As Summer comes to an end....

As summer is coming to an end, I can't help but reflect on what a fun summer we've had! It has been one of the busiest summers I can remember...but we have had so much fun! We've been able to go camping down at Yuba Lake with some of my siblings (and their spouses), spent a weekend up in Bear Lake with my whole family (minus Kristy who moved back to Indiana in July, but we missed her!) We had a 4 day girl trip (with Me, Cathy (my mother-in-law) and Christy (my sister-in-law) up to Park City where it was so nice to be able to be on my own schedule for a change...not the kids schedule! Scott, his dad and Brayden took 6 days and did the Paiute Trail while us women opted to stay home! 6 days of 4-wheeling and camping out on the trail just didn't sound all that great to me at the moment! Apparently, they did over 300 miles and had a blast and Scott loved every minute of it! Scott's been on scout camp with our ward and with his dad's ward, and spent 2 weekends (Thurs, Friday, Saturday) doing Woodbadge. We've been to Lagoon many, many times, the kids had 4 straight weeks of swimming lessons in which it was so much fun to see the changes and things they learned, especially in McKenzie. At the beginning of last summer, she was so scared of the water, she wouldn't even get in the water past her knees unless someone was holding her. But now, she was jumping off the boat at Bear Lake, retrieving diving rings from the bottom of the pool (where she can't touch the bottom), working on the basics of diving in water that was 11 ft deep, learning all of her strokes and gaining that confidence she needs to have. It has been amazing to see the changes. My kids LOVE the water and loved having swimming every day! The most exciting thing that happened is McKenzie turned 8 in the middle of August, which means she will be baptized this Saturday! I can't believe my little girl is old enough to be baptized!!! She is so excited and is so ready to make those commitments! I'll post pictures of her party and baptism later. For now, summer is coming to a close, and we are gearing up for school (McKenzie in 3rd grade, Brayden starting Kindergarten and Lexie in Preschool), soccer games and practices, my volleyball leagues, and all the fun and excitement that comes with our packed weekly schedules! What a fun filled summer with a lot of time spent as a family!