Up Up and Away

So Eden is away at school now and she's started a blog.
Will she keep it up to date? Not if she's genetically anything like me.

What We Learned in August

We learned that some people do better in the shade.

And some people prefer the sun.

We learned that "our parenting" is an officially an oxymoron.


We learned that our bird feeder is a better gardener than we are.


We learned that it's possible to be proud of and worried by the exact same pictures.


We learned that maybe we should get out more.




Or in more.


We learned that Tracy rules.



We learned that nothing lasts forever.







Sadly, my posting had an inverse relationship to the amount of things that happened this month. Evan had a 14th birthday. We went to Bear Lake with the youth from church. We went to scout camp in the Uintahs. Hailey made and modeled more dresses. And lastly, but not leastly. We dropped Eden off at Utah State to begin her college thing.

We are tired, grateful and proud. We could have done more this summer, but we did some things nonetheless. School is here. Fall is next. Winter waits.

Our house is a little more empty than it was. The dinner table a little quieter. We're mostly okay with it... although now that the stairs to Eden's room aren't covered with clothes, books and lacrosse gear, I sort of wish they were.

Direct Hit. Near Miss.

This was Friday morning around 11:15. Tracy and Hailey running errands... hit broadside by a nice family who ran the light. No brakes. No skid. Unbelievably, no one was hurt. Mostly just shaken up and sore. I picked them up here and they dropped me back at the office less than an hour later. Back to work... Focused on other stuff. It was only later that I really thought about how different things might have been.

Bear Lake 2010

It's late July already... the time when summer seems to peak for us. It's actually just panic setting in. We've blown through June and can sense fall stepping forward. There have been things... I could tell you about the Ragnar Relay I ran, or the tooth I had removed... Or the concert... Or the campout... Or the anniversary that never happened. All in due time.

While it's fresh on my mind... Bear Lake. And because it's so painful for me to string together transitional sentences... a list.

THE 2010 BEAR LAKE TOP FIVE

Trading camping for cabins
Question the judgment of anyone who says they love to camp. Now don't get me wrong... I don't hate it. It's not terrible. I would just invariably choose to sleep well. And contrary to what many believe, there is no law against enjoying the outdoors during the day and actually resting at night. The last two years at Bear Lake were spent camping. This year we rented a cabin. Cabin=better.

Milkshakes
Besides waffles, burritos and curry, maybe the best thing ever. And while some may disagree with me on this (everyone did) I think berry-centric shakes are the only way to go during the summer at the lake. Mint Oreo? Mocha Fudge? Last time I checked, this is America.

Funny Family
Cousins. Sisters. Brother-in-laws that are more the former than the latter. There's nothing quite like family. If you have a job or go to church, "just being yourself" is probably not always a good idea. Last week it was all okay.

Dutch Oven Redemption
To be honest, I've felt for some time that dutch oven cooking doesn't deserve the reverence it enjoys. I know so many people who speak in hushed tones when describing undercooked chicken and overcooked carrots. So it was with some trepidation that I approached Barb's all dutch oven dinner. Hold on... Super thin potatoes, near molten barbecue chicken and dutch oven rolls... I officially stand corrected.

Private Beaches.
For just a day, we had the beach, the dock and what felt like the whole lake to ourselves. It was brief but perfect. It may have been the polarized glasses, but the water and sky couldn't have been a more benevolent shade of blue.

Bear Lake 2010 Bottom Three (I couldn't come up with five)
Missing Family... not everyone could be there.
Scaring Kids... sorry River and Evan.
Scaring Moms ... sorry Tracy and Annie.

A few photos below. A lot more here.

Swim. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

St. George, June 2010...