Last weekend of summer! I can't believe how fast this summer flew by. In all of the hustle and bustle of summer, I think I forget to sit back and really be present in the moments. So, I was grateful for a long weekend with family where I got to do just that. I love our little Flaming Gorge tradition. I love wrapping up summer in such a beautiful place with the people I love. We might have to shift this tradition to a weekend before or even after the last weekend of summer to accommodate the growing number of birthdays during this time that we don't want to interfere with, but for this year, I was grateful to end our summer on this note. The boys, Audrey, Jeff and I drove up on Thursday (August 7th). We were able to get there with a couple hours to spare on the lake before dark. The boys chose to use the time to do some cliff (and Danny even chose the bridge) jumping and rock rolling. I was glad to have the slower pace on the boat. Jonas even got to drive the boat for a bit. I'm always impressed with how brave and capable the boys are when they fly off these cliffs, Jonas included. Audrey was more my speed. She chose a lower cliff to jump from. I just enjoyed taking pictures and managing the boat while they were on shore.
The next day, Laurin, Casey, the kiddos, and Casey's parents, Kelly and Becky, joined us on the river. This is always one of my favorite days of the summer. I love floating the river! The water is super chilly, but the pace is perfect. We all had fun finding cliffs to jump from, splashing each other, traversing the small rapids, and being together. Everyone floated the river once, but Jonas, Jeff, and I decided to go down one more time. I think the second time down is probably more relaxing because we simply float. We aren't finding cliffs to jump from or splashing each other (although Jeff and Jonas still did that much to my dismay). We are just heading down the river. That evening, we enjoyed dinner at the trailer and just hanging out.
Saturday, August 9th, was Audrey's birthday. I'm not sure this was her top choice in ways to celebrate her birthday, but we wanted her to know how much we love and appreciate her so we decorated the trailer a bit. We even brought candles...to stick in her morning toast. Haha! Amber, Jacob, and Beau joined us too for our last day...on the lake. We spent all of Saturday surfing, hanging out, tossing a football between our boat and Kelly's, and simply having fun. I'm pretty sure the kids would live on a surfboard if they could; not so sure the grandkids would agree...yet. That evening, we grabbed some ice cream from the general store to celebrate Audrey's birthday. I wish we could have frozen time...and not just cream. I need these weekends where life slows down just a little, where I don't logon as frequently, and where I just enjoy being with family. So long summer 2025! You were a good one!
