July 6

Today everyone but Amanda and I went rafting.  I am not a big fan so I volunteered to drive the cars.  Amanda got sunburned so no sun for her.  The boys took their poles and the kids wore their swimming suits to swim in the water hole.  They were out for 3 1/2 hours and I packed a lunch for them so Amanda and I went and got a burger.  We ran into the couple that gave us the fish and had a good chat.  Then we sat at the bank of the river waiting for them to return, all the while Amanda is hiding from the sun until they got back.  They did not catch anything, but they saw 2 moose, a mama deer with her fawn and a muskrat.  At the water hole, there is a rope swing and apparently on one of Jordan’s jumps he did not let go and swung right into Taylor.  I guess it was kind of funny to everyone but Taylor, of course.

July 7–11

The last few days in Island Park were very relaxed ... and wonderful.  The boys would go fishing at Coffee Pot, we went four-wheeling, swimming in the river, minnow catching, shopping at West, eating, and staying up late every night to play Mexican Train.  The kids and I spent the whole day on Saturday really cleaning and leaving the cabin in perfect condition for the Simmons Family (we even folded the TP and left candy on the pillows).  When we got home to BC we had driven over 1500 miles on this fun vacation!  We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed every minute of it!  THANKS GRANDMA AND GRANDPA MERRILL!!!

Life After Vacation

Well we have been back from our vacation for a week and a half.  Our two weeks at Island Park were absolute heaven.  (I will update the blog with pictures soon.) 

Madison and Taylor started swimming lessons.  They are both a couple of little mermaids and are doing very well.  Madison is also taking tennis lessons.  She really enjoys it and is getting better every day.  Unfortunately Activity Days is the same time as tennis, but Taylor has had a lot of fun the past two weeks.  They did tennis one week (so Madison was not too heartbroken about missing that day) and they had a movie party.  Other than that it has been a usual summer vacation of running through the sprinklers, bike riding, playing with friends, sleeping on the tramp, etc.

Jordan is still doing his football conditioning and Young Men activities.  He seems to always be gone with his friends.  Fortunately he has a good group of friends and they have good parents.

Amanda has kept really busy with work.  She works for anyone who needs a shift off.  She has had a lot of fun going to concerts this summer.  It seems like she has a couple every weekend.  Last weekend a lot of her friends from Idaho came to Ogden, as several of them are in a band and they participated in a competition.  She took some of her Utah friends and met up with her Idaho friends.  I think she had a good time.

Of course the biggest event was the opening of Harry Potter on the 15^th.  Amanda went to the midnight show … she was disappointed.  Madison and I went to the 7:00 show and Madison thought it was great.  Our insurance agent basically bought out the theater that night and invited 200 of her clients to an exclusive showing of the moving on opening night.  The VIP package included tickets to the movie, $10.00 per person in snacks, giveaways and prizes.  We thought the whole thing was awesome!

Life for Mark and I has been pretty uneventful.  Mark has been trying to keep his garden and grass alive.  Pulling the hose around is getting really old.  The year we get a sprinkling system we will be the most grateful sprinkling-system-owners on the planet.  This weekend I weeded, weeded, and weeded some more.  I was so sore the next couple of days.  It was quite the workout! 

 
And that sums up life in our house since our Island Park get-away.

June 2011

Summer is finally here and June was a fun month!  Jordan had 2 baseball games every Saturday.  One of the games he got to pitch the entire game!  Madison particiated in a Science Camp held at USU.  I was her group leader so  I took pictures of her everyday doing different activities.  The photos of the flowers and bees were taken by Madison, they are pretty good ... get it, pretty .. good?  Father's Day, Mark took the day off and we partied at my dad's house.  It was a real nice day.  Taylor finally lost her second front baby tooth (Now that she is 8! A couple more to go and she will be ready for braces.)  Of course, summer is not complete without swimming at the outdoor pool!

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