It's been over a month since my last post, so I figured it was time for a recap of all that has happened in our family as the summer comes to an end.
In July we had a few family events. Early in the month we had a little get-together with one of Chris' cousins and her family. After a picnic lunch, we all went to a water park in Pocatello. The kids really loved going there, of course.
We also did an overnight camping trip to Big Springs Campground, one of our favorite places to camp. It was too short, but still a lot of fun.
During the third week in July, our oldest nephew got married in the Rexburg temple. We were also blessed to have Chris' sister Brittania and her 3 little children and Chris' youngest sister, Sarah, come stay with us for the few days surrounding the wedding. All of the kids had so much fun playing together and it was nice to have them here with us, even if it was just for a few days. The wedding was lovely and we're glad we were able to attend.
On August 3rd, Chris and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. That morning we woke up to some adorable and thoughtful "signs" and cards made by the kids, put out where we would find them when we came out of our bedroom. Chris did a 13 mile training run in the morning, then we enjoyed an evening together at one of our favorite restaurants (Texas Roadhouse), followed by a little shopping. Not super exciting, but we enjoyed every moment. We are so happy for any time we have together.
On another one of Chris' days off work, we packed up a little cooler and took the kids to a "beach" about 25 minutes drive away. It's a little reservoir with a sandy swimming area, picnic tables, playground and frisbee golf course. The kids had a blast enjoying one last little jaunt before the start of the new school year.
On August 22, the kids started back to school. Noah is now in the 6th grade, followed by Samuel in the 4th grade, Sophia in the 3rd grade and Nicolas in Kindergarten. Nick has school all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which means that for 8 hours a day on two days a week there are no kids at home - such a strange feeling! I don't doubt that I'll find plenty of things to keep me busy and that time will go by in a flash!
The rest of August will continue to be busy...yesterday Chris and I gave talks in church, on Tuesday we have a Court of Honor to attend where Noah will be receiving an award for Scouts, on Wednesday Chris will be heading to Boise (3.5 hours away) for the day for work stuff, then this weekend we will be participating in the Pocatello Marathon. Chris has trained hard for the Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) and he hopes to have a great time on his first official race ever! I will be running the full marathon (26.2 miles) and this will be my third marathon in less than a year. I am very excited and looking forward to running in my own backyard, so to speak. The weather forecast looks good and it promises to be a great day on Saturday.
September will probably be equally busy, with several things going on. I have been called to jury duty for the last two weeks of the month, whether or not I have to serve the whole time is yet to be seen. In the meantime, we're looking forward to a fun visit from my dad, who will be coming from Michigan to spend a couple of days with us. Also, with the school year back into full swing, the kids will have lots of things going on, and I will be getting back to regular weekly cub scout meetings after a nice (but short) summer break.