Farewell to Summer

For our "Farewell to Summer" weekend, we packed in the fun:

Friday: "Night at the Museum II" wrestling a giant squid (and I'm not talking about the one in the movie - Jared grew four more limbs and tried to eat me alive.) We came home to a power outage and had our family devotional by the light of the candelabrum in the fireplace . The kids loved it.

Saturday: Breakfast with Gabe, Max, J-Bear, Gma Hunny and the my sisters at Mimi's Cafe while Matt, Lauren and Zach went golfing in the rain for the family Memorial Golf Tournament. Next, we snuggled up at the house reading books and watching videos until the sun came out that afternoon. Then we dashed the pool which we had all to ourselves (seriously, the lifeguards outnumbered the swimmers) We jumped off the diving board and slid down the water slides (with NO WAIT!) Kudos to Lauren for finally jumping off the diving board (and liking it!) We played sharks and minnows and dashed home for dinner and dry clothes. Lastly, we took the kids on a hike to the 'Y' and watched the sun setting over Utah Lake.

One of my favorite moments: On the hike down, Max's legs were finally giving out - remember, he has to take two steps for every one of mine - and I had awkwardly put the backpack on my front and was giving Max a piggyback ride down the mountain. Gabe was 25 yards ahead of us, but when he saw what I was doing he turned around and sprinted up to us.

Me: Hi Gabe, would you mind carrying the backpack?
Gabe: It would be an honor.
*I love that funny, thoughtful boy!

Sunday: After Church we had a fabulous fondue dinner - Matt is an artist with cheese.
We talked about our favorite things of the summer and then Matt gave father's blessings to each of the kids. They were just what each family member needed to hear (including a concerned Mom.)

What a great finale! And I'm just loving my wonderful family. I have to take a moment to note all the things I'll miss...

I'll miss the weekly trips to the pool and the movies, taking the kids to the zoo, the museum, and going on our Grandma Hunny field trips. I'll miss the random things like finding swimming goggles in the freezer, the kids shoes in my bed and action figures in the dryer or lashed to the legs of the bar stools. Mostly I'll just miss my sweet lambs. Here's to a great new school year!