JULY 2013
Here's what we did:
A) CAMPS
B) REUNIONS
C) BIRTHDAY
Here's how I felt about it:
A) Everyone was gone to so many camps during July that is felt like we would never be a whole family again. While I love the independence that my kids are gaining - it just didn't feel "whole" at home. It was lovely to finally have everyone back together, sleeping under the same roof. I find immense comfort in it.
In July alone, Landen spent a grand total of 22 days at camp: Three six-day weeks at Island Park Scout camp and 4 days at High Adventure. I think his bed really missed him being gone, because the few days that he was home, it almost never let him leave it! Landen had a great experience and learned a lot. He broke a record for the number of knots tied in 30 seconds and enjoyed trading patches with other scouters. He said he will likely do it again next summer.
Seth and Greg spent a week up at Treasure Mountain Scout Camp where they had some great experiences and where Seth earned 9 and a half merit badges. Way to go, bud. Greg is enjoying being the scoutmaster.
Maelynn spent 2 weeks at camp - a week at Girl's Camp and a week at EFY. She loved them both. She has taught me new terminology that she learned up at EFY. Stuff like 'cow'. Who knew that 'having a cow' means something completely different these days? You see - in case you care - COW stands for "Crush Of the Week". Serio. I told her that I would take her to get ice cream if she came home with 3 new phone numbers of boys to text. Well - she made good on that challenge - and then some! She made some great friends and had some great experiences and felt the spirit while there. ;)
*NOTE: pics from Maelynn and Landen's respective camps will be found and added onto this post in the future! ;)
B) First reunion was of our awesome school in Buenos Aires, Argentina: Lincoln High School. My sisters Jennie and Sue and Emily all went with me and it was surprisingly emotional and awesome. The food was delicious, we met new people, and were able to briefly reconnect with old friends. It is strange at times to meet up with someone that you used to know so well as teenagers, and to see where life has led us on our different paths. The cool thing is that in our day and age, we have tools like Facebook to keep us somewhat connected to those we have woven into the tapestry of our lives. I love technology!
The next reunion was a "Cousins Lagoon Reunion". We are making it into a tradition - three years running now - for Jennie's kids and my kids and whichever cousins happen to be in Utah that want to go together. The kids love it. I loved it too, but am surely feeling my age. I think the equation goes something like: Age + Rotations per second in ride = degree of nausea.
The third reunion was my 20 yr High School reunion, from the school where I graduated - Bountiful High. It was so interesting. It was a much larger group than my Lincoln reunion. There were hundreds of people in the room - but only a handful that I even knew at all. It is so weird to be a kid and hear parents or older people say things like, "Before you know it - you will have a child your age"....but it is even weirder to actually BE AT THAT STAGE now. Ugh! I do however consider myself very lucky to have had some of the coolest people on Earth as my friends throughout high school, and it was great to see them again. I hope that I was a good friend to them and that we will continue to stay in touch over the years.
C) Greg bought me a dozen beautiful long-stemmed red roses for my birthday! What a sweet guy he is. I am lucky to have him. We also did a little take-out picnic in my brother's back yard with my parents and Jennie who were up visiting. We decided to go out for snow-cones that night. It was a pleasant day for me. Looking forward to the next one which will be my last year of 30's before the big one! ;)
