I will try to be brief but you know how I can be.

As aforementioned, all kinds of lovely went on during The Great June/July of 2011. However, the realization is slowly dawning on me that people are not nearly as interested in my life as I am. Please don't take that the wrong way; I just don't think you want to look at 200 pictures, am I right? And thus, for your sake, I will attempt to cover merely the highlights (BUT IF YOU EVER WANT TO COME OVER FOR A SLIDESHOW I WILL DO IT AND THERE WILL BE POPCORN).

But mostly I just need to cross "blog summer" off my To Do List because heaven knows I can't just keep transferring it over from week to week.

Let's begin.

My part-time job flew me to Seattle for a counselor conference and graciously allowed me to stay for three weeks extra. Burke was conveniently there for his "Yeah, We Just Made You Work 80+ Hour Weeks for an Entire Year so We'll Give You Five Days Off, OK?" break at the same time. We went sailing, and to a Mariner's game, but I never got that pic from Mom (ahem, Mother...), so here are The Twins, adorable as ever:

Then Dad and I sailed up to Lopez.

The Sailing Trip

It was relaxing,

and pretty much looked like this for the entire two days:

Can't beat that.

Here's me and the Dad,

and this lovely seagull.

The Lopez Portion of July

So when Dad I and got to Lopez, we decided we'd go to church over on Friday Harbor, because church is more fun when you take a ferry to it. The only car HALLELUJAH that we had on the island to take over on the ferry there was this beloved vehicle (insert memories here):

It was sort of surreal, because here we are up on hippie Lopez Island, waiting at the ferry dock to go to church, and suddenly all these Mormons start coming out of the woodwork - minivans, white shirts and ties, multiple small children - the whole package. Here, see if you can spot some:

While we were on the ferry there (read: over an hour away from even getting to the church building), one of the little kids goes: "Mom, is church almost over yet?"  Oh, sweet child....

But really, the whole experience was one of the best churchgoing ones I've had. Making a small sacrifice of time to go and feel super good at church = no regrets. And the average attendance for the Friday Harbor branch is about thirty. That weekend they had over 120 people, and they were so. happy.

Then it was the Fourth of July.



The Lopez 4th of July Parade is unlike anything you will ever see. And it might possibly be the best thing you will ever see. Why? Because anybody on the island can be in the parade, and your "float" can be about anything you want.

Exhibit A: The Lopez High School cheerleader, Class of '95. Go Lobos!

(Please note the attached paper plate, which indicates that she is, in fact, an official parade "float.")

Exhibit B: The boy who pogo-sticked THE ENTIRE PARADE ROUTE:

Parade Perk: the Lopez Island Thrift Store throws out t-shirts no one wants to buy. Yours truly might have caught two, and might be wearing one right now that says "Skagit Farmers Supply."

Then Scott, Lex, the Boys, and Caroline Arrived

Scott and Lex brought the four-and-they're-not-having-any-more children to Lopez for a week with me, Dad, and Rusty, and then we all went to Sunriver, Oregon, for a week with Mom and Mike.

We did quite a bit of sailing.

 I told Scott and Lex to pose and they immediately did this. I swear they were meant to be in a catalog.

Not to be dramatic, but Caroline is so cute it kind of makes me want to die.

Similarly, this picture kills me. The boys thought the dinghy would be the safest place to watch fireworks from. And they are RAPT with attention.



Funny story. We went to Whatmough Bight. It's a beach with big rocks you can climb, and it's about a half hour from any kind of business you maybe could buy a toy at. You drive for a long time to get to a dirt road, then turn onto a smaller dirt road through a forest, and then walk from a small gravel parking lot down a tree-covered path through the woods to the beach. The beach is about a quarter of a mile long, covered in logs, and surrounded by rocks. Clearly no business establishments anywhere. We play around for a good hour or so, and when Lex tells the boys it's time to leave, Grant starts crying because he wants to buy a toy. And for a good while, refused to leave the beach until he got one. I love that kid. Always so optimistic. He firmly believed that somewhere, somehow, there was a toy to be had at Whatmough. (Perfectly illustrates Elder Uchtdorf's point: "Sometimes we must make a courageous decision to hope even when everything around us contradicts that hope." Lil' courageous Grant will be good at hope, I think. This bodes well for him.)

Other funny Whatmough story: Lex had bought the boys little toy binoculars they could use on the sailboat. They brought them to Whatmough, and when we walked onto the beach, Lex goes, "Bennett, look!! Pirates!!!" And Bennett whirls to face the water, grabs the binoculars from around his neck, and searches (in vain, obviously...) for pirates on the horizon. After finding nothing, he puts them down and turns around. She waits a second. And then she does it again. "Bennett, LOOK!! PIRATES!!" And he fell for it, because he's 3. Grabbed his binoculars, swiveled to face the water, and looked so hard for pirates. Kind of cruel, yes, but so cute.

He's so cute. :)

Someone might have also taught Nate how to row. He made rapid progress, especially considering how truly unwieldy oars are for an 8-year old.

Moving on.

(And if you are starting to think this is just a wee bit long, please consider how much I'm not telling you.)

We had a brief visit with Cam, who's handsome as ever,

took some time to harvest my talented Momma's veggie garden,

and took off to Sunriver.

The Sunriver Portion (and then I swear I'll be done. It's just that this is ALL SO EXCITING, you know?)

Sunriver is quite possibly the most relaxing and family-friendly resort on earth. We pretty much just rode our bikes everywhere. All the time. Which if you know how I feel about bike riding being the perfect summer activity, well, then, there you have it.

Take a look and then we'll talk.

 SEE WHAT I'M SAYING???? (Also, please note the basket on my bike. It might have been MVP of the trip). But wait! There's more:

I can see you're all overwhelmed. Sunriver. Go there.