunch dates at McDonald's. There are just days when we had nothing planned and trip to McDonald's was the perfect thing to fill the boredom.

The place you could find us most this summer was definitely at our pool. I loved being able to have a (free) place to take my boys where they would have fun and get out some of their energy. Brendan's water skills have improved so much this summer- he can do backflips under the water, swim and float without plugging his nose, and even do a strange version of free-style stroke. All despite the fact that I was too lazy to sign him up for swim lessons this summer.

Me and Alex usually preferred to lounge and work on our tans while Brendan jumped into the water over and over and over. I was completely okay with that.

We had a fun and relaxing 4th of July too. We barbequed in our backyard and got together with neighbors in our cul de sac for s'mores and fireworks. We're lucky that we can watch the Thanksgiving Point fireworks show from our backyard so we avoided the traffic and general craziness.

We also took Alex to see his first movie, Despicable Me 2. Both the boys loved it and as we were leaving, Alex asked if we could see it again. I wasn't sure what his reaction would be to it since movie theaters have always been a bit overwhelming for Brendan, especially when he was young, but Alex loved everything about it from the minute we walked in the door. We saw an early show (I think it was 10:30) so I wasn't planning on getting popcorn for the kids but as soon as Alex saw the concession stand, he had to have some. And I'm a sucker for this little boy so of course I caved in and got him some. He seriously ate most of that big bucket all by himself.

We recently took a trip to Colorado to see Chris' parents and Grandma who was in town from Michigan and there will be more on that later. I actually took photos with my real camera for that trip!

The boys loved getting to visit their grandparents and great-grandma and they didn't want the trip to end. Alex woke up the morning after we got home asking, "Where Grandpa?". He just melts my heart.

We've also been doing some projects around the house- mostly painting and yard stuff- but it's satisfying to see our home slowing becoming how I picture it in my head. I plan to do a post about our house in the future... if I can make it through school starting this week and having to entertain my almost-three-year-old by myself now.