From Then...Til Now

From mid July to mid August, we packed in 4 trips and slept in our beds only half of the time.  Now that school is in session and we have a normal routine, life seems a little mundane.

First off was the annual cousin camp:  Yes that's 17 grandchildren - and 3 more are on the way (no announcement from me).

 Highlights included face painting, telling stories, campfires, swimming, and sewing projects with grandma.  As exhausting as it can be with all the kids, it's such a fun experience that they look forward to each year.

Fast forward 6 days:

Kirk somehow convinced me that I should do the Spudman.  If I recall he said something like "I want you to do what you are most comfortable with...........no I wan't you to do what's best."

Me: "What's the difference?"

Kirk: "Sometimes what's best isn't what makes you the most comfortable."

I did it, despite not being at the top of my game.

 And he was with me every step of the way.

Fast forward 1 day:

We headed up to Aspen Grove to camp for a few nights with the Snows.  Highlights were hiking to the beautiful Stewart Falls, going to Seven Brides for Seven brothers at Sundance, watching plays put on by the grandkids, and getting incredibly dirty.

My neices performed a play they had written.  It was titled "My Mixed up Mashed up Family".  Maren was cast as "the dog".

Amazingly the kids slept pretty soundly all three nights.  What a relief!  I think it was thanks to what we call Miles' "man dress" that kept him super warm.

Fast forward 3 days:

The grand finale was a trip to Cancun with our good friends Kate and Jesse.

Ahhhhhhhh.......much needed.

Where we played and played in the ocean.  This is the view from our room.

 Did some site seeing on the Isla Mujeres.

 In our sweet ride.

We watched at least 5 momma sea turtles lay their eggs right on our beach.  We also got to let some baby sea turtles go.  All the magic happens at night and we weren't supposed to use flash - so unfortunately, no real evidence.  But can you tell from our faces that we were super excited?

We also survived Hurricane Ernesto!  While we toured the ruins of Tulum, the first storms started to hit.  Drenched would be an understatement.  Good thing we were wearing our suits!  The hurricane touched land in this very spot just a few hours after we left.    I would love to go there again sometime and do a little more exploring in better weather.

Sea kayaking was fun but tiring.

 Sailing was even better!

 And the food and company was splendid!

It was so nice to sleep in every day and just be lazy too.  

Someday we will take the kids there with us.  I kept thinking of things they would LOVE and felt a little guilty enjoying it without them.

So, that's the remainder of our summer in a nutshell.  Now onto my favorite season...