Kyle Moves to Provo!

Gary and Julie's family came to town to pick Lindy up from EFY and to drop Kyle off at BYU. We had a family dinner at Grandma Ham's on Sunday. It was fun to see them all and hear a little about how EFY went for Lindy.

They headed to Bryce Canyon for a family trip and then came back to town on Thursday. Paul and I met them and the rest of the family in Provo Canyon to float the river. 

The river was much more full and swift than the last time Paul and I floated it. A few people fell out of their tubes, and it was really tricky to get back in after that. There is a bridge that is not safe to float under, you're supposed to get out and walk to the other side of the bridge to get back in the water. Grandma got out of her tube at that spot, and then the current took her under and she went underneath the bridge. Luckily EJ was right there and immediately went after her or I'm sure it could have turned out much worse than it did. She said she was at the mercy of the water for about 5 minutes before she could climb into EJ's tube, and it was terrifying. Poor thing! She had some bumps, bruises, and cuts to show for it. When Paul and I got to the bridge with Al and Gary's family, we heard from Dante, Jonah, and Jacob that Grandma had been taken under the bridge and that EJ had gone after her, but they didn't know if he had got her or what had happened after that. We were all quite concerned. Luckily someone caught up to the front group, and yelled the message back to our group that Grandma was okay. I was so relieved! Besides the few scary incidents, it was a fun adventure. Just maybe not as relaxing as the last time we did it. :)

Gary and Julie stayed at our house the rest of the weekend. We loved having them stay and spend the evenings together visiting. Ammon and Ashley stayed with us while Gary, Julie, Kyle, Lindy, and Jacob went to the temple. It was so fun to get a little extra time with them. 

After they moved Kyle into his apartment on Friday, we made steak tacos for dinner and then headed up to Leatherby's with the whole family. It was fun to see the Oregon Ham's twice this summer!

More Swimming at Katie's

We've done some more swimming at Katie's house. It is the kids' absolute favorite thing to do these days. They have all improved their swimming so much this summer. Damon swims around on his own now and loves jumping off the diving board.

  

  

  

  

School Starts

Rockwell: 3rd Grade: Mr Bunker's Class

He was excited to go back to school, and he really likes his teacher!

Tessa: Kindergarten: Mrs Farr's Class

She was pretty nervous when the time came to actually go to school. She loves her teacher though, and is enjoying school so far.

Damon: Potty-Training: Mrs Mommy

He potty trained like a champ! And his Captain Underpants undies are the cutest thing ever! :) He loved his Potty Prize from Grandma Ham.

  

Aunt Emilie Comes Home!!

Aunt Emilie came home from her mission in Spain earlier this month. We were all so excited to see her again! I loved reading her emails every week and learning from the things she shared with us that she was learning throughout her mission.

Her flight was about an hour late, so we had some time to kill at the airport. 

All the little kids were fascinated with the baggage claim.

Tessa just couldn't wait any longer, and ran up and hugged Emilie during Dad's turn. :)

The Ham Fam: Back 2Gether Again

Lori had shirts made for all the grandkids again. The front said Ham It Up and the back said Back 2Gether Again. Caleb is on his mission and Elijah was at church camp. We sure missed having them with us, but they were both out doing great things. 

Thanks for the shirts Grandma, Grandpa, and Lori! The kids love them.

Kyle is the oldest grandchild and Damon is the youngest.

I got a few cute pictures while we were waiting for the grandkid pictures.

  

The grounds at Otter Crest are beautifully kept. There are flowers everywhere you look. These ones were the kids' favorite flower.

We loved seeing squirrels, bunnies, and ducks around the property, and seeing whales and sea lions in the ocean. We were planning on doing a fire on the beach for dinner one night, but the wind made it so that wouldn't work. We used the grills instead. And even made s'mores on the grills too.

The cousins had so much fun playing at the park and on the grass near the grill. I love watching them all play together.

  

We certainly get a workout with all the stairs and hills at Otter Crest, but I just love it there. It's beautiful everywhere you look, and it has everything we need. 

We stopped at Cape Foulweather on our way home on Thursday. It's just about 3 minutes from Otter Crest, and has a beautiful view of the condos and ocean.

We stayed the night in a hotel in Pendleton. Mel, Al, and Grandma and Grandpa stayed there too. I took the kids swimming there since there was no wind. :) They had a great time swimming with their cousins and uncle Keith. It was Wyatt's birthday that day, so it was a fun little party for him in the pool.


It was another great Ham Family Reunion!!

Beaches

We played at a beach every day while we were at the coast. Otter Crest Beach has some fun stuff like the waterfall, cliffs to climb, and Devil's Punchbowl to explore.





Matt, Elena, Ashley, Rockwell, and Wyatt made a cool fort on the beach.


These crazy girls got in the water and swam. It was freezing cold water, I seriously couldn't believe they got in.

Paul got some spike ball games in at both beaches.





  



Beverly Beach is beautiful, and more of a white sandy beach.





  
Tessa and Hallee had fun playing with Lindy. She made a mermaid tail for both of the girls.






Al had some good bonding time with Grandma and Gary. :) She's always told people she can pick them up.