Tahoe Trip

My family didn't take a big family trip this year because of the timing.  Becky had her baby and my parents went out to see her.  So our family went to Tahoe on our own and my Dad and KC joined us for a little bit.  It was nice to go at our own pace.  We had lots of time to play and relax:

We Beached:

We played:

We enjoyed the cabin:

We ate:

We S'mored:

We rode to the top of a mountain:

We acted like dorks:

 We drove like crazies:

We Dr. Seuss-ed:

 And acted like dorks:

We swung:

We relaxed:

We ate gelato...a lot of gelato:

Girl's Camp

Olivia was very worried about camp this year, so of course, I was also very worried about camp this year.  She just doesn't like going.  With lots of prayers from lots of people, she made it up there and had the best year she has had.  One of her leaders took these pics.  I'm glad she went and did something that was hard for her.  It would have been easy to just say, "ok, it's not for me," but she didn't.  She was very determined to go and fight through her hate of bugs, sleeping on the ground, feeling of homesickness, picky eating, and being dirty.  She came home happy and took a loooong shower and even grew a little because of it all.  Not a single mosquito bite graced her skin, which was a miracle all in its own.

Random, but meaningful, Summer Moments

It would take too long to write about EVERYTHING.  So I will mention some things.  We got a new car.  Nothing fancy, but much fancier than what we had.  We are happy to make new memories in our new family car now with power sliding doors, and the ability to plug in our iphones for music.  We feel very techy and more comfortable.  Although some in the family miss the satisfaction of slamming the sliding door.

Olivia's first day of high school as a summer schooling freshman.  She took health for 3 weeks and Joey taught summer school as well.  It was good for her to have a little taste before the actual school year started.

Abby started ballet.  She loves it and loves it more than I thought she would.  I'm glad I listened to the little feeling I had inside that this would be good for her.  Se was able to advance into a higher level class this fall so that she is not with the very new beginners.

Joey had a great Father's Day...I think.  I can actually hardly remember what we did besides go to church, but we did get a cute picture of him with his girls. Everyone is growing up!

Sammie did so well on her swim team and we were in town to participate in the City Meet where she won a few medals.  She loves getting up each morning in the summer and going to the pool to swim.  Her favorite stroke is the butterfly and she got faster at each meet.

We have a new cousin!  Becky and Terry welcomed Harper Evelyn into the World in July.  We love facetiming.

Backtracking

It's been a while since I have written anything, but while looking back at photos from the past months, I have reflected on all of the great moments we have had.  This summer was spent mostly at home.  Sammie did swim team where she improved on her swim times and skills, Abby started a dance class, and Olivia sort of unofficially started high school by taking health at summer school and went to Girl's Camp.  Cousins came to visit, we took trips to the beach, vacationed in Tahoe, and enjoyed one another.  I'll start with the beach trips.  We love our favorite beach and we love it more when friends can come too.  We play all day, swim, boogie board, eat lunch on the beach and then pack up our beach things and clean off before getting back into the car.  We then drive over to our favorite food shack, "The Spot," and eat hot dogs, tacos, and other greasy stuff.  We walk a little around the town, play at the park, stop at the candy shop for some sour fruit strips, and then climb into the car.  Sandy, tired, sun kissed, and full we drive home listening to music quietly while the girls in exhaustion fall in and out of sleep as we make our way over the mountains.  It's dark when we get home.  We unload, shower, and go to bed.  This is summer.