Summer... it's a wrap!

Ah!! So many things to blog about so I'll try to sum it up in a few short paragraphs that will actually be quite longish and then you'll spend half your day staring at the computer screen wondering what put you here in the first place until you finally realize that your left leg has fallen asleep and your children have ended up eating poptarts and koolaid for lunch. No... that's not from experience. ;)

Summer has been FABULOUS!! Weird right? Usually I hate summer and can't wait for school to begin again. Not so this year!! I'm so not ready for school! We've had a blast! I don't know if it's cuz I've been way more active and so I'm trying to get the kids off the couch and unglued from the tv, but whatever it is, it's been fun! We swam a lot, got multiple sunburns and great tans, and Ethan even had an almost-almost-drowned story. Every kid's gotta have one, right? I still remember mine... Any rate...

We went to Island Park with Wade's family and camped in the new tent, came home with a thousand mosquito bites each (not kidding, I think Livi had 12 on just her legs), floated the river and came home with an appreciation for NOT packing the coolers at the bottom when it's snack time (I was not smart enough to figure that part out... it's for further reference). We spent the night at Park City and went school clothes shopping for like a hundred hours with 4,000 of our closest friends. We went to multiple shows and learned things from each show- like don't sit on the front row if you have to sneak out during the last song before intermission in order to work the concessions, don't sit on the same front row with a four year old who always has to pee at the most inopportune moments... don't take four gazillion snacks to an outdoor show, nuff said.

Wade participated in Pioneer Trek with the Youth and loved it. Came back and promptly bought new hiking boots. haha Ethan had his surgery on his lip and realized that Yes, IV's suck. (he was a total trooper, I was so so proud of him!!) He also went on two scout hikes after which I had to throw away his socks... bleh... Wade and I both had the honor to speak at different Youth functions- he spoke at the Special Needs Youth Conference and wow... those kids are amazing. You can really see the light of Christ in their eyes. And I spoke and sang at the Stake YW medallion dinner, what a great opportunity to share in those wonderful girls' spirits and attempt not to lead them astray. ;)

Wade and I had the opportunity to clean the temple one night from nine to midnight. It was a total and complete blast. Man that place is spotless!! I guess if I started vacuuming and dusting and wiping down my entire house every night it would look amazing too! We went to countless reunions and shook hands with countless relatives and I started rehearsals for my upcoming show, "Scarlet Pimpernel"!! We even put some veggies in at the Stake Fair and our anaheim peppers (wade's actually, I have nothing to do with them except eat them) took first place! Ethan put in some of his drawings, Abby put in her business card collection (450 and counting!) and I sang for twenty mintues or so, knocking everyone's socks off finishing with 'The Wizard and I' from "Wicked". IT WAS AWESOME!!! I'm running like crazy getting ready for my Top of Utah race in a little over a week. Aack!! I'm not worried though cuz D has been running my legs off - today we ran 12 miles for the second time and this time I actually ran a little faster than Superman. ;)

So that's been our summer! Tons of fun, lots of laughs, and some great memories! Let the school year begin! :)