I can't believe summer is almost over

What a delight it has been to have a job that lets me have the summer off. We did a lot this summer, starting with:

Memorial day and our trip to the Grand Canyon. There was so much fog when we got there that we couldn't tell there even was a canyon, or a tree, or a shrub. So we had lunch in the Lodge and watched that fog burn up and disappear and one really awesome canyon appeared in the window. It was so deep that Ian was afraid to go out on the path to the scenic overlook. A condor flew right above us and flapped his wings right above our heads. It was so cool.

Then we went camping in Pine Valley and saw a dozen deer. It was a little colder than we expected, so I'll have to remember that for next year.

The next week we went to Park City, well really it was Midway, Utah where we stayed. But Ian had his life changing experience riding horses in Park City. He's been a dare-devil ever since. We hiked Timpanogos Caves, which nearly killed me. Note to self: don't go there next year.

Over the 4th of July, Jenny Brown and Kerrie Stone and their cousin Stephanie and family came and we had a great Independence Day celebration. The fireworks at the rodeo grounds were awesome, and my friend Erica won the country music singing competition. Woo-hoo.

The next week we traveled to Las Vegas to spend the day with Terry and Debbie at the Lazy River at the MGM. A very fun and relaxing day. Good food, lots of laughs.

Then it was time for the Mackley Family Reunion at Gooseberry Campground in Fish Lake National Forest. What memories! It was wonderful to see all the cousins, but I particularly enjoyed sharing a cabin with Jamie and Theron (and kids), and Sonya and Scott (and kids). Oh, and lets not forget, we also shared the cabin with some Olympic athletes who lived in the attic. Some kind of rodent olympians practiced their events every evening. Very entertaining! (and frightening.) And we appreciate so much Scott Poole and his efforts at serenading. I still cannot believe Theron slept through all of that.

Then we had two fun days at Lagoon. Thank Heaven for Laguna Beach, or it would have been too much to bear. The boys rode everything, and in an effort to not be too much of a stick in the mud, I rode some scary rides, too. Someday the boys will know how much I hate to go upside down, but for now, I just wanted them to have a good time.

I couldn't believe my 8 weeks was nearly up, so we had to squeeze in a hike in Zion National Park. Pine Creek is a boulder hopping hike. Or really, instead of jumping from boulder to boulder, you actually heft yourself up one side of a boulder and scramble down the other side. It is a workout. We were all exhausted.

But hard-core summer fun seeker that I am, I went to Lake Powell the next day with my husband. Paddled around in a two-person kayak for an entire afternoon. What a stud I am. Note to self: spread out the fun, and give yourself a day to recuperate.

But...

Two more days left... what can I squeeze in?

St. George

When we got home from our family reunion/Lagoon/visit to the eye doctor trip, it was a toasty 115 degrees in St. George. Nice welcome. Actually, I don't mind the heat. I unloaded the back of the Vue and hardly broke a sweat. Scotty doesn't like the heat, so I told him to leave all the stuff in the car until it got dark, and then we'd get it out. Then I got worried my make-up or hairspray might explode in the car, so I tried to sneak and get things out myself. Scotty caught me but he stayed in the garage while I ferried things in. We're a good team.

So the family reunion was a hit, Lagoon was fun (and exhausting) and the eye doctor is taking Ian out of bifocals. We'll go back in 6 months to see how the new near-sighted prescription is doing. The trick now is: is there enough correction in his glasses to help keep his eyes straight? If he doesn't need glasses we lose the ability to prevent him from crossing his eyes, so more surgery becomes a possibility. However, the doctor thinks he's holding his eyes straight on his own without the bifocal, so that's why we are going to try to make the switch. (I know what I'll be fasting for over the next 6 months.)