All Summer Long

Where does the time go? It has been hinted to me, by more than one person and oh so subtley, that it has been far too long since my last blog post, and so, here I am, returned to fill you all in on our lives. The thing about this summer is that we really didn't do much that was worth blogging about. Funds being what they were, we were somewhat limited in the distance we could travel and what we could do once we arrived at our destination. So for the most part, we stayed close to home.

The one exception to the "close to home" statement is the trip I made in June to Idaho for my step-sister's wedding. Jon and the kids stayed at home, and I drove up Friday with my dad, did the wedding thing Saturday, and drove home with my dad and step-mom on Sunday. It was a very quick trip.

My sister, my Dad, and me at my step-sister's wedding

Anna and Hailey took four weeks of swim lessons at the Del Oro pool, which really taught them so much. Anna now has a confidence in her swimming and can make it across Upper Lake Clementine (which is more like a river in case you are suddenly wondering if she should be enrolled in the Olympics) without help or a lifejacket. Hailey began learning the different strokes and improved greatly.

Adam got to take two weeks of lessons at the Alta pool, during which time he went to live with Pa, who took him everyday. He came home to visit on the weekend, but the break was more for Pa than Adam, who would more than happily have stayed at his house until school starts. Jonathan had no lessons, but when wearing his swim vest is convinced that he swims better than anyone. His constant refrain was "No touch me Mommy, no help!"

While Adam was living with Pa, the girls spent almost a whole week camping in the backyard. Pa gave them his old tent, which I think may very well have been one of the first tents ever made. Seriously, it is old. I spent my childhood camping in it, and it was elderly then. I love the fact that when I set it up, it smelled just like I remembered.

We managed to make it down to Lake Clementine a handful of times and to Ponderosa once, all of which were great. Those three weeks of 101+ degree heat really made swimming necessary. We also went to the Del Oro and Alta pools a couple of times for swimming.

My step-mom Paula and I at the Alta pool

Kids at Clementine

Our family spent several Friday nights at the Fountains shopping area, where there was a DJ playing music and a woman who would teach different dances. We had a blast with our friends the Lammies dancing and then eating frozen yogurt at Big Spoon afterward. So far the music we have enjoyed has been Motown, Techno (which quickly changed to just oldies and things once they realized that no one really wanted to dance to Techno,) and Country, all of which came with their own dances to learn.

The kids and I spent a full day cleaning house, including the cleaning of our bedrooms, which previously looked like they had been hit by several tornadoes and abandoned by their inhabitants. Jon made the deal that if we all could keep them that clean for a week, we would get a reward. We all worked hard and we earned a trip to the zoo and dinner at Noodles & Company - yum!

Ok, that is the general summer update, but there are a couple more posts to come...notice I didn't say when...