The "Y" of our Summer

The majority of our summer schedule was taken up by our YMCA membership. Between volleyball practices and games and ballet, gymnastics, and cheer classes, the Y has kept us super busy this summer. We started back in May so I included some of our first pictures then, but here is a recap of everything the girls have been doing at the Y this summer. Abby played on the 3rd and 4th grade volleyball team since it was her first time and she had just finished 4th grade. But since she had played some with me and her friends, she was one of the better players. She had a lot of fun. They were the Mustangs and had games every Saturday. 

They won their first game. I decided to take pictures of the score after both sets. The first score is 19-25 and the second is 11-25. Abby was the server who scored the last point to win their first set. And she returned the serve to win the second set and game. It was awesome - the best way to start out the season. They lost a few games through the season, but won the majority of them.

She had fun getting to know her teammates and making new friends. We have signed Abby up to play the next season which doesn't start until mid-September, but now that she's in 5th grade, she had to sign up for the older division, 5th-7th. We're hoping she can hang in there with the older, bigger girls, but she's excited to work hard and improve. Here's her Mustangs team with her coach, Cristina.

Most Saturdays, Tyler and I had to divide and conquer because Abby's volleyball games overlapped with the girls' cheer class and they were held at different locations. Sometimes we made it in time for Abby to join them like she did this day. Abby was a good base with the teacher, Miss Shannon, to let the littler girls be the top of the stunts.

At the end of June, the gymnastics program at the Y put on a show. Since all of our girls were in classes, they were all excited to perform and be a part of the show. Here's Taryn lining up with her class to show off some of the skills that they learned in the parent/child gymnastics class like forward rolls and table tops. Taryn was excited to get her certificate as you can tell from her pose. 

The older girls also showed some floor and beam skills from their gymnastics classes and then did all of the cheers and stunts that they had learned from their cheer class.

Our girls were 3 of the 4 girls who attended cheer, so they were the cheer performance. They did a great job yelling loudly and performing the stunts.

Aubrey has really improved on her gymnastics. She does cartwheels and backward rolls almost perfectly when she hadn't been able to do them at all before she started taking classes. The funny thing is she does left-handed cartwheels even though she's right-handed. I thought that was interesting, but she's really good at them now. Tessa has also greatly improved. She moved up to the Rollers class after one month in beginners and picked up their routines quickly too. Her class actually performed USGA Level 1 routines on the floor and beam. I didn't get any pictures since I was recording them, but we were so proud of her for performing in front of a large audience and for doing so well. 

Here's a final picture of all the participants. All of our girls had a lot of fun performing. This was pretty much the end of Abby's gymnastic classes. Once we started limiting their classes after we couldn't spend 5 days going to the Y every week, Abby backed down to only one class along with her volleyball. The other girls kept gymnastics, but slowly cut back on ballet by the end of the summer, but they enjoyed getting some basic training in a variety of classes.

Later in the summer, Taryn and Aubrey also signed up for an art class. Since we were there already for one of Tessa's gymnastic classes, it worked out that the art classes were at the same time. Taryn's class was called "sticky fingers" and they created something each week. Here are a few pictures of her creations. They made a crown from egg cartons and pipe cleaners that they painted themselves. And they made their own slime one week after finishing their crown (which Taryn is wearing in the picture). Aubrey's class was called "creative mess" and they made some art/abstract pictures using paint and other items one week, and they also made things like slime, play-doh, and bouncy balls. They really enjoyed the art classes.

One month Abby tried the Dance Fitness class. It was pretty much zumba for kids, but she liked it. It overlapped with the other girls' ballet classes, but they liked to join in with the dancing once they were done with ballet. I thought it looked really fun. I wanted to jump up and dance with them, but I figured they wouldn't like that too much. It was good exercise for them.

I took this picture of Tessa and Aubrey one day before they gymnastic classes because they had decided to wear their cowgirl boots to and from the Y that day. I thought it was hilarious, especially because the boots were too big for the girls, but they love wearing them anyway. Tessa was not very flexible when she started taking classes, although she picked up the tumbling skills quickly. However, with regular stretching at the Y and at home, by the end of the summer, she can do the splits almost all the way. This picture was taken around mid-August, but currently she can go even further. We are very impressed with her hard work and dedication.

The final Friday in August, which happened to also be our last week of YMCA classes, they held another performance show. We decided once school started our days would be too busy, so we stopped going to the Y, so this performance was the last hurrah for the girls until possibly next summer. It had more of a show feel because they moved all the equipment into the basketball court and even glittered all the girls' hair. 

I love the picture of Taryn because randomly, Tessa happened to be the one on the beam in the background during their warmup. I thought that was pretty cool. Grandma and Grandpa Black were in town that weekend right before they left for China, so they were able to be there in the audience. Abby took a selfie of us while we waited for the show to begin.

Aubrey and Taryn both performed with the intro class kids. They did rolls, cart wheels,and hand stands. They even took turns on the beam and vault. 

Here they are with the three coaches, Shannon, Malorie, and Melissa. We loved these ladies. They worked really well with the younger kids and they were so good themselves, able to show the older girls exactly what they were supposed to be doing. It was a great experience for all of our girls.

Tessa's Rollers group was the main event of the show. They each did their Level 1 routines on the floor and beam. They did a couple jumps on the vault too. Tessa was the first one on every event. She performed perfectly. I was so proud of her! Here she is warming up on the beam and waiting in line with Aubrey and her friend Georgia.

Here's their final bow and a group shot with the coaches.

There were also some performances by the more advanced Rollers 2 group, and an advanced tumbling class of three boys. They all performed really well and it was good for Tessa to see what the next level is if she keeps it up. Here are a couple shots with everyone who performed. It was a fun night.

Summer Trip to Utah

Over the weekend of the 4th of July, we took a trip to Utah to see family. We were very excited to see all the Gibbons families and cousins at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Vernal. Since we travel from the farthest away, we always end up getting there before everyone else. We don't mind that because then the kids gets some one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa Gibbons. However, in addition to that this time, we also took a few scenic stops along the way. When we travel to Utah in the summer, we take the Colorado route because it's shorter. We only take it in the summer because the mountain passes are too dangerous in the winter time. I love going through Colorado because it is so pretty and the last few trips that way, I've remembered a little town that we always go through called Ouray, Colorado. You basically only get to and from there by driving these crazy winding roads, but once you get through those, you drop down into this quaint little town between the mountains. Here's a picture of the road signs through the mountain passes. I've never seen them like this before - straight switchbacks.

One of the first signs you see as you come to the last pass into the town says "Ouray is the Switzerland of America" and it really looks like it. We've always passed by these awesome looking hot springs and Tyler decided we had time to stop and enjoy them this trip. We totally surprised the girls so they didn't know we were stopping there until we pulled in and parked. They were so excited and just kept saying things like, "we get to go there?"

The hot springs really were warm, but their second pool (where all the fun slides and volleyball nets were) was very cold. The slides didn't open until after 12 which we stayed for, but then decided the cold water wasn't worth going down the slides. Plus, the bigger, more exciting slides were still too big for Tessa's and Aubrey's heights, so they were disappointed that they couldn't try them. Besides swimming, we also fed the fish and turtles that were in a pond next to the hot springs.

After a few hours of fun, we finished our journey to Grandma and Granpa's house. We still had a day with them to ourselves. The girls love to snuggle with Grandma while watching movies.

Once all the other families made it to Vernal, we drove up the mountain to camp for a night. Tyler loves camping and fishing, so he was very excited for this trip. Tiffany and her family were with us as we traveled up the mountain and Tim and his family met us up there. While setting up camp, the kids roamed the area and found an old hut where they spent most of their time playing. I found this U-shaped tree that I thought was perfect for taking pictures. Taryn and Aubrey were the only ones who stayed long enough for me to take some pictures.

They spent a lot of time fighting who was having their picture taken first, but they ended happy and even let me take a couple pictures of them together. And here's a picture of the path that we all walked to get to the lake where the dads fished.

Aubrey had fun "being in charge" of the little ones. These girls were so excited to help by carrying the big fish net.  With all the roaming that the kids did, I often caught them walking along the path either to and from the bathroom or the lake. I caught these girls once and had them pose for a picture.

The fishing at the lake was pretty slow. The girls kept going back and forth between the lake and the campsite. Tyler fished a lot over the two days we were there and didn't catch anything. Justin and JT caught one fish. Taryn and I spent a lot of time making jewelry out of the long blades of grass. She liked sharing them with Grandma. Taryn also liked it when she found out how much it echoed when she yelled. Too bad that yelling doesn't go well for a fishing environment.

Grandpa brought his four-wheeler, so the kids loved taking turns for rides on it with either Grandpa or Drew driving. They didn't have to be moving to enjoy sitting on it and wearing the helmets. Right before my camera died, I was able to catch this last picture of Taryn getting her turn on the four-wheeler with Drew driving.

We spent time hanging around the firepit for meals and visiting. Taryn and Lucy figured it was their stage and they spent a lot of time dancing and singing on the grate before we actually used it for fire. Taryn, Lucy, and Anson are all really close in age. They had so much fun chasing after the big kids and enjoying their time camping.

Here's a picture of most of the kids and Grandpa as they ate breakfast around the firepit.

The kids found a little creek that ran along the campsites, and they kept finding fish in little water holes stuck because the water wasn't high enough for the creek to be full. The kids ran up and down the creek and played the game "rock hopping" that Tim made up. I think everyone that played had a wet foot at one time or another. I caught Abby and Drew at one of the water holes where they found a fish. They got Tyler to come with a fishing pole to catch the fish. All the kids watched from the other side of the bank from where Tyler and I were standing.  

This was the best fishing Tyler had the whole time. He and I walked along the creek to the bigger water holes and even some spots where it was full like it should be. We caught and released probably a dozen or more fish. When I caught one and reeled it in myself, I made him take a picture of me. One of the first times we went fishing together after we were married, I caught a fish but was so traumatized and freaked out, I couldn't even hold up the fish for a picture. I was excited this time and wanted a real picture of me holding the fish like I know what I'm doing. It was a lot of fun to just roam around with Tyler and enjoy the outdoors. 

After heading back to Grandma and Grandpa's house, we enjoyed the rest of the weekend entertaining the kids and celebrating the 4th of July. The kids did a scavenger hunt and had some three-legged races around the back yard. 

The kids helped Grandma put up her American Flag in the front yard. They even each took a turn pounding in the pole with Grandma's big mallet.

We went to the town parade and sat in our usual spot. I took this picture before the parade started to try and show the huge American Flag that they had raised over the entire street behind them at the end of the parade route. 

It was so hot and sunny. We used the umbrellas to keep the sun off. Taryn and I took a selfie and then she had me take a picture of just her to show off her pretty flower in her hair. 

Here's our group waiting for the parade to start. They don't throw candy anymore, but there were a few who shot out water which the kids liked and there were some other freebies that they passed out like pencils, frisbees, and tiny dinosaurs. 

The kids spent the majority of the rest of the day creating their own rockets which we then got to shoot off in the school parking lot. I took this picture of the kids as they walked with Tara to the school. They were so cute with their arms around each other in their red, white, and blue outfits. The kids waited patiently while Grandpa set up the launch pads. I was surprised when I realized that I got all the grandkids in this picture except for Drew. I love Taryn and Tessa's poses in the back.  

Grandpa has his own design for the rockets that he's had kids do many times in the past at school, but in all the years that I've been in the family, we've never made the rockets. I thought it was so cool! The rockets shot up so high. I tried filming them but they went so fast, I would catch them blasting off but then would have to search for them in the sky as they fell back down. The rockets even had parachutes but only a few of them released like they were supposed to. Tessa's rocket was the first to float back down with the parachute intact. 

 Grandpa's launch pad had a button with the switch to set it off, so all the kids had their own rocket and when it was their turn, they got to help put the rocket on the launch pad, and then they got to throw the switch to blast it off. They all thought it was so awesome. We finished the night by watching the fireworks from the parking lot once it got dark. We even set off some of our own with Drew and Andrew doing the lighting. We of course had to do sparklers, and once the kids figured out which end to hold, they really liked it and had a great time.

 

Before we headed home Sunday morning, we had to get a family picture. This was the best I could get of everyone as we tried to get them all situated. Hopefully I'll get a copy of the real one, but this is pretty much how family pictures go when you have this many kids, so I actually love the unplanned, candid shot. 

We love going to Utah and being with family. We're hoping that next summer we can meet in Ouray or somewhere else in Colorado and just spend the whole time camping because we had so much fun doing that this time. We miss seeing our Gibbons relatives and really love when we get together. We love our family!