We went to the lake to play at the beach and swim . Peter was brave enough to jump off the dock. I was brave enough to go up to my waist in the water. (I don’t like cold water so this was an accomplishment for me.)

The boys and I went up to Willow Park Zoo in Logan with friends. They’ve made some improvements since we were there last, including a new petting zoo. We enjoyed seeing all the animals and petted turtles, snakes, goats, sheep and a rabbit.

There’s a friend in this picture. He’s hard to find. My boys are often overbearing.

At the park after:

I’m often far too task oriented. And then when I’m not working on my to-do list, I’m often reading a book or on my phone. But not all the time. Sometimes I forget about everything I have to do, I don’t worry about how tired I am and take time to dance with the kids. I watch as my little toddler copies every move I do. I let the kids run under my long legs again and again and again. I’m just present and enjoying my family. That’s joy.

The boys and I traveled down south to visit this small amusement park and visit Grandma. Henry, at three feet tall, was just barely tall enough to go on all the rides. I put him on this frog hopper. It started, and his face filled with fear and apprehension. This was not fun!

But he looked around and found his Mom. And she had a smile on her face and told him it was just fine. The fear left, and gradually it was replaced with joy! He laughed on went on multiple times. Sometimes it just takes one reassuring look to make all the difference.

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My husband has a habit of calling a misbehaving child, “You little punk.” Curtis now uses that phrase in his vocabulary all the time. Make sure you only say things you don’t mind your kid’s repeating.) When Peter decided to use his bumper boat to squirt the crowd, I used the same phrase to describe him!

Peter made cloud dough at summer camp, and when he found out we had the ingredients, he wanted to make it at home too. It’s really simple, just a mix of shaving cream and cornstarch, so I agreed. But we did take it outside. That was a good decision because the kids basically dumped it all over when I had my back turned.

Watching the boys play together is often waiting for a fight to explode. The youngest two get along really well, but the older two do not. They are constantly mad at each other for little incursions. I have to play referee and break up a lot of fights. But when they do get along, it is joyful to seem them look after each other and care about each other. They are actually really good friends, even if we can’t get through a day without some sort of fight!