End of Summer Stats

We've said good-bye to another summer and hello to a new school year.  We're three days in and while all has gone smoothly so far, summer was good to us so we miss it.  Here are just a few stats:

1--the number of times we did a paper route.  We were covering for some friends while they were on vacation.  The kids thought it was great fun.  It was a flood of memories for me.

Caleb took himself out to lunch with his earnings.  Alyssa saved hers.  That's pretty typical.

2--number of wedding receptions we attended.

3--number of roller coasters we rode. Some we really big, one was not.  They were all fun! (we did lots of other rides, too.)

4--weeks we spent apart from Caleb.  He spent one week at scout camp, one week with cousins, one week at Grandma's house and then there was the week Jon and I were NYC.  That's a whole month of the summer that he didn't have to listen to his parents!

5--Caleb's height measurement in feet. (plus one inch)  I'm pretty sure this will be the last year that he is shorter than me.  Sad.  He'll start high school next year.  Really sad.

6--birthday parties attended.

7--approximate number of minutes I spent wiping away my tears after my baby walked into her first grade classroom.  The emotion caught me by suprise but I was just so sad to see her go.

8--days spent in swimming lessons.  I just never got tired of seeing those little goggle-eyes.  Natalie became much more comfortable in the water but still doesn't know how to swim, darn it.

9--number of candles Jon blew out.  The other thirty were imaginary.  It was a good birthday.

41--beach towels used.  Yes, I did do some counting but this number might not be exact. :)

 112--hours Alyssa spent in the gym.  She's learning some fun tricks but now she'll have to juggle those same demanding hours with fifth grade homework, too! 

Good bye, summer.  I'm sad to see you go.

Camp Z

There's just something about camping. It's fun to get a little (or a lot) dirty while taking in the crisp mountain air and stunning scenery. Plus the food tastes better and it's non-stop fun with friends.

Alyssa helped me with dinner the first night.  Dutch oven mac and cheese and chicken kabobs.  Dessert?  Peach cobbler and chocolate cake out of the dutch oven and gluten-free pizookies.  I just love cooking on a campout!

There was lots and lots of canoeing...

...And some fun skits.

The big kids treat Austin, the baby of the group, like a rock star.  Here he is dancing in front of his adoring fans.

I just love this little cabin in the woods; rustic enough to feeling like camping, but homey enough to keep you warm at night and your food cold in the mini frig. 

Our group had reserved five cabins but one family was unable to attend at the last minute.  So we let the boys have it one night and the girls have it the next.  They had the time of their lives talking late into the night.

Saturday was game day so we planned our attire accordingly.

This is our "Go Cougars!" pose.

All the kids:

The whole crew:

So much fun! 

As we were driving out of the campground, we made a last minute decision to turn in the opposite direction and go to Yakima to watch the BYU game with my family.  Game day is always better when shared with fellow die-hard fans.  Holy moly was my heart beating out of my chest!  It took me a good hour to wind down from that one but it sure feels good to get that win.  It was the perfect end to a perfect couple of days.

We came home exhausted.  Just as it should be.