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LP 2011

Our week at the lake has come and gone again. It feels amazing to be home and in our own beds but we love our sunny, carefree days on the water each year. We had so much fun and way too many pics to deal with right now :)

cousin time on the speed boat

We hurried home a day sooner than normal so Joseph could race in today's Blackridge triathlon:

He did so well even after hurting his back at the lake (was it the cliff jumping? sea-dooing? endless wrestling with the kids?)

He had some great race buddies to start the early morning with:

Today

--My AC is finally fixed as of 6:00 pm. Phew.

--I am packing for a short girl's camp adventure. I leave tomorrow afternoon and will be home late Thursday night. I am mostly super excited to go and be there even for a short time, but I am a little nervous about feeling sick. I've had better days the past 5 days or so but not perfect ones. I guess I better pack great snacks to keep my tummy feeling settled.

--I made a packing list for our annual LP trip. We leave just this coming weekend and all 5 of us are getting so anxious--we love that trip!

--I made it through 1/4 of my newest Blurb book. I have a Groupon deadline looming and need to get it finished in about 2 weeks. Guess that's what I'll be working on at the lake!

And just a random question: what do you leave your thermostat set to when you leave out of town in the summer?

Lately

Olivia and Grandpa Neil at the park last night. We met up with John and Krista too and our kids played on the playground for nearly 3 hours. I heart summer evenings!

Livs and Grandma Bobbi after last week's bike ride

A wild water fight with Evie and Elijah before they moved back with their mom in CO.

A golf date with out of town brothers earlier this week.

In other news, the fan on our AC's motor started making crazy loud sounds Thursday night and the repairman told us yesterday we definitely needed a new one but that we shouldn't run our AC until he could get the replacement part in on Monday. Hmmm, no AC for 3 days in the middle of July?

So we are braving it. Last night, when we got home from the park, the house was warm (78) but not too bad. We put Cares and Beans to bed together in his basement bedroom and Livs in her crib and then opened every window and turned on our ceiling fans. Everything cooled down so nicely that we even slept in our own bed rather than in basement--so there's hope for us still! Love these Utah summer nights which drop down into the 60s after a hot 90 degree day.

Red Butte Gardens

Our day in pictures:

Smelling the heavenly lavender

Notice how the sun vanished behind some clouds?
Right after the cloud cover arrived we found ourselves in a downpour.
So we hid in this lovely, dry, willow tree "fort" complete with wooden chairs:

Much better shot of my Caresie than the one above.

We loved staying totally dry as the rain fell.
We were the only ones around and felt like we were in our own secret garden.

The sun returned a few minutes later

and Bentley took a turn with the camera.

Our last stop was in the thriving wildflower garden.

All 4 of us snuggled on this swing and just rocked for a bit. The air was perfect, my kids still and calm and the view stunning. I think it was my favorite part of the day and the girlies didn't want to leave the lovely swing.

Little flower girl
(who left a ponytail in her hair the whole morning! I was so proud of her :)

Biking Crew

Joseph rallied the troops on Saturday--between his family and mine we had quite a turnout, ready to ride the old Herriman hills.

Saturdays this summer almost always begin with one of Joseph's long bike rides. I am really so sad I don't feel good enough to join him yet. Soon?

Had to post the silly shot...

and Joseph's sweet helmet hair (this shot from his 4th of July ride up in Park City)

Cinderella

Joseph sent me this pic today and called it "Cinderella." My sweet Cares, she truly loves to work and do special jobs (which her daddy has been making up for her lately--nice role reversal in all honesty :) She was removing the hard water stains with a pumice stone. Works like a charm if anyone needs a tip getting that lingering ring off.

She also helped wash the car the other night after all our driving along the dusty cabin roads. Such a helper. I love how her siblings like to join her--she's just too much fun to leave alone.

2 Girls, 1 Dress

Olivia 2011, Caroline 2008

I could compare these 2 at the same age all day. Sometimes they look so much like sisters and other times they barely look related. But the same could be said of my sisters and me.

I feel so lucky to have these girlies in my life and wonder every day if Joseph and I have created yet another little girl to join her sissies. It is tremendous fun to see how our genes combine and make such unique little people every time.