Where did summer go?

As I write this, the high for today is 68 degrees and the leaves are just starting to turn colors.  Summer has officially left, and fall is here.  My blogging has been pretty sporadic lately, (mostly due to a dying computer . . . and Instagram!) but we've had such a fabulous few months, I am happy to finally record some of them.  I'm gonna apologize in advance for a long post and lots of pictures!

 4th of July we invited a few friends over to our house for dessert and fireworks.  I didn't get a lot of pictures of the actual fireworks (mostly because I was too worried about Logan burning himself) but I love this family portrait that someone took.  This is also a good view of the cul de sac we live on.  It's such a great, quiet place, perfect for a young family.  We're so lucky to have found this house!

 Towards the end of July we got lucky enough to have Jeannette, Courtney, Jax, and Chelsea come to Minnesota to help us put the finishing touches on our newly moved-in house.  While here, we went to the aquarium and the Mall of America.  It was fun to do the tourist thing in the city we now call home, and we loved being with family again.

One of my favorite purchases of the summer was this little slide and play set.  Mckay and Logan have spent hours on it, and it may or may not have addicted me to garage sales.  They have so many around here, and you can find some really great things.  

 Both my boys are readers, especially when it's time for bed!  I chose this shot because it was a good example of an everyday routine that's become part of our lives.

 In August we got to have a fun 2 hour visit with Grandma and Grandpa England in the Minneapolis airport.   They were there for a layover, but we managed to squeeze in lots of fun activities and visiting in the short time we had.

 The highlight of my summer was probably when we went back to Utah to visit family.  It was a short trip for Chase (he only had the weekend), but we made the most of it.  Saturday morning we went to Park City to watch Connor finish a half marathon.  Cousins, brothers, and in-laws all enjoyed the chance to catch up.

After a fun England weekend, I got a chance to spend a few days in Payson while Chase went back to work.  We went up Payson Canyon one night with my siblings and parents and enjoyed a picnic dinner.  Mckay and Logan were both feeling the affects of a different time zone and were asleep the entire time, but I didn't mind a chance just to visit with people and enjoy the mountains again.

I was lucky enough to get to visit my Grandma Beth while I was in Utah.  She's so fun to visit with and is such a good sport about taking pictures with me and my two wigglers.

One of the main reasons we went back to Utah was to say goodbye to Clayton, who is serving a mission in Mexico City for two years.  I am so glad my boys were able to say goodbye to him, he is such an important example for them!  We will miss him a lot, but there's nowhere else we'd rather have him be right now.

Feeling nostalgic for all things Payson, we took the boys to Rowley's Barn in Santaquin, Utah.  This cute barn has everything from harvest activities in the fall to yummy ice cream year round.  It was a fun way to end our Utah trip.

One of my favorite activities this summer has been going to the park play dates our ward has every Wednesday.  I've been able to take the boys to so many fun parks as a result, and we've made lots of new friends this summer.  Here are some of the boys' friends that also come each week.  As you can see, Logan has lots of girls to be friends with!

Mckay started preschool this September.  I am in a co-op with a few other moms in our ward.  He has enjoyed preschool, and it's a good social outlet for him.  I also love being able to teach him a few times a month.

We've had such a great summer.  We've played hard, especially outside, and enjoyed making new friends and new memories.