As if the road trip and Lake Powell weren't enough, we've been busy with other fun events this month! Our month actually started with a 20 mile walk from the Provo City Center temple to the Payson temple with the youth. Both Jeff and I currently have callings in the young men and young women's organizations. Earlier in the year, the bishop challenged the ward youth council to come up with a "hard thing" for the youth to do...and 6 months later at 4:59 a.m. we started our trek with 38 youth from temple to temple. Jeff and I walked so many miles in preparation for this and it paid off! We were able to walk all 20 miles and wake up the next day without feeling sore (I just had one little blister). Even Jonas walked the entire 20 miles! There was a certain stretch of about 4 miles between the hydration station at the substation in SF to Payson Market that was brutal. I could tell that Jonas wanted to hop into one of the cars, but he was determined to walk the entire 20 miles. When he started to feel a little discouraged, he told me that he just started to count his blessings. What a good kid! It also helped that I turned on some music from my phone to get him pumped up again. 9 hours later we made it "home". We walked 47,876 steps that day. It was hard...but we all had the same end goal...make it to His House. As we approached the finish line, Jeff and Jonas sprinted home. Jonas had even struggled with a couple of blisters and sore feet, but he ran. It made me tear up a little as I wondered how I would approach my mortal life's finish line. Will I run? Will I crawl on my knees? Will I enter with shouts of joy or tears of relief? One thing I know for sure is that I will make it home...no matter how hard...just like today.
The day Jeff, Jonas, and I returned from our road trip, Jonas and Jeff unloaded, repacked, then headed another 3 hours south to meet up with the young men for their weeklong campout. Jonas was so excited to be included! He even got to join the priests quorum when they went rappelling and hiking through some slot canyons near Bryce Canyon. Jeff said he was fearless! He descended 115 & 80 foot cliffs and did a free fall down a 100 foot cliff. Jonas didn't even hesitate to jump off. I'm grateful that he was able to go and have that experience.
While they were away, I prepped and decorated for Amber's baby shower. We did a "Little Cutie" theme. I think it turned out so well. Quite a few people came to shower Jacob and Amber with gifts. I think they're ready with all the stuff...even if they may not be quite ready for the adventure that awaits. The rest of us, however, are so excited to welcome Baby Beau!
After the shower, Dallin, Audrey, Jonas, Casey, Carter, Jeff and I took the boat out for a spin on Utah Lake to make sure everything was in working order before we took it to Lake Powell the next weekend. We stayed out on the lake for a couple of hours - just long enough for everyone to take a turn out on the surfboard. When we got back to the house, we picked up some pizzas and celebrated Father's Day with everyone. We ate and swam and just enjoyed being together. Sunday (June 16th) was actually Father's Day. Laurin and her little family were the only ones to join us for dinner that day (Amber was with her in-laws and Dallin was with Audrey's family). It was a quiet, yet perfect day...and the only picture I got of the whole weekend of Father's Day celebrations was this one.
The next week we celebrated Juneteenth and the first day of Summer. Honestly, with the road trip, baby shower, Father's Day, and prepping for Lake Powell, I considered just skipping these little celebrations. I didn't think Jonas would even remember or care. After all, did I really need to cram in more stuff? Yup...I did. I like finding ways to celebrate, and these two celebrations weren't big at all so I made the effort. We celebrated Juneteenth on Monday (June 17th...not the 19th which is the actual holiday) because it made more sense with our schedule. Jonas and I talked about what this holiday is and how we can continue to further its cause. Like last year, we decided to do an act of service to commemorate this day. Because it's summer and there are so many kids who may not have enough to eat without school breakfasts and lunches, we decided to pick up some food and drop it off at the local community food box. As we were doing so, a woman and her daughter pulled up. They had seen the oatmeal we were placing in the box and asked if they could have it. The daughter's eyes then lit up as she saw the macaroni and cheese, apple sauce, and other foods. The mom had tear-filled eyes as she asked if she could take more. We helped her load up before we returned home. It was so cool to actually meet a recipient of our small act of service and witness the emotion behind the gesture. That evening, I prepared some more traditional southern food for dinner..and of course, strawberry soda.
Wednesday (June 19th) we celebrated the first day of summer (even though the first day was technically a couple days later). Wednesdays we normally have the kiddos so after taekwondo, Carter, Everly, Jonas and I enjoyed a picnic in the park and grabbed some ice cream for dessert. That evening, Laurin and Casey joined us (as well as the Tanners) at the Strawberry Days Rodeo. Nothing says summer more than a night at the rodeo! The weather was perfect and the strawberries and cream were delicious. We had so much fun watching each of the events. Jonas even ran in the "cash cow" event and was able to pull $1.00 off the cow! Carter and Everly thought it was the funniest thing to watch all these kids running after the cows.
The final week of June was our first mundane week of the summer! It was filled with piano lessons, taekwondo, cleaning, laundry, and a little bit of food prep as we got everything ready for family to come into town...and for the parties to continue in July! Jonas also participated in a Taekwondo camp and was able to earn his brown belt! He was so excited! It usually takes 4-6 months to earn this belt but with the time he already put in prior to the camp and the time during the camp, he earned it! He keeps inching closer to black belt. He's excited to be a "senior belt" level and start doing some things to aid in his advancement to black belt.
