Lemmon, South Dakota

So we've been here in Lemmon for about 6 weeks now and we already are enjoying ourselves.  When we came up to interview, I was not impressed by the scenery but the summers here are gorgeous.  Little green rolling hills covered with corn, wheat, soy or sunflowers with little estuaries everywhere.  The weather isn't too hot which I love (but could be a bad sign for how cold the winters will be.).  Our apartment is bigger than we anticipated with a few new things like carpet, linoleum flooring, oven, and AC unit.  We can't complain.  James has adjusted well and loves that openness.  We go to the park frequently which he loves and has discovered a love for slides.    One of the other places we've discovered is Shadehill Lake.  It is only a few miles south of Lemmon and is perfect for picnics, throwing rocks and digging in the sand.  Its a great place to relax.  Gregg has been very busy getting ready for school.  He spends most of his days in his classrooms prepping and cleaning.  We miss him but I guess it was time to get back to reality after 6 weeks of vacation.

I love this boy!

We went to the county fair and James LOVED all the animals especially the cows.

This happens a lot. Running everywhere.

There are fields and fields of these. If you look close, you can see yellow going on forever.

Swinging with dad.

At the lake throwing rocks.

Shadehill Lake.

James will find the water wherever he goes.

Sliding.

James usually likes bugs from a distance but he was pretty excited about the little grasshopper that landed on his hand.

Summer Vacation 2013 - Part 6: Salt Lake and Manti

For the last part of our trip we headed up to Salt Lake to spend some time with Laura and Jared and to head down to Manti for Gregg's friends wedding.  Friday we packed up the U-Haul then headed down to Genola to meet up with some old friends and Gregg's old boss for pizza.  It was un to catch up with everyone.  Unfortunately we forgot James' shoes so he couldn't go wandering after the chickens.  The pizza was homemade and fantastic.  We are definitely wanting to invest in an outside pizza oven whenever we finally get a house. 

I was really excited to go to the Manti Temple, never having been inside before but hearing that it is so gorgeous.  Unfortunately James was so distraught by being left with someone he didn't know that I stayed with him during the sealing.  Oh well.  It was a gorgeous day and James and I enjoyed wandering the temple grounds.  Later that day we attended a luncheon and the reception. 

Monday morning we got up early and headed out on our 13 hour drive to Lemmon, but I'll write more about that later.

Summer Vacation 2013 - Part 5: Blanding

We had to head down to Blanding for the 4th!  This time Laura and Jared and their girls were there along with Drew.  Drew was a last minute thing but I'm so glad he came.  The 4th was a blast like usual.  At the parade James figured out the whole candy thing and was running down the street to get more candy.  We had our annual water fight.  I love to watch the boys take each other out, James however, did not like it when daddy was under attack.  We went to the Blanding swimming pool for the first time.  I loved it and so did James.

More kiddie pool with Katie and Kylie.

Waiting for the parade.

Handsome little boy.

Waiting for candy.

Wrong way!

Clips for the water fight.

Fireworks!

Summer Vacation 2013 - Part 4: Orem

Gregg's parents were also taking a road trip vacation this summer and we headed up to Orem to spend some time with them.  We spent the time at Grandma Witt's house even though she wasn't there.  We did a lot of shopping, stalking up on things we knew were going to be cheaper in Utah than small town South Dakota.  We played a lot of games, went up Provo Canyon and watched some baseball. (We failed with the pictures once again.  Thankfully Grandma was on top of it and shared these with us.)

Playing with dad.

Helping wash grandpa's truck.

Visiting with Aunt Amber.  Ignore the fact that my child is stuffing his face.

Swimming!

Summer Vacation 2013 - Part 3: Blanding

We headed up to see my parents for about a week.  It was nice to relax at their house.  James didn't see cousins everyday but he made quick friends with the little boys down the street.  They were so cute.  They even came to the door to ask if James could come out and play even though they are a few years older than James.

Racing cars down the driveway is always a must.

Racing with Emma.

Playing in the kiddie pool.

How cute is that face!

Summer Vacation 2013 - Part 2: Pheonix and Mesa

The next stop on our trip was Arizona.  With Kaelene and Scott both down there we couldn't miss it.  Unfortunately we slacked on the picture while at Scott and Amy's but I blame that on that we were having too much fun.  It was brutally hot so we spent a lot of time swimming (I started to turn from translucent to white!) and indoors.  Once again James was spoiled playing with all of his cousins.  One of the best things about this trip was his vocabulary.  Before we left we was saying a few words but being around the kids all the time, he really picked up on it and started saying all kinds of things.   We were made well aware of this one day when James heard Gregg say crap.  James immediately started repeating it.  Its not that we say bad words but we are definitely more careful now. 

We went to the Pheonix zoo.  It was fun but SUPER hot even at 9AM.  Thank heavens for the splash pad.

James and Lynnea became quite the friends.  Even helping each other to figure out how to open doors.

James and Lynnea jumping on the bed.  Lynnea apparently didn't like something James did.

Don't worry James got her back!

At the zoo....before we were covered in sweat.

This is an all time favorite.  James with Lynnea and Grant.  I love the smiles but I just can't get over Grant's belly!  I think he ate 4 slices of pizza and 10 slices of watermelon that night.

Ninjas!

At the Arizona Science Center playing with blocks!  Seriously one of the coolest places ever!

At the Science Center they had a skycycle.  Gregg and I both tried it.

Summer Vacation 2013 - Part 1: Cedar City

I guess its time I start catching up for my own sake.  Summer vacation this year was a little different for us then before.  With Gregg taking a teaching job in Lemmon, SD and graduating we knew we had a lot of time this summer.  I was still working and we were planning on me working til the end of June but the way things worked out, I end up quitting my job at the end of May.  At the same time we packed up all our stuff and moved it to Laura and Jared's basement and for the next 6 weeks we just travelled to see family.

Our first stop was in Cedar City to see Diana, Seth and the girls.  We were only there a few days but we had a blast.  We spent lots of time outside and eating yummy food!  James really enjoyed Natalee and Alissa.

James fell in love with Uncle Seth's motorcycles!

Getting James to look at the camera is near impossible.

Playing in stream at the park.  Too bad James fell in and was scared to play after that.

Sisters are the best!

One of my favorites.

James found the girls stroller.  Instead of a doll in took a ball for a walk.