summer wrap-up

I've pretty much been in denial that summer is actually over.  But the crisp morning air, the buzzing of my alarm clock bright and early every day, and the fact that the house is quiet for a good portion of the day has finally proved to me that, yes, summer is definitely over.  Spongebob and Phineas & Ferb have been silenced and replaced by random news programs to keep me company, and the sound of rowdy boys' footsteps throughout the house has been replaced by the sound of my own footsteps as I try to catch up on all those errands I put off until after school started.

So it's probably time to wrap-up how we spent those fabulous summer days ...

June was consumed by the big move and our trip to Pebble Beach and San Francisco.  Our boys also discovered the local "swimmin' hole" where they spent hours this summer swimming, dangling from the rope swing and fishing with home-made fishing poles.  My boys thought they had died and gone to heaven.

July was filled with days of unpacking, getting settled, and adjusting.  Besides our trip to Sun Valley, we also loved having good friends from Sweden stay with us for a few days.  The Anderssons were delightful and it was so fun to see them again after 14 years!

August brought football practice 5 nights a week (more on that later), so it was harder to squeeze in family time, but we managed to find a few days to relax and re-connect in St. George.  When we go to St. George in the summertime and the temperature is over 100 degrees, we spend most of our time at the pool.  After a while, when the boys get tired of practicing their strokes and playing with all the pool toys, Ben steps in and comes up with some awesome pool games.  This is what he came up with this time ...

Big Daddy's Fishing Hole - Big Daddy {aka Ben} makes a "hole" with a noodle ... the boys {aka the fish} try to jump or dive through the hole as fast as they can before Big Daddy tightens the noodle and catches the fish:

The "catch":

Splash Dogs - A human variation on the competition where dogs try to jump the farthest into a pool of water:

The boys love playing Ben's games and taking part in the competitions.  I love that Ben is the source of endless creative games and ideas.  Plus, it's hilarious to watch.

We also spent a fun day at Lagoon with the Grandma Net and the Mounteers.

Finally, we ended the summer with a bang by going to the Demolition Derby.  We had never been to one before, so we didn't quite know what we were in for.  We loved it!  We'll definitely be regulars from now on because it was so much fun.  There were cars and mud flying everywhere, two cars ended up upside-down, and one even caught on fire!  We felt like total rednecks, but we had a great time!

All this, plus swimming, lacrosse, tennis and piano lessons, golf league, and lots of time spent just "hanging out" made for a busy but very fun summer!