Where has summer gone?

Life has just kept coming the past while. Where has summer gone?

We had a wonderful camping trip in July--lots of them actually.

8, 9, & 10 we went on a family camping trip. Just the boys, Matt and me.

We camped by the snow and played in it a lot. It was way warm, but not hot.

I didn't want the weekend to end.

Then the next weekend (16 &17) we spent the entire time redoing Matt's dad's kitchen floor and the entire bathroom. Tons of hard, long work. I carried it through to the next week when I painted the bathroom after all the caulk and drywall was dry. Looks great now.

The 22, 23, & 24 we went on a backpacking with some good friends--the Congdons (who also have 5 kids). It was the first time for our boys. The second time for me. & the hundredth time (at least) for Matt. :) I was so stressed about it. How on earth were we going to carry in enough water for 7 people for 3 days?! And food--don't go there. In the end I had a blast! I will definitely do it again. We only hiked in a little over a mile, but it was so fun! Kevin walked the entire way! And the rest of the boys carried big heavy packs--the entire way! I was so proud of them.

Early the next Monday morning, 26th - 30th, Matt and Ryan left for Scout camp. An entire week of being without them. Ugh! They had so much fun. They both swam the mile--a major accomplishment for Matt and Ryan. It taught them a lot!

They were supposed to be there until Sat. But we had a Christensen Reunion to go to.

30 & 31 we went camping with the Christensen Clan--lots and lots of cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.

Although it didn't really feel like camping to us, as we were laying in our tent that night with the boys all next to us sleeping under the stars, Matt said "I hope they remembered to turn the sprinkler system off." Yeah, it was that kind of camping. At a private ranch. Tons of fun though! There was a lake on the ranch with a big pool in it, lots of canoes and paddle boats, playgrounds, bathroom facilities, and tons of conveniences, we couldn't light a fire though. There was also a hornets nest inside one of the horses on the playground. Kevin got stung 3 times! Thankfully he's not allergic--2 of them were on his neck. David only got stung once, on his finger, and his entire hand and wrist swelled to 3 times its size. It's almost back to normal now. :) I had to tie his shoes before church on Sunday because he couldn't get his fingers to touch and grab the laces.

August 1st we still had a house full--they all came to our home Saturday night and continued the reunion here. We also went to the new stake center for the first time. We no longer go to the Tabernacle--it's weird. I can't find anything if it doesn't relate to the primary. :)

The 3rd & 4th Matt was in Provo for meetings at BYU all day. By this time I was getting really tired of being a single Mom---and he texted me a pic of him with Elder & Sister Groberg after one of his meetings! I thought, "You're kidding--here I am stopping fights, weeding the garden non-stop, and trying to get kids to bed at a decent hour and you are sitting in meetings listening to amazing people!" Needless to say, I was glad when he called and said he was coming home Wednesday night and not staying for the Thursday meetings.

After he got home from work on the 5th, we loaded the car up and drove to Vernal for the Swain/Richards reunion. We went camping again--until the 7th. Real camping this time--no bathrooms or water. Friday we took our boys--I tried getting other people to come, but they couldn't--and rafted down the green river. Starting at Dutch John and going 7 miles on the River till Little Hole. It rained on us almost the entire time! Crazy--I went down that river tons before Matt & I married and only got rained on once! Now I was taking my boys for their first time ever--even Matt--and it rained. So fun though! We all loved it. Kevin even jumped in the bitter cold river. Jared and I were the only ones smart enough to stay in the boat the entire time. Of course you wouldn't have known if you saw us at the end of the trip. We were all equally wet. It was so great to see some of my aunts and uncles and cousins that I haven't seen for so long. I had lots of fun sitting around the camp fire talking and listening to how people are doing.

Now tomorrow is our 14th wedding anniversary! Wow!! How I love my Matt!!!

Then Tues. I leave with the boys to go and visit some friends in North Ogden who have been dieing to have tie with the boys. Matt will miss us, and we will miss him. But he can't take anymore time off work. I was going to stay until Thursday, but I changed it to Wednesday. I've had enough time away from my sweetheart. You see, we don't get to spend a lot of time together at reunions--we're both to busy talking with everyone we haven't seen for years.

This weekend, 13 &14, is our ward camp out. Of course we are going. We wouldn't miss it! We also got asked to help with it all, so we really don't have a choice. But we still wouldn't miss it.

Then one more week and school starts.

That's where the summer has gone!

A little note to my wonderful Aunt Shela who takes the time to read my blog--

I spent at least a half an hour on the way home sending all the pics on Matt's phone to my e-mail. It didn't work--he's going to show me how and then I will post lots of pics for you to enjoy. I promise. I love you!! Thanks for always cutting my hair when I lived across the street from you. You are the greatest!