This is What Reminds Me of Summer

Girls Camp at Warm Springs!

We had 17 girls and almost every leader attend. We built lots of swimming in to the schedule every day. But we also went rifle shooting, did all of the certification, cooked fabulous food, and has a wonderful testimony meeting. I always tell people that the girls go to be with their friends but I do too . . . I love those ladies so much.

Since it was so hot we decided not to attach the rain fly onto the tent. It was so cool to look at the stars before drifting off to sleep, and we desperately needed the circulation (since I don't think it was under 88 degrees any night). But . . . and you know what I'm going to say before I even say it . . . it rained the last night. And we experienced hurricane-force winds, which turned our fly-attaching mission into a lesson on how sailboats work. Somehow with brute force and duct tape we were able to get the tarp on and lie back on our cots . . . only to be tortured with the loudest, most persistent FWAP-FWAP-FWAPing imaginable!

The girls were so sweet and helpful, especially in helping each other shore up their tents and make sure everyone was safe. We have the best young women, which is why I have the best calling in the world.

Unfortunately just three weeks after our girls camp the entire facility burned down due to--ironically--brush-clearing efforts designed to reduce the risk of wildfires. It was very sad news indeed.


Tyce's EFY (Especially for Youth)!

He attended at BYU and he had a blast. He didn't go with anyone he knew but he quickly made friends. His roommate was from Hong Kong and wasn't even a member of our church; I can't imagine the double culture shock Dickson (his Americanized name) must have experienced spending the week in America at an LDS youth conference.

Tyce loved his entire company--the boys and (especially!) the girls. They were all 14-year-olds and most of them were from the western states. Two girls were from North Las Vegas. They had a spiritually uplifting week from hearing amazing speakers--John Bytheway!--to inspiring devotionals with their counselors. They also had fun at dances, where Tyce boogied so hard he won first place in the dance competition. In their free time Tyce's company went bowling and became Jamba Juice's best customers.

He had a wonderful experience, and it was 100% worth it to me to see the light in his eyes and the energy in his spirit when he returned home. He's already looking forward to going back next summer.

Swimming with friends!

We swam a lot this summer and these pictures are from when Betsie and her girls joined us at the Whitney Ranch pool.

Ninja Cameron!

He makes these faces pretty much all day long.

Free Summer Film Festival!

We went nearly every week this summer, and our last movie was "Astro Boy." I fielded Cameron's questions every time on the movies' rating: "Is it R-PG-13?" Because that mish-mash rating is definitely off-limits. This last time he smuggled a bag of grapes in--under his baseball cap! He looks pretty pleased with his plan, eh?

Swimming lessons!

Harrison is quite a good swimmer already. He is very physically talented and catches on quickly. Both boys really enjoyed their lessons with Miss Haley.

Mary was thrilled to find out she was the only one in her class and had a teacher all to herself. They worked on swimming strokes and diving. I love this picture because she and the bird look like they're going the same way!

Playing games!

The twins are starting to play UNO. And we will always love Settlers of Catan but it's fun to get new games. I especially like this one because I won the first three times we played it. Haha. But now Bryce is on to my strategy and has trounced me ever since. It's really easy to learn and a lot of fun, so next time you come visit . . . let's play!

America's Got Talent!

I love this summer show! Some of our favorites so far are Hannibal Means--for his eccentricity as much as his voice; and Haspop--because his moves are pretty amazing.

But my bet is on Fighting Gravity-- I think they'll win it all.

Visits with family, road trips, strawberry slushes, quoting Nacho Libre, reading Hunger Games, sleeping in . . . these are the things that remind me of summer.