Summer Wrap-Up

Once again summer has flown by in a flash. Okay, it feels that way now that it's over but of course not so much over most of the past 2 1/2 months. I'm so funny - every June as school lets out and I'm facing the long months ahead of kids wanting me to entertain them all day it feels like I'll never make it through. And I dread it terribly. So we go on hikes, outings, trips, play dates, parties, barbeques, swimming, etc. etc. etc. until I'm about to collapse. Then suddenly it's over and I'm wondering if we did enough stuff to officially dub it a Good Summer. All I have to do, though, is look at our calendar and how crammed every day was and I can rest assured that we did indeed have a great summer.

One thing I didn't ever remember to blog about was a fun hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Mary's Lake. It isn't very far - I think only a mile or so, but since my friend Ruth and I did it together with seven children, three of whom were quite small, it took us the better part of a day. It was pretty funny, actually - we packed a picnic lunch and as soon as we parked and walked about 20 yards up the hill the kids all declared they were starving and ready for lunch. Yeah, right. We hauled them, prodded them, cajoled them and bribed them up the mountain a half mile to the very small and quaint Dog Lake where we perched on some rocks and ate our lunch. Then we finished the journey to Lake Mary, happily meeting up with my friend Heather and her family on the way, and enjoyed the beautiful cool sunshine by the lake. I definitely need to do that more often, despite the grumbles from the kids, the lovely scrape I sustained on my shin, and the multitude of mosquito bites collected by all. It's just a good thing to breathe the air of Big Cottonwood Canyon.

We crammed in a couple more outings over the last week - the aquarium and the aviary, plus many play dates and walks to Maverik for frozen yogurt. We made homemade icecream and rootbeer and enjoyed some rootbeer floats with friends. And suddenly, summer was over and school had begun. Of course, the weather is such that we've still got plans in the works for sleeping in the yard a time or two and perhaps some more lemonade on the back porch. Hopefully next summer I'll let go of the dread and remember that summer will swoosh by as quickly as it always does and not to fret.

We had the loveliest moment the other evening that I just had to record.  Not that long ago I posted a talk I gave in church and I mentioned how I always imgained what a good mom I'd be; that I'd constantly be snuggling with my kids on the lawn and gazing at shapes in the clouds but that in reality, kids never seem to want to do stuff like that with me.  Well guess what.  I was sitting on the lawn watching a gorgeous sunset and all three kids, Bundle included, came out, snuggled with me, and we all looked at shapes in the clouds.  It happened!  I really AM a good mom!