Wrapping Up Summer

 Ahhhhh, summertime!  After the long, cold winter we had,  my body and brain have been drinking in these warm, lazy summer days like a parched traveler in Death Valley. I am not exaggerating at all that summertime was exactly what the doctor ordered for me, you know along with the "apple a day" mantra.  I'll be honest, though,  it's right about this point in the summer that I really start to miss the routine and schedule of a school year, but since I know my time with Ellie at home is fleeting,  I'm trying not to wish away these days too much. 

This summer has included a trip to DC to see our tribe, Trek with Ellie, trips to Alabama to get as much Cami/Garrett/Lucie time in as possible, some gardening, Glen starting a new job, our trip to Thailand, a Thailand reunion at our house, and lots of long walks.      All in all, a great summer! 

The days have definitely started to feel a little shorter lately  though and I am feeling the approach of fall/winter sneaking up on us more quickly than I'd like to acknowledge.  Ellie starts at BYU-Idaho in a couple weeks and my days as an empty-nester will begin in earnest.   Don't ask me how I feel about that, because my swirl of emotions would take hours to describe!

In the meantime, I'm trying to drink in these days as much as possible.  Here are a few things we've done since getting home from Thailand....

We walked on over to the Alpine Days Parade for Ellie to get some free Built Bars.   And we got some other goodies too!  Man, if your kids or grandkids ever need a candy fix, come to this parade.   We picked up only some of what the kids around us left on the ground and still went home with armfuls to mostly save for next time nieces and nephews come to town! 

We also recently headed down to Saint George to get our teeth cleaned (since Glen is now working for a dentist) and to check out his new digs....

We took a beautiful walk in the 95* evening weather....

And stopped for a little ice cream afterward, which apparently had gluten in it, because my body was a hot mess for 3 days after eating it. 

Denali took a little time to warm up to the Saint George place, but got comfortable pretty quickly...

We saw "Beautiful" at Tuacahn Theater!   It was filled with fun music and, in my opinion, was Broadway quality, so  I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance to see it.

We enjoyed a gorgeous Southern Utah sunset...

Had a great conversation with our missionary (in 2 parts)...

And I got home and sent my first postcards of the summer (besides the postcards I sent from Thailand).  Don't laugh, but sending postcards is relaxing to me and it made me very happy to do something that felt "normal" after a wonderful summer of being out of routine. 

Now it's time to get back to help Ellie get ready for college life...

Wish me luck!  😑