August

Wow!  August and September have been so busy for me!  I really can't believe that we are more than half way through September!  August was spent desperately trying to hold onto every last ounce of summer... long days at the pool, Cowabunga, relaxing, no schedule... but it was so hard to do that because we had so much to do to prepare for school... and at the top of the list was enrollment!  Enrollment was terrifying this year!  I'd add a student, then one would drop out... I'd send out an email, and two more students would drop out.  I have been an absolute stress case.  (If you don't believe me just talk to Matt, my mom, or someone from my ward.... really.)  I'm still pretty stressed since school has started, but it's gotten a lot better.  Routine has taken over, and I'm always surprised at how comfortable a classroom can be for me.  I never did enroll as many students as I'd have liked to, but I've come to peace with it.  I'm really working on not stressing about things I can't control.

We've been working on the basement, and are finally making some progress.  My Uncle Mike has come and helped us so many times, and we are so grateful for his help!  I'm excited for it to be done... although who knows when that will be... At one point Matt had said maybe by Thanksgiving... that would be absolutely fabulous!  I think part of my stress has been a lack of organization.  I keep thinking of something I could use and have absolutely no idea where it is... actually that's not true... I know it is buried in some box, buried in the huge pile of stuff in our garage.  Here's to hoping I can have the garage cleaned out, so we can actually park in it this winter!

We went to Bear Lake in August, and had a blast!  I am always so glad that we ended up staying in our ward.  It is so great, and we have made some good friends here.  It really feels like home to me!  We set up our tent in the perfect spot... totally beachfront.  It was so nice to be right next to the beach.  We really enjoyed relaxing, and watching the kids play in the water and the sand.  Usual Bear Lake traditions include: famous raspberry shakes, the ward dinner and talent show, campfires- tinfoil dinners, smores, a trip on the Bennion's boat, and lots of relaxing and down time.  I loved getting to know new friends, and getting away from all technology.  The kids had a great time with their friends- going on adventures, playing in the sand and water- really what more could a kid want?

We celebrated my dad's 50th birthday!  My mom gathered memories from my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, and my siblings... in hopes to get 50 memories.  She ended up getting even more.  Then we hung pictures from my dad's life all over the house.  It was so fun to remember so many things throughout my dad's life... and to learn some new things we've never heard before!

Some of my favorite pictures that I found:

We also went up to Tyler's cabin, with the Langs.  We had so much fun!  Matt and I both definitely gained weight that weekend from all the yummy food we kept snacking on.  We played lots of card games, and just enjoyed relaxing.  We weren't able to make a fire outside because of fire restrictions, so we made our tinfoil dinners and smores in the fireplace.  I've become obsessed with smores this year, because we now make them with reeses instead of chocolate.  They are so much better.  If you haven't tried it... don't because it will change your life, and you'll never be able to stop eating smores again!  We went on a couple of walks/hikes, which was good for walking off some calories, but it rained a lot, so we didn't do as much as we thought we would.  We did take the kids over to a tire swing.  They LOVED it!  I took so many pictures... but they were all so cool!  It was such a fun weekend.

Walking stick and a leaf... kids just love nature... sticks, leaves, rocks, dirt...

Not a great pic... but I loved seeing them cuddle up next to each other...

A little nervous...

And a smile!

Sydney's turn!  This picture makes me miss her long hair!

She went so high... Matt was jumping in this picture and still couldn't reach her!

So cool!

Best Friends

The leaves beginning to change colors...

 August was such a fun and busy month!  As usual, we are so sad to see summer go.  I do love fall, but I love summer so much, I just wish it could be longer!  Now we are in full birthday and halloween planning mode- and those things are coming so quickly!