July: House Interior, Snakes, St. George, and Powell

The house continues to plug along.  The wood floor is in and so beautiful. 

Brady's idea to make little arches by our bathtub was such a charming one!

Downstairs: love the striped tile so much!

Brady flies a private jet with his boss, Dave Layton.  Biggest issue?  He had been dealing with tummy troubles so there was some anxiety over this scenario!

Swim team carpool!  My car was full every time with cute, drenched swimmers.  They were always disappointed when I didn't bring Roxy.

Roxy gets her own pool time later that day.

Comical how many cars were at C&K's house while we stayed there.  It was like a Turo lot.

Hiking Silver Lake with Kate, Owen, Sunny and Roxy to celebrate Independence Day after Brady took Kate and Owen on a bike ride.

The sweetest, blindest dog.  She was so excited on the way up the canyon and started whimpering with anticipation, wagging her tail vigorously.

She was a champ!  We took turns guiding her around the boulders.

So happy we got a taste of wildflowers this summer.

If there is a lake, we have to get in.

Sunny yanked and yanked, begging to swim.  We know she can be really hard to navigate in the pool, and worried that if we let her swim, we would not necessarily be able to get her back to shore.  Against our better judgement, we let her swim and it was perfectly fine.  She turned to our voices and came swimming back to our cheers.

The best moment was when she came up on shore, shook herself off over Brady's dry clothes and then beelined up to Kate's pile and tromped all over them, too.  Ha!  

We made it back to the car just in time for giant raindrops and lightening.

One more swim to clean up before the evening festivities.

Stadium of Fire that night, courtesy Paul and Ang!  Rascal Flatts headlined and we knew all the songs.  The kids knew exactly one: "Life is a Highway" from Cars.

Happy 46th Birthday, Brady!  To celebrate, we took the kids to Park City to do the Alpine Slide and a little alpine walk.

The boys stayed in the car for this 30 walk in the wild flowers but note that my tone is no longer irritated with them.

Apparently these only bloom every few years but the guy who told us that could be making it up.

The best part of the day was barbecuing at Mom and Dad's.  They made potato salad, two kinds of marinades (including Brady's request for 7-up chicken), watermelon, corn on the cob, and all the summer favorites.

McKay and Owen playing cornhole.  McKay makes an effort every gathering to intentionally connect with cousins.

Kate gets more hardware and as she said behind me just now, "What a photo."

I promised Owen one summer Lagoon day together.  We took up Jade, Eliza, and Walker, and they were so sweet to Owen and included him in every way.

Kate convinces the group that Subway is what dreams are made of.

Soccer Tourney for Kate!  So fun to see this girl in gear and hustling on the field again!

An afternoon at Tibble, aka the busiest, tiniest body of water.  It was actually lovely, though, and walking around the reservoir made up for the ridiculous crowds. 

Another tourney for Kate!  It is currently September and she is out for the season, so I'm very happy I had these moments to support her in her soccer comeback.  Brady came to this (intensely hot) SLC afternoon game, too, in between meetings. 

My Grandpa: Harold Frank Nufer, passed away after 10 years living with dementia.  His passing was a relief to my grandma, but of course lonely and heartbreaking for her.  I am so glad I had the year to visit each week, even though he did not recognize me and his personality was drastically changed.  I saw him with my kids, remembered his passion for politics and family and faith, and saw his humor even at the end when he could be occasionally grumpy.  My grandma is fiercely loyal in her love.

The viewing and service were beautiful.  He was given a military salute and presented with the flag by my cousin Holly, who is actively serving.  Grandpa was so proud of his military service and his country. 

Grandma held onto my arm as we walked to the bathroom, mentioning again and again, "That was a beautiful service, right?  He would have loved it."  It was so tender to grasp onto her and that hope and love.  It was so beautiful and I was honored to lead the music for the congregation full of family and friends.  I was also touched to see Mom and Dad Edwards attend, as well as three of my mom's sisters.  

This is my favorite photo from the funeral.  I will always treasure their love.

Grandpa's favorite color was magenta.

My cousins invited us to bike with them before the morning prayer circle and funeral service.  I was not sure if my injured behind could do it, but decided to try anyway.  They took us on two loops ending in different downhill rides and riding together was so fun.

Hearing stories from his life told by each of his six kids inspired me.  Talking to so many cousins and aunts and uncles helped me feel more connected to his family legacy.  

Added bonus was a bike ride with cousins just before the funeral.

Thank you, Grandpa.  You are missed.

That night, we met together as siblings with Mom and Dad.  We ordered pizza and hosted games and activities at the church for our immediate family that night.  It was so fun to connect and I was grateful my kids were not resistant to the idea especially because Cory and Kristen's pioneer day was the competition.  The most popular game of the night?  Volleyball bumps to each other in a big circle.  We played for at least an hour.

Girls Camp in St. George.  I was the assistant camp director and dealt with some awkwardness as decisions were made completely without me--such as having camp in an area that is typically well over 100 degrees in July, and staying in a giant house instead of cabins/tents.  But.  I will take assistant over being in charge any day and I'll do it with a smile.  I feel like I have enough I'm in charge of as primary chorister and a teacher!  For camp, I was in charge of the kitchen and spent 6 hours a day cooking and cleaning with various groups of girls.  It was a hands on way to connect!

My car looked like this on the way down and back up: sound asleep while I forced myself to stay awake with caffeine and audio books.

No pictures of day 1, but we had a lake day on the way down to St. George.  The wind was WILD and the dirt from around the lake blew into everyone's eyes, into food, all over chairs, etc.  The bishop brought down his boat and the girls had chances to tube behind.  I was in charge of a jet ski and we laughed hard going over vicious bumps created by the terrible lake conditions.  One girl kept getting frustrating with my driving as she attempted to knee board.  She critiqued me and told me what to do, but could not successfully stay on the board.  I finally told her I really did think it was the wind but she was not convinced.  Hilarious!  

The conditions at the lake grew worse and worse as the day progressed, and I noticed from my jet ski that bishop and his wife were trying to dump water from the back of their boat.  I brought the ski in, a few of the leaders ran over to help, and for the next hour, we held the boat up and worked to remove water as waves kept dumping more in.  We saved the boat from sinking.  It was laborious but the 7 of us worked together, laughing and grunting through it all as we wondered how it would all end.

Small group activities at the house: mine was making chocolate dipped strawberries.

Hair weaves.  Paige did a lovely job on Kate's and Kate in turn did one for Owen that he kept in for a month.

Temple trip.

The one and only hike of the trip was planned for 3 miles but turned into 5.  It was also planned over the hottest time of day.  I loved it so much but it was hard for some of the girls and there was not enough water.  It was a good moment for me to really encourage and help them.

After the hike, we all went to a water park that had an obstacle course.  It was so fun to that the girls wanted us to engage with them, and we all played hard for hours as we ran around on the inflatable course and pushed each other in.

I think it should be against the rules to roast mallows over anything but a real campfire.

That night, I downloaded my camp experience with Brady on a long bike ride.  He listened closely as I told him how it hurt my feelings to be so excluded in the planning process and also with any real leadership (outside the kitchen).  It helped give me some perspective for my own parenting, teaching, and future leadership.  

  

We finished our ride with ramen and a fancy mint sparkling water.

I was the parent timer on lane 5 for Owen's meet the next day.  What a challenge to stay focused on my lane and make sure he did not miss any races!

The following Monday, we attended Wizard of Oz at the Sundance Theater with Cory and Kristen.  Kate and Walker were dropped off at Cross Country camp that morning along with hundreds of other kids that love to run.  It amazes me that the program is so large.  I have never heard of a cross country club with 175 kids.

The play was lovely and much less stressful than last year's experience when we came home only to take Zac to the ER all night over his wrist pain.

Owen poolside, missing Kate at camp.

Kristen and I went up to camp to help cook one night.  It was the BEST watching Kate so comfortable with all these new, older kids.

More House!

My favorite selection for the house.  

Dog Cousins

Kate said after camp that her shoes were ruined and I taught her how to wash them.

I spy:

Summer Sunset

Practicing with Kate for her duet recital.

Logan's farewell to serve a mission in Uruguay.  He was understandably emotional but hearing him express his reasons for serving was beautiful.  It really is such a selfless choice to spend 2 years away form home in the name of faith and service.

Brady dropped the boys off one morning for swim while I took Kate to an appointment.  HIS HAIR!  Look at my child's hair.

Owen proudly wearing his new suit, purchased per his request for Blake and London's upcoming wedding.

All the mountain biking pictures look the same but I'm going to keep taking them anyway!

Swim meet for Owen.  He is so fast and determined.

Zac's daily dose of 11 eggs.  11!

Sunday Walk with Edwards and Creers included a pull up competition, followed by birthday wishes for Rach with a "few friends."

Elise getting pushed by Walker after surgery.  Best part of this pic is Walker proudly wearing her graduaton shirt.

Sunday Walk with Blake, London, and the C&K fam.

Half bath!

We will call this ride "Rattlesnake Run."  About 9 miles into our 13 mile ride, we came up on this snake.  An awkward biker behind us charged by anyway, nearly running the rattler over.  It turns out that I am petrified of snakes.  Even after he'd passed minutes before, I could not get myself to go on the trail where he had crossed.  Brady had to run back and basically force me to keep going, and I squealed as I raced past this point in the trail.  EEK!

I mean, I needed this picture.

The fires in Cali smoked in Lake Powell, and we wondered if the whole trip was a waste.  The air was generally clear where we docked.  We were only there 2 days and three nights, but it was filled with water, cliff jumping, jet skies, and plenty of good food and company.

Morning yoga...harharhar.

She is all tricks.

My tan boy!  He came with us on our walk.

Owen and his bleached hair!

Finally rope free thanks to coaching.  I still look a little uncomfortable!

She was so good--I tossed her a banana and she ate it...then threw it back!

Kate flying off the slide:

Late night games and chats.

Morning walks off the boat:

Crunches on a splashpad.

I wanted to jump off the 4th deck but never got myself to try.

Watermelon football: love it so much but I definitely understand why others are apprehensive.  It is a little violent and there is plenty of grabbing involved...

My two favorite moments of the trip: watching Quinn teach Owen to fish and Owen catching a fish; and the time Owen stayed back from the teen boats to swim with Cory, Kristen, me and Brady.  It was an afternoon filled with laughs.

And this moment.  This was also good.  This year, I learned to love July in Utah.