july...

july was a fun month! out of the 31 days in july we were only home 9 of them, it was a little crazy. it was trip after trip, fun but very very busy. i was actually so happy to be home for the few days that we were here. the first of the month we made our traditional fourth of july shirts then headed to rupert for the fourth of july festivities. we did the parade, fireworks and steadmans. we love being on the farm lighting off fireworks and shooting rock chucks. the boys, jared, chase, cameron and my dad had roman candle wars in the field all night. the only casualty was a hole burned into chases shorts by a shot from cameron that hit chases chest but only burned his shorts. thankfully.. next time they need googles for safety reasons.

the following week was our july cabin week! we weren't able to head up there until wednesday. unfortunately chase's cousin, jay passed away in a plane crash and his funeral was in Utah at the beginning of that week so chase and i took a quick 24 hour trip to Utah to be with his family. we ended up getting home tuesday evening and then the kiddos and i left to mccall wednesday morning til sunday. 

after coming home from the cabin we finally had a weekend at home and the kiddos competed in a triathlon out in nampa. they did amazing! they worked their tails off and did so good. i was so proud of them! the boys had to swim 4 laps, bike 3 miles and run 1.5 miles. they crushed it. mya had to swim 2 laps, bike 2 miles and run 1 mile. they were exhausted by the end but kept pushing themselves. they loved it!

 chase had a convention the following week in Sun Valley so away we went again, this time sans kids and with nate and trina. it was a blast. we spent a few days doing all the fun things. we mountain biked down bald mountain, played tennis, went fishing and horseback riding. ate way too much food. attempted couples yoga and played games til the wee hours of the morning.

the week after sun valley was another convention for chase this time in midway, utah at the zermatt. we took the kiddos and they loved it! the resort had mini golf, tennis, shuffleboard and a carousel. they were all in heaven. chases convention had a mentalist preform one evening and it was MIND BLOWING. for reals. the group wasn't more than 60 people so almost everyone got to participate. he anticipated what ayla was going to say with her answer somehow and made me see something that actually wasn't there, but i know it was there. it was crazy. we spent a day in park city doing some school shopping, riding the mountain coaster and the alpine slide and checking out the olympic park. at midway right by the resort there is a hot pot crater that you can reserve to swim in. everyone loved it. i thought it was sooooo creepy. 

poor chase hurt his neck somehow so he couldn't wait to get out of there and get home on saturday. we tried to make it home in time to go to the doctor but no luck. we took him in sunday morning since he had lost feeling to his right hand and his entire arm was tingling and on fire. turns out his c4, c6, and c7 discs are herniated and bulging, pressing on the nerve branch that runs through his right arm. the pain is awful and he was so miserable. its been a long and painful recovery for him. poor guy. so far we have avoided him needing neck surgery so fingers crossed it stays that way!