Wednesday, September 11, 2013

One Day....

One day I will be caught up on my blog...one day. Today is not that day, but it is the day I thought would be good for a summer recap. Where did the summer go? The kids and I made a "bucket list" at the beginning of summer and not even half of it was accomplished! It didn't bother me so much until the last week of summer and then an urgency to fill that week with memories took over- that and the fact that when the kids go back to school I wanted their "What I did this summer" papers to be filled with adventures- not "I sat around and played video games"! But as I look back on our photos, we did a lot and made some great memories! So our bucket list is already ready for next summer. Yeah! I'm a step ahead! So here is our summer in glance....

We finally made it to the Manti Pageant! (minus Jake who was scout camp) The kids loved it! We were able to meet a few cast members, visit the bathrooms a million times, eat tons of snacks, enjoy the view of the temple and then watch a great performance. Afterwards we settled into a hotel for the night and the next morning on our way home, stopped at seven peaks for a family swim. Tons of fun!



The next week Ethan was fortunate enough on Pioneer Trek to Martins Cove in Wyoming. From what he tells us he was a hard working pioneer and had a good time. I think he made great looking pioneer.

He loved his hat- wanted to wear it everywhere!


The next day after Ethan returned we made our way to McCall Idaho for the Allen family reunion. We stayed in a great cabin. We had access to a pool, tennis courts and an elementary school playground was out the back door. We were able to hang out at the lake the entire day- swimming, waterskiing, eating and just good ole' hanging out. The next day Ben and the kids went mountain biking. Will and I  returned to the lake to play in the sand. We were pretty excited when we purchased our 5-bike rack for the trip and I'm so glad we did. The kids loved the bike ride and I'm sure we have more riding in our future. Back at the cabin we did some swimming at the pool, (belly flop contest was the best!), watched videos of our auntie from Ireland, played family Jepordy, destroyed a pinata, and did some more family bonding with staying up late and just hanging out. Good memories! The kids are already talking about next year! 








We were sad to leave such a great place with great family. I think we successfully wore out all the kids, which lead to us having a quiet 4th of July. The day after we returned from our family reunion was the 4th and we stayed home and relaxed, had a bbq and roasted smores. We set off our own fireworks- had a great finale and then gathered in the backyard to watch the Thanksgiving Point fireworks. Low key- just what we needed. 

The summer continued with more scout camps, hanging out with cousins, swimming, Real soccer games,  family hiking and so much more. The summer flew by. 






One of the best parts about this summer was my 20 year high school reunion. I was absolutely ecstatic to fly by myself to Moses Lake. I had the best time! I was a little worried about my family but only because on the drive from Spokane to moses they called me over 5 times. Once by Jake just to tell me about a security company calling about a new system- he couldn't find Ben so he called me! And another with Jocelyn crying cuz she missed me and was surrounded by stinky boys!  I was so excited to be with my high school besties. (Sad that 3 of our group were unable to go) It felt like we never were apart- I love those girls so much and am grateful that we were able to share our lives with each other. I learned so much over the time we were together. What great women we have become! Although the reunion was a little lame, we still had a blast. We stayed up late each night, went boating (flattered by some young boys-we still got it!) went to church together (loved listening to Emily sing in the choir), and relished in the fact that old boyfriends did not have wives that were as cute as us! What a refreshing weekend- I sooo needed this. I couldn't help but laugh and then cry as I thought back on my weekend as I drove to the Spokane airport. Can't wait for Vegas in a couple of years! Love these girls!









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