The end of summer

I've been saying it all summer but this has been a weird summer. Camps, trips, appointments, here and there. I never felt like we had the long lazy days with anything to do. There was always somewhere someone had to be. I didn't like it. It went by fast which is nice because summer is too long but I kind of feel shorted. But that's just me. The kids had lots of playing with friends and lemonade stands and gas station runs, sleeping in, hanging out at grandma's, popsicles, and bored moments in between my running around here and there.

On our last free Saturday before football starts, Justin planned a day trip to the Uinta mountains. It's the best place to get away from the 100 degree heat at home. The kids had never been there and it had been years since I had been up there as well. These are the mountains the people notoriously get lost in (my aunt's neighbor's son has never been found. I thought about him all that day) and home to Utah's tallest mountain peaks. But what makes the area special and beautiful is the water.

James was mad he wasn't the leader as we hiked around so this is the best picture I could get of him.

Apparently half the state also thought it was a good place to get away from the heatwave as it was so crowded. It took a little driving around to find a spot to eat lunch. We ended up on Boneyard Road. I hope it gets his name from the rocky and bouncy dirt road and nothing more morbid.

From there we went to one of the many lakes in the area for some fishing and rafting. The kids played in the cold water (many arguments about just how cold or not cold it was ensued) and in the hammock.  

Then we ate dinner at a cute diner in Kamas and got rained on real good on the way home. It's been like 34 days since we had rain and it felt so nice.

Erica spotted this old phone at DI and there was no dissuading her. She loved the buttons and the cord. She thought it was neat I got to use phones like this "in the 1900s". She made me feel old and cool at the same time. She uses it to play school secretary and doctor's office.

She fulfilled a dream of hers by doing a 3-day cheer camp at the high school.

She got to perform at halftime oft the high school game. She thought she did terribly but I thought it was pretty cute.

This is James out back whittling a stick with a pocket knife he got from Justin's dad. He only cut his finger twice and needed one band-aid.

And that basically wraps up our summer even though we have at least a couple more weeks of 90 degree weather. School starts tomorrow!

Let's end this month strong.

One Sunday we had some of my family over for dinner and things were getting a little sleepy in the living room where the men were gathered so I did what any good hostess would do, made them play Loopin' Louie. Such a good game.

Justin bought a mummy bag for camping but it was too small for him so he made me try it out. This is the stuff of nightmares. Then I couldn't get it to unzip!

Out of a hundred zinnia seeds I got 6 plants and these are the first 4 flowers. I hope more are on their way.

Henry's first football practice with pads. He didn't have his practice jersey so I told him to put on the biggest shirt he had. "Hamburger shirt!" he declared and ran to put it on. We came up with a bunch of nicknames his teammates could call him. Burger King, the Hamburglar, Pattie Man. But nothing came of it and he got his boring old blue practice jersey in time for the next practice.

Saturday my nephew got married. It was a beautiful day and I couldn't be more proud of him.

At the luncheon....

Here's some advice from Erica and James

The reception that night.....

James was very disappointed they weren't serving their wedding cake and really wanted a piece of it. I told him if he was brave enough to ask Kyle for a slice, he could ask. Well this kid loves cake and went for it. Kyle gave him their own slices they weren't going to finish. 

When we got home I gave this kid a haircut!

And that about wraps up July for us. We have some more school shopping to do as school starts in just over 2 weeks and some more summer fun to squeeze in around football practices.

Pioneer Day (yay!)

For the first time ever all my kids were in the Mapleton parade. I was always in this parade as a kid but my kids have never been in it. 

Henry, Erica, and James and friends were on a float made by Justin's uncle for the family history library. Justin rode in the side-by-side with his uncle so I watched the parade by myself with my family. That was a new experience for all of us!

Can we please make suspenders "in" again??

 

Cutest pioneers and train conductors.

 

 

Sarah walked with the youth city council.

This was my favorite float--a parody of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. None of the kids got it but we grown-ups got a kick out of it. 

After the parade Sarah hustled on over to her post selling wristbands for the evening's ping pong ball drop. She's so cute! She just loooooved me hovering around taking her picture.

Then the fishing pole game. Never gets old. Never too old.

Then Justin and I set up our camp chairs in the shade of the tree while the kids played in the bounce houses and waterslides. My sister and niece and nephews stopped by and visited for a bit as they played and wandered around too.

The last activity was the bullriding.

Then we were hot and tired and hungry so we went home for lunch. I made some popcorn and caramel popcorn before we ate dinner with Justin's family then we headed to the fireworks park.

Jake, Isaac and my mom.

Brothers.

Me and my aunt Melanie. She's the same age as my oldest sisters so she's more of a sister to me. She lives in Idaho now and I miss her!

It was so hot but luckily there is a helicopter dropping ping pong balls on children to distract us.

Then as the evening cools down, the music starts up and it becomes a big party.

Cousins, family, neighbors, school acquaintances, coworkers, former teachers, former and current friends, people you knew from high school, people you recognize but can't quite place. They're all there. 

And then the fireworks start and you realize walking a mile from the truck in 90 degree heat carrying blankets through a crowd of thousands of people AND claiming your spot on the lawn 36 hours ahead of time was totally worth it.

It's not fun if you don't feel the sound in your chest and get rained on by ash.

See the moon rising behind the mountain through the smoke?

Happy Pioneer Day!