snapshot of the past month...

well - so much for getting those awards posted...what was i thinking in my last post? they'll be up...sometime!

i'm back after running non-stop for the past 4 weeks. so much has happened - have to capture some of it here...

first week...

• left home before school officially ended - to utah for tyler & bethany's wedding
• spent a sweet evening with the whole family together the night before the wedding
• wedding/sealing in salt lake temple - pure bliss!
• loved picture taking on the temple grounds. especially loved that jenni & brittany were asked to be bridesmaids along with bethany's sister. really meant a lot! (our girls LOVE their uncle tyler!)
• reception at 'the point' at the huntsman center in slc - way cool location (what a view!) for an over-the-top fun time! tyler & bethany...so in love! dj enlivened the whole night. won't ever forget him bringing out his own 'village people' (including cole) to act out ymca! such a happy day/night/beginning for a sweet new family.
• went to manti & saw the manti miracle pageant friday night (made us all miss oakland temple pageant)
• went to sl temple with rochelle to do baptisms on saturday
• played and shopped with all the girls - while the boys hit hill af base museum & the mega surplus store
• spent time with brian & shelly & fam on sunday (i LOVE family!)

the next week...

• went to yw camp with rochelle. a really big deal for me, since i was a faithful camp leader who never missed camp for years and years...but haven't been back since rochelle was born.
• and...went as a counselor (which i swore i'd never do again) (silly me) with the sweetest most awesome 7 girls at camp! really! 7 level 1 girls (5-11 yr olds / 2-12 yr olds) who can only be described as PERFECT!
• good for me to be there again, at the same camp i grew up going to, and finally breaking the run of missed years there. so fun to share with rochelle. especially good for me to build and strengthen adult relationships    (a very big void in my life)

and then the next week...

• left a day after returning home from camp for idaho for two weeks.
• boating the first day...cole blowing us away with his awesome disk surfing skills...the rest of us having fun tubing
• the rest of the week was reception prep by day...and game playing every night!
• thursday - went to temple with tyler, bethany & rochelle. tyler baptized me - over-the-top special for me! rochelle did work for a woman who only two nights before had appeared to her friend in a dream asking for her work to be done!
• friday - jenni & friend, angie, arrived - and we headed off ice blocking!
• idaho reception...exquisitely beautiful! and fun! complete with cotton candy (tyler's only request) and horse-drawn surrey/carriage rides for the kids (and us big kids, too!)
• fun fireworks show from evan after the reception

and the last week...

• britt and jenni went home to be working girls again
• rochelle headed off to horse camp which she has dreamed about and saved for for the past year (actually, she's been dreaming about it all her life!) a week with HER OWN HORSE, 18 other horse-lovers, 4 counselors & an awesome director. yes...she is already planning to return next year!
• cole and i just hung around idaho for the week, living in a much quieter mode the week AFTER all the partying, and after half the family was gone.
• cole went fishing with gpa - and caught a 14" rainbow trout! (along with some perch and croppie)
• had fun helping bethany set up their new first home/apt. loved getting to know her better, and realizing even more why she is the perfect eternal partner for our ty.
• drove home alone with cole - kind of a fun experience and sweet time to have together
• picked up rochelle at the airport and listened to story after story of horse heaven!
• dove right into life at home with a swim meet less than 10 hours after getting home! (amazingly - rochelle dropped her time in 2 of 3 events and cole dropped time in one of his events - pretty impressive since rochelle hadn't worked out in a pool for 3 weeks and cole in 2!)

now...

• loving being home, especially having a husband again!
• blown away by the growth in our garden (but that's a story for another post)
• planning lots of fun for the california half of our summer!

let the fun begin (or continue!)...

• boardwalk / beach trips / bonfires / outdoor movies / caverns / boating / hikes / bike rides / swimming parties / weddings (lots of them!) / sf / summer concerts / bbq's /  game nights / back yard campouts / craft corner / water candles / tie-dye / sewing / water parks / homemade ice cream / outdoor theatre ... and more!