Jam-packed July

As if the summer hasn't been busy enough, we kept the ball rolling in July! There were about 2 weeks where I didn't have an event to plan or an activity to execute, but they seemed fleeting. I know, about 4 years ago, we had a crazy month of June coming off of Dallin's graduation then Amber's wedding and Dallin's farewell, but then the summer calmed down. This summer has not been calm at all! I'm pretty sure it has been the busiest summer between family events and church responsibilities. Sometimes I wonder if it's all worth it. Am I doing too much? Making too big of a deal about birthdays, holidays, events, etc.? Maybe I am. Maybe there are things I could simplify, but I don't ever want to stop celebrating the ones I love and the amazing things that happen in their lives. It might seem like a lot now, but eventually the tide will change and the next generation will be the one planning the parties and events while Jeff and I attend as guests. Life is a series of evolutions; the trick is to learn to enjoy where you are now and not wait for the next evolution to occur. I'm trying to keep that mindset more present in my life as the stress, at times, overwhelms me. Yes, it's a lot right now, but I'm going to miss it (well...maybe not all of it) when it's gone. For now, I need to learn to find balance. I need to learn that it's ok to say no or it's ok to not have all the parties I host be perfectly presented. It's ok to delegate. It's ok to draw lines or make boundaries. I can't be everything for everyone...and I think the only one who expects me to do that is me. So for now, I'm going to embrace the moments of silence I can find. I'm going to allow myself to sit and watch TV without feeling guilty...then I'm going to get up and enjoy all the activities and events we have coming our way! 

Like I mentioned before, we had a couple of down weeks before we were back at it. During those weeks, we still found stuff to do...just on a lower-key scale. One weekend (July 14-15), Jeff took the boys camping in Oak City. It was a random decision following a day-long re-pipe of a house in Delta. They all loved it though! They finished the job on Friday night. Jeff already had the camp trailer because he thought they'd have to stay the night in Delta to finish the job on Saturday, but when they finished early, the boys still wanted to camp so they found a pretty canyon near Oak City. They woke up Saturday morning and went for a hike where they saw ample wildlife and enjoyed the cooler weather. By the time they returned to Payson, the heat had settled in so we decided to take the boat out to Utah Lake. With everything else going on this summer, we haven't really had many free weekends to take the boat out. Laurin, Casey, and the kids joined Dallin, Jonas, Jeff and I. We spent a few hours just cruising around the lake letting the kids swim and the boys surf. Jonas is getting pretty good at surfing. He was a little discouraged when he couldn't get up so easily, but he stuck with it and had a few good rides. 

The next week was pretty chill. Jonas and I even found time for a little date. We used to be pretty consistent with those when he was younger, but now that he's so involved in extracurriculars and school, there isn't much time...and as mentioned before, this summer has been too crazy to find time even for a simple few hours at Lowes Xtreme Air (which is what we did). Monday, July 24th, Pioneer Day rolled around and we decided to escape the heat (and chaos) a little. Jacob joined Jeff, Jonas, and I up Santaquin Canyon for a morning/afternoon of rest and relaxation. We returned to Tinney Flat where we took a picnic lunch and pellet guns. The boys enjoyed shooting while I hiked around a little. Jonas even brought their flint napping tools to make arrowheads. It was actually really nice to be out of cell phone coverage and to reminisce about all the fun we had at that campground before the canyon washed out. After a few hours in the canyon, we headed home where we met up with everyone else for our traditional Pioneer Day dinner of steak, baked potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, biscuits, and pie. Once we finished eating, we headed to the pool to play. It was the first time that it was just all our family in the pool...no friends and no one sitting out. It was a lot of fun. We finished the night with a few leftover fireworks from the 4th.

A couple days later (on Jonas's 8th birthday), Jeff, Jonas and I packed up and headed to Pine Lake with the youth and leaders in our ward for Youth Conference. I have to admit I was pretty stressed those couple days leading up to Youth Conference as I (and the YW president, Chelsea) purchased, prepared, and packed all the food for the weekend. There was sincerely no part of me that desired to go...but I'm so glad I did. Once all the stress of planning and packing was out of the way, I really did enjoy being with those incredible youth. And, Jonas loved that he got to go to a Youth Conference on his birthday. I was glad that he felt that way too because I think 8 is a pretty special year to celebrate. I know we already celebrated his birthday with his cousins at the beginning of the month (see 4th of July...and Beyond) and I took great care to make sure I recognized that it was his birthday even though we were at youth conference, but I was worried that he might have felt his birthday was overshadowed by mine and Jeff's church responsibilities. Thankfully that wasn't the case. We got up that Thursday (July 27th) morning and ran to Payson Market where Jonas got to pick out a birthday donut (as I bought the ice for the coolers I needed). Unbeknownst to us, Laurin had already been there and bought cinnamon rolls. Unfortunately, we missed her and Carter as they dropped by the house to deliver them. Still, Jonas was pretty excited with the sugary breakfast he got! On the way to Pine Lake, we stopped at the Merc in Antimony for burgers. Once our bellies were full, we finished the drive to Pine Lake where we spent the next hour or so just setting up camp. Jeff had so many games planned! We didn't get to even half of them. That evening, the kids did enjoy shooting candy targets with Nerf guns and playing 9 square once evening hit. After we set up camp, we had dinner and a little devotional. Both Bishop Miller and Chelsea's husband, Austin, provided small object lessons. Bishop Miller spoke to us about priorities and putting God first. Austin then brought some pine boards. He handed each of us a board and instructed everyone to write their weaknesses or struggles on the boards. Next, we grabbed a partner and busted through those weaknesses. We literally punched (and/or kicked) the boards to break them. For some of the older boys, it only took one hit to break the board. I think Jonas hoped he could do the same, but it didn't happen like that. It took him several hits and Jeff finally shoving the board into his oncoming fist for the board to break. By the time he finally broke it, he was on the verge of tears. He felt defeated because it had not come easy. Perhaps he thought he would break through it easily with his martial arts training. Perhaps he felt embarrassed because others were watching...but he didn't give up. I was so proud of him! As I watched him struggle, I realized how accurate this object lesson really was. Our weaknesses and struggles may be hard to break through. It will require persistence and perhaps even the help of someone we trust. We might feel defeated or embarrassed as we try...and try...and try again. But don't give up! Keep trying! We can break through our weaknesses as long as we keep at it.

The next morning (Friday, July 28th) started with more 9-square, more wood chopping (Jonas loved using Brother Workman's hatchet to chop wood), and a fun Oreo roll (where the kids rolled an Oreo into cups filled with a variety of sauces from milk to mustard and chocolate sauce to Chick-fil-A sauce) before we grabbed lunch and headed to the lake for the afternoon. Can I just say that Jeff is literally the BEST at coming up and executing fun activities? He planned and brought all the supplies for a slip-and-slide into the lake. I know it was a lot of work, but it was by far the biggest hit of the weekend! While he was setting it up, Jonas enjoyed swimming in the lake and going on a kayak ride out to a little island with Tace (Chelsea's son). Once the slide was set, Jonas eagerly went down over and over again. All the kids took turns for the next hour plus! Finally, it was time to pack up, clean up, and head into "town" (Ruby's Inn on the outskirts of Bryce Canyon National Park) for dinner and a "rodeo" (I put that in quotations because it wasn't a professional rodeo at all. It was the "great value" version of what a rodeo is for all the visiting foreigners). While it wasn't the best rodeo, it was definitely entertaining...especially watching all the foreigners react to this very American sport.

Saturday (July 29th) was our last day. We woke up, broke camp, then headed to Calf Creek Falls for a 6 mile (3 miles in and 3 miles out) hike along a sandy trail to an incredible 126 foot tall waterfall and pond. The waterfall and pond were incredible! It was worth the hike to find this little oasis. The water was frigid but felt refreshing after a hot, sandy hike. Jonas did really well on the hike there...and incredible on the hike back even though he hated it! I had packed enough water for us, but several of the youth didn't have enough and Jeff ended up giving some of our water to them. This meant that the last half of the hike back Jonas and I didn't have any water. He wanted to just sit down and give up. I kept pushing him on though. Perhaps we should have stopped for a break here and there, but it would have just prolonged the hike. Even though he was really frustrated, he did awesome and I was so proud of him! After the hike, we wrapped up the conference with some final thoughts before we loaded into the cars for a 3 hour drive home. Jonas crashed for over half the drive home. He was definitely exhausted from all the excitement of the weekend...and perhaps the whole summer. I can't believe we only have a couple of weeks left before school starts. In some ways I'm looking forward to the routine of the school year and to end this crazy summer!, but in other ways, I want a summer do-over to slow things down and enjoy some downtime. I guess there's always next summer!