End of Summer Fun!

Wow, it's hard to believe that summer is already wrapping up. Didn't it just barely start? Although I thought that we were going to have a long, boring summer this year due to the baby just being born, it ended up being anything but. We took more trips than we normally do, going on quick day jaunts to Zions, Cedar Breaks, and Kanarraville Falls, along with week-long trips to see both sides of our family. We also tackled swim lessons, started soccer, played with friends, broke out the water slide a few times, and just seemed to keep busy constantly! I am not ready for the fun, lazy days of summer to end! Here is a wrap-up of the end of our summer:

At the end of July Brooklyn and Jacey took swim lessons and did great! They are both improving so much and getting really comfortable in the water.

All done for this year!

The day that we finished with swimming lessons, we packed up the car and headed out for our yearly summer vacation to Southern California to see my family. We had a lot of fun there and enjoyed being able to spend more time with "California Grandpa" than we usually get. Here are some pictures of our adventures there:

On our first night there we got as close to Disneyland as we were going to get this trip--we went to check out Downtown Disney and watched the fireworks!
The girls had fun trying on the Minnie Mouse ears
Grandma made sure that Landon didn't feel left out!

On Sunday we went to church with my family, and then after Sunday dinner we engaged in a Mitchell Family tradition--a game of croquet in the backyard!Hey, the boy has to learn how to play sooner or later!

On Monday we ventured out to Irvine Park to ride the train through the park (Brooklyn loves trains!) and to play on the playground. It was a hot, muggy day, but we did have a lot of fun.

Uncle Michael is hiding in this picture, apparently too embarrassed to be caught riding the "Kiddie Train"!
The girls with Grandpa! Brooklyn with her favorite Uncle Michael!

Swinging so high! Landon fell fast asleep in the swing, just like at home!

On Tuesday it was on to: Wait, you guys have the wrong family!

Brooklyn and Jacey rode their first big roller coaster there!

Brookie's favorite ride--the "galloping" horses
Jon's favorite ride--the pirate ship where you could spray water guns and soak unsuspecting people!
The kids LOVED getting soaked in the splash zone
Jacey with some creepy old man!

In Mini-Land USA, a LEGO rendering of the Obama inauguration

Also in Mini-Land, a LEGO Vegas Strip!

On Wednesday and Thursday, we were so tired from the previous days that we kind of went low-key and just did some shopping and hung out around the house. My parents did give Jon and I a date night one of those nights and took the girls to McDonald's while Jon and I went out to dinner. As always, it was hard to say goodbye when we had to leave. Thanks for the fun week Grandma, Grandpa and Michael! Let's do it again next summer!Oh and P.S.: Grandpa, you have won over the heart of another grandkid!