Dallin's series of unfortunate events...

This summer has been a rather eventful one for Dallin! Actually, it's literally just been the last month. In two separate incidents, Dallin cut both wrists literally a week apart. The first time this happened, he was carving a stick at a youth conference when the stick broke and the knife found his wrist instead. It was a pretty deep cut. The doctor said he was lucky he didn't cut a tendon. Luckily, Jeff was at the same conference and was able to rush him down the mountain to get him stitched up. Now fast forward a week...we were in Idaho Falls for the eclipse. Dallin was hanging out with Grant in the garage when he decided to ride a small skateboard (rip stick). Long story short, he tried to maneuver a tight spot when the board slipped out from underneath him. He tried to brace himself against whatever he could to avoid falling. In so doing, his arm smashed down on an already broken mason jar! He rushed inside holding his bleeding wrist. At first we thought he might have popped the stitches from his previous injury until he held up the already injured arm to show the intact stitches. Oh boy!! Once again, Jeff rushed him to an Urgent Care facility for yet another wrist full of stitches!

A week went by and I was sure we were passed all the injuries, but I think Dallin was determined to ruin his wrists this summer. On Saturday (Septemer 9), Dallin went to hang out with his friends. He was riding a 9 bot, which is basically a motorized unicycle only with footpegs instead of a seat. In spite of what happened, Dallin is really good at operating the machine. He is usually quite confident on anything with wheels, but an ill placed rock was his demise. He was going pretty fast when he hit the rock...and the rest is history. I received a frantic call to pick him up. I rushed him to Urgent Care where they confirmed he had broken his arm. Sadly, it was Saturday which meant that no orthopedic doctors were in office. The Urgent Care physician placed Dallin's arm in a splint, gave us some meds, then sent us home with an appointment to see an orthopedic doctor on Monday. Needless to say, Dallin had a rough, painful weekend.

When Monday morning came, we were hopeful the pain would come to an end...or at least the beginning of the end. We were certain he would get the bone re-set, casted, and all would be well. We showed up at the non-surgical orthopedic doctor when he promptly came into the lobby to tell us that after reviewing the x-rays we needed to go to an orthopedic surgeon to repair the break! Yup...the very next morning Dallin was admitted to outpatient surgery to have a brace placed in his arm to support the bone so that it wouldn't slip back out once it was put back into place. Poor kid! I think this experience had made him more aware of his mortality and the caution that should be used in certain activities...or at least that's what I hope! It will be two weeks with the splint then another 6-8 weeks with a brace or a cast. Fingers crossed this is the end!

Harvest

With Fall comes the harvest. We have been pretty successful with our garden this year, and luckily the late freezes didn't prevent all of our fruit trees from producing. I have learned to love making things from what we grow. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming, but when all is said and done, it makes this mommy feel good to know she has prepared something from the garden. We have enjoyed zucchini breads in abundance, mixed berry jams, fresh tomato salsas, stir fry with our peppers and zucchinis, peach crisps and so much more. I still have a long way to go to know how best to process, prepare and serve our crops, but each year gets a little more exciting as I learn new things.

Labor Day

Can you believe it's already September?! This is starting my absolute favorite time of the year! I love the change in seasons and all the holidays that come in the next few months. I've been so excited I've even started my Christmas shopping and already have the boys "costumes" for Halloween!! I know...a little over the top, but fun all the same. I know I've mentioned before how summer is over, but this weekend really solidified that fact. I consider summer to be from Memorial Day to Labor Day...so to celebrate the end of summer, we went back up Santaquin Canyon to Tinney Flat to go camping. In the five years I've known Jeff, we have camped up this canyon on Labor Day weekend three times. I guess you could say it's becoming a family tradition. This year was even better than last year because I didn't have to follow a tumbling Jonas around non-stop. He was quite a bit more confident in his ability to maneuver around the rocks and uneven ground. He had been so excited to go camping all week. I'm pretty sure he didn't know what "Friday" was, but he was looking forward to it. We headed up the canyon on Friday afternoon. What I love about this canyon is that it is so close to home! This year, we didn't take a trailer with us. Instead we popped up our big canopies, spread out our cots, and enjoyed sleeping outdoors. The first night, we set up camp, made dinner, and enjoyed S'mores. I normally don't like S'mores (because of the marshmallow), but you can't claim to have had a full summer without one token S'mores. Jonas was pretty unimpressed too. He loved the chocolate but could care less about the rest of it.

Saturday morning we decided to go on a little hike up our favorite trail (White Pine Hollow). Even though it was Labor Day weekend and the canyon was a bit more busy than normal, it still felt like we had the trail to ourselves. Jacob and Danny enjoyed fishing along the river. They caught a few little ones, but nothing big enough to enjoy. Jonas loved tossing rocks into the water and Dallin tried to jump the river...not super successful though. Jeff and I simply enjoyed being with the kids.

No big surprise...Jonas didn't want to touch the fish.

First fail...

Finally succeeded...almost, but close enough.

Danny wasn't so lucky.

Jeff tried his hand at fishing but didn't catch anything.

The kids literally left their mark on the trail...however, only in dead or dying trees. 

The rest of day we hung out around the campsite. I love our little campsite. Even though there are many people camping at Tinney Flat, we kind of have a certain corner to ourselves. The boys participated in sling shot paintball wars while Amber made bracelets. Jonas loved playing with the Frisbee all weekend. I enjoyed having a little quiet time to read. It was simply nice to disconnect from devices and connect as a family. It didn't hurt that we were in such a beautiful place to do so. 

He always throws the Frisbee behind him, but he's a pretty good aim and a great throw!

The fearless paintball warriors armed with their sling shots.

All the boys got bracelets...they asked for them! No sisters were around.

My two favorite boys enjoying a nature nap.

Finally! Time to read!

This little fellow visited our camp for awhile.

On Sunday, we drove down the mountain to attend church before returning to the campsite to enjoy another afternoon/evening outdoors. We did much of the same...bracelet making, campfire sitting, paintball fighting, Frisbee throwing, etc. Monday morning, we woke up, had breakfast, broke camp, and came down the mountain. After we cleaned up and unloaded, we headed to the town's annual Onion Days (not a name I would choose) Festival and Car Show. It is really the car show that attracts us every year. We enjoy looking at all the classic cars. Jonas really got into this year too. He especially liked the trucks and a few motorcycles that were on hand. He loves any and all machines! We walked around the car show before heading to the festival at the park. We browsed the booths, greeted neighbors, and enjoyed the live music before heading home for the remainder of the holiday. I am grateful for weekends like this. I love sharing these moments with my family. I love traditions. I am excited to continue our traditions through the holiday season! Good-bye summer! Hello Fall!