Mid-Summer Update

* I'm loving Lagoon this year. We've been about 8 times so far this summer, usually for about 4 hour stints here and there. It's perfect. The other night, we arrived at 6pm, swam for 2 hours, went on a couple of rides and were done. The marathon Lagoon days are over which is sooo perfect for me.

* The pioneer trek preparations continue. We leave next week and are madly getting the games ready, buying the stuff for crafts, scrounging pioneer-style clothing, rounding up our own supplies and arranging the farming out of our kids. We've been rolling 1500 paper darts for a pvc pipe/paper dart shoot-out in a ghost town we'll be passing through.  I've had my fill of paper darts, believe me.  I've also been walking with the young women a few times a week to try to get us all ready. Good times ahead, I hope.

* We've been having informal bbq's in the front yard with our neighbors, a tradition that started a few years ago when none of us had anything prepared for dinner and decided to combine our efforts. Now, we do it a few times each summer and just set everything up in our driveway while the kids run wild. Very posh. But a fun tradition, nonetheless.

* Steph and I have been taking tennis lessons. 7am semi-private lessons (since we're the only ones in the class) have given me something to work toward. We both laugh at how chatty our teacher is -- we have to really work to keep him on track -- but hopefully I'll learn enough to improve my game. My swing looks great when he just drops the ball in front of me but when we play a game, I revert back to my old habits. Practice, practice, practice.

* Took the fam down to Provo to see my sister perform with her band.  She sings backup and plays keyboard for a cool little band in LA.  The lead singer won an Oscar for his songwriting in the movie, A Mighty Wind.  She sang a duet with him that James Taylor and Alison Krauss just released called "How's the World Treating You."   Made me cry.  My dad loved Alison Krauss and I couldn't help but think of how proud he would have been to see Erin sing on stage.

* Other plans for summer:  Our orthodontist-sponsored free day at Cherry Hill, an Ikea run (since my older kids keep asking to go play there), a field trip to Cabella's, a 4 day extended playdate with cousins while their parents go on a biking trip to France (whatever!), swimming lessons, scout camp, princess dance camp for Elle, and anxiously awaiting the grandparents' return from Africa in a few weeks. :)