speedy summer

moved in!

watching the rain

Calgary Stampede 100 years!

our perfect lake experience

happy anniversary

family dance

happy birthday ivy!

cousins!

ty was so sad.  totally couldn't handle it.

bye dee.  we love and miss you.

heyyyyy!  youuuuu?!!!!!!

what a great summer.  busy.  we moved into our new house.  we hit the stampede where we rode the kiddie rides and ate fair food.  stacey and aaron finished dental school and came home for a few weeks before heading to TEXAS = lots of hang out time.  we spent time at the cabin and celebrated ivy's second birthday and chuck and sandra's anniversary.  we jumped into a remote lake and the guys cliff dove into a mining pit where CJ broke some ribs or ripped some muscle or something because since then, every time he sneezes or has to lift something, he almost dies.

life is relatively calm right now.  in a few weeks from now eli will begin grade 5 at a new school, ida will begin preschool twice a week and life will get into a routine again.  it's all good.

if i were to pinpoint the highlight of the summer {thus far.....}, i would have to say it was our time at the cabin.  the weather was amazing.  we ended up driving to a remote natural hot springs where we sat around with russian polygamist gypsies.  they dug clay up from the bottom of the hot pools and smeared their faces and bodies with it..... nena joined in....which is one of the great qualities nena possesses - she makes friends easily and always joins in on the fun.  the hot pools were about 45 minutes away from the cabin driven on a main highway, then onto a logging road which took us deep into the mountains.  after about 20 minutes we stopped at a small parking area and after walking down a rustic path, BOOM there were the hot pools.... with people in them?  i thought it was SO CRAZY that others were out in the middle of nowhere with us.  huh?????  when we had hot tubbed enough, we kept driving and encountered a lake.  a remote, mountain lake.  it was fantastic.  i felt really small.  i felt that way once before on my first trip to manhattan as an adult.  but it was different.  i wasn't being towered over by buildings and waves of people.  i was in the open, surrounded by mountains and trees and a big blue sky and i felt like we were literally the only people on earth.  it was all quite overwhelming.  our 3 car caravan stopped along the narrow road that followed the edge of the lake.  CJ got out and immediately said he was jumping in.  i thought he was crazy... i should quit doing that because it was the start of a very memorable moment in time.  i believe i will always remember us jumping into that brisk, perfect, hidden lake in the middle of nowhere.  it was magical and exhilarating and just flawless.  we talked about coming back the next day, but we all agreed it just wouldn't be the same.  we had been served a little golden moment and we needed to take it and not try to reproduce it.

life is kind of like that, eh?  i love those moments or periods in my life that shouldn't be messed with.  i can never go back to my mission areas or old college days.  the first few years of the kids life, living in south pasadena....  they are times i hold really dear.

i'm glad i could add our lake experience to the list and i'm so thankful i did it with family.  thanks guys.  i love you all.