Missed me?

I have failed miserably at keeping people up to date of what is happening. I will be giving a brief history since school has been out.

I have been frantically been working away at girl's camp. Three weeks left until I go!
We are doing Tuesday morning movies at the Tinseltown in Layton. It's been a good out and motivator to get the kids to help around the house. Also, we've been taking a couple of hikes on Saturdays to Adams Canyon. They have been great experiences. Our last hike we decided to take our little, white poodle and..... it rained! Luckily, we had packed our rain ponchos because the clouds were looking a little black. It sprinkled on us a little on the way into the canyon, but soon cleared up. We got up to the 1st or 2nd waterfall and wanted to continue on, but the rain started to pick up so we decided to head out. We had a great time getting muddy and slipping on rocks.

June was an awful weather month. My kids were able to get out their waterslide once and it was on a day that I wasn't even home! The rain kept us from being able to do a lot, so, yes, I did hear a lot of I'm boreds.

• Shyann had a piano recital the first Saturday of June. She did a beautiful job. She played a primary song duet with her teacher Miss Angela. Shyann has loved playing the piano and she seems to have such natural talent. I was so impressed. Angela told me that Shyann's song would be the highlight of the recital. Next to Angela's own daughter, I would have to agree.
• The boys were pretty excited to visit the dentist their first week out of school. No cavities!
• Chandler had scout day camp one day. He was able to receive 3 belt loops.
• Colby had his first backpacking trip with scouts. When asked if he would like to do it again his answer was "No WAY!" In the weather conditions he went in I would agree with him. He did say if the weather was warmer, he would go. They were supposed to hike 1 1/2 miles their first day, 2 miles the 2nd day, and 3 1/2 to 4 miles out on Saturday. However, the trail was running water, the stream had to be crossed with ice bridges, and their site was full of snow. Even the leaders were upset and so they chose not to go any further up into the mountains. On Saturday, as they hiked out, it downpoured on them. Colby was the only one who had packed a rain poncho so his pack stayed the driest. They had to use walmart sacks on their boots, which really didn't keep them dry. Everyone was miserable, but it was a great experience for him!
• The kids went to visit cousins at the end of June. Casey's sister-in-law put together a cousin's camp. So all of the Loveland Cousin's got together and had a great time.
• While the kids were gone, Casey and I went to visit my cousin Kelly and his wife, Anna, and their newly adopted baby girl, Gracie. They got her in December and the 6 month adoption finalized at the end of June. So we went to their house and enjoyed a cookout. Got to see cousins I hadn't seen for a while and Kelly's nice home. We had a great time.

July This month the weather hasn't been all that hot, at least not July weather. There have been a couple of evenings we've taken the dog for his walk and it's just cool enough to want a jacket. This month is getting closer to Girl's camp which keeps me busy with planning and shopping.

• The 4th of July weekend, Casey and I were in charge of his family reunion. All of his brothers, except Kerry who lives in Virginia, were able to make it. We also had his married niece, and nephews and their families come. We had a lot of fun playing games, eating, and visiting. Thanks to all for taking the time to come.
• I had a POET retreat on the 10th. POET is similar to PTA. It's been a great experience. I went with the POET board (13 of us), the principal and asst. principal. We left the school at noon. Got to the cabin around 2. Stayed up until 1 (playing games) and woke up to finish planning on Saturday. We left around 11. The principal and asst. left on Friday night.
• Colby is leaving for scout camp in the morning. Casey is going with him until Wed. afternoon. Should be a good time for them. Colby will get home on Saturday afternoon.
• The girls will also be doing cheer camp this week. It is something they have enjoyed doing the last two years. It is just at a neighbors home so it's low-key, but enjoyable.

The big plans so far in august are:

Girls Camp Aug 3-7. My mom is planning to help out Casey as needed while I am gone this week.

Aug 7-11 or 12 we are going to visit his brother in Denver. We will leave shortly after I get home from camp. We will see what time we take off, but we'll probably drive halfway and spend the night at a hotel.

I have had all these great and wonderful summer plans and activities for the kids and haven't been able to step up and do them yet. Of course, like I said the June rain didn't help us out. It's only been the last few days that I realized just how little time I have left with them before school starts. Colby and the girls start on Aug 17 and Chandler starts Aug. 24. I hope to get on that this week. I'll let you all know how it's going!