Summer 2018: A Whole Bunch of Random
When it's been nearly half a year since you've posted anything, you just throw out a whole bunch of random. Here are a few photos documenting the passing of summer here.
One of many summer hikes, this one up at Alta to Cecret Lake with Carlynn, her two boys, and a cousin.
My cousin, Anna, came out to Utah for a couple of weeks with her family, so we staged an impromptu MaggotFest. We went up to Brighton one Sunday afternoon with all of the cousins and took a leisure hike up to Twin Lakes, followed by a picnic near Silver Lake.
Since our van was in the shop getting some needed engine work done, we'd borrowed our friends Toyota Sequoia to drive down to the family reunion in Delta. They generously offered to lend it to us until our van was out of the shop. One fateful Sunday night, while driving said borrowed car, travelling home from Casey's parent's house just after sunset, Casey battle-rammed a parked car on the side of the road in a moment of inattention. All of the kids immediately erupted into a frantic wailing fit. Casey's mom heard the crash from her house, just around the corner, and came to see what was going on. It was the big joke last summer that we'd totaled not one, but TWO cars, neither one being our own. Mercy.
At the beginning of the summer, The kids and I made a resolution to swim at the Murray Pool--our favorite summer pool--at least one day each week.
August brought a week in Island Park at our friend, Jessie's cabin. Jessie generously donated the use of several cabins to our ward for youth conference on one side of the Henry's Fork River, while the kids and I stayed in another cabin on the other side of the river.
The kids love to get out the BB guns, the bows and arrows, and the slingshots and get primal.
The kids started school at Wasatch Charter (the magic sauce Waldorf) at the end of August for their third year.
Baby Sean, watching over our apple harvest. I was not feeling up to canning countless bottles of apple and pear sauce this year, so I took the easier route and dehydrated everything (except for the peaches that we did in September). Without an extra kitchen in my basement, it's hard to get motivated to can since I need to do it outside in sweltering heat over a propane stove.
Baby Sean finally learned to walk in June and this photo is proof. (He's walking over to Grandpa Sullivan.) Sean won the prize for our latest-walking baby at 16 months.
Sophie with her best friend, Katelyn, making pies.
One of many summer hikes, this one up at Alta to Cecret Lake with Carlynn, her two boys, and a cousin.
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| Two burly moms and a big herd of kids. |
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| Sophie, one of Carlynn's adventurous nephews, and Zeke |
Lindy
Zeke
Soph
Baby Sean at Cecret Lake. This little guy LOVES adventures.
Old-people selfie.
Twin Lakes trail.
Sophie, hiking with cousins Rose and Jake.
Lots of Goebels, Walters, and Sullivans
Beatrix and Zoe entertained us when the sun started to set and it got cold by sharing a sweater and morphing into a two-headed beast.
Zeke and Lindy, perched by Silver Lake at Brighton
Hallee
Lindy
Sophie with cousin Izzy
The whole, motley cousin herd.
Mom and Baby Sean.
These girls are so much fun!
Codruts, feasting.
More cousin pile-ups.
One day we gathered for art lessons and painting in my backyard with Master Artist, Zoe.
We also spent an afternoon picnicking and playing in Parley's Creek in Sugarhouse Park.
Cousin Arden, watching over baby Sean.
Lindy in the creek
The older cousins made a project of constructing a dam.
Baby Sean took the opportunity, straight up after arrival, to wade into the creek as far as he could and then throw himself in headfirst into water that was over his head. Brave soul. The incident did not phase him and he was ready to head back in immediately after. He is definitely a White.
Another day we headed up to Kaysville to watch a play that one of Phoebe's friends wrote and directed, starring cousin Phoebe.
Full Maggot presence at the performance.
We spent an afternoon tubing in the Gully with the maggots and then celebrated Grandma White's (GG's) 97th birthday by making a giant carcass brownie, singing, playing a rousing round of Chubby Bunny, Skyping GG, and then ceremoniously dousing our stacked hands in the waters of Spring Creek (thoughtfully transported from Pennsylvania by cousin Anna for the occasion).
White cousins, staging in the tube for the first wave of the afternoon, built by Uncle Troy.
Lounging at the top of the tube.
Cousin Anni, wrangling baby Sean, who just wanted to get into that water all by himself.
Lindy and I, getting ready to ride the wave through the tube. Lindy could not get enough of tubing. That girl has no fear! The kids all said that it was the best activity of the entire summer.
River with Anna, hiking through the gully.
The first round of Cousin Chubby Bunny in the backyard.
Our ceremonial birthday banner, made in honor of GG's 97th birthday. Although she was in Pennsylvania with her sons, we celebrated heartily in Utah.
Construction of the maggot-carcass brownie for the birthday celebration, supervised by cousin Zoe.
Cousins making the carcass brownie to celebrate GG's 97 years!
A true master-piece.
In July we converged in Delta for the Sampson family reunion. Casey and I took the motor tour of the area where Grandpa Sampson's family homesteaded.
Sean, exploring the parched landscape near Delta.
Since our van was in the shop getting some needed engine work done, we'd borrowed our friends Toyota Sequoia to drive down to the family reunion in Delta. They generously offered to lend it to us until our van was out of the shop. One fateful Sunday night, while driving said borrowed car, travelling home from Casey's parent's house just after sunset, Casey battle-rammed a parked car on the side of the road in a moment of inattention. All of the kids immediately erupted into a frantic wailing fit. Casey's mom heard the crash from her house, just around the corner, and came to see what was going on. It was the big joke last summer that we'd totaled not one, but TWO cars, neither one being our own. Mercy.
Sean, enjoying a chicken nugget, Roman-style, while watching a World Cup soccer game at Uncle Newel's house. We had to watch all of the Brazilian matches, of course.
Another July highlight was Zeke's baptism on July 7th, my dad's birthday.
Sophie and her friend Hannah Snow, with the assistance of Hallee and Ruth Snow, staged a week-long kid's camp in our backyard to earn some moolah. They had nearly 20 kids for 4 mornings in a row and did a great job of keeping them all entertained with various themed activities each day.
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| Neighborhood Kid's Day Camp |
Baby Sean spent a portion of each kid's camp morning IN this water table that Heather brought over.
Lindy and Sean, hanging out with Maven while I floated the Provo River with Mary, Phil, Opa, and Kim in August.
At the beginning of the summer, The kids and I made a resolution to swim at the Murray Pool--our favorite summer pool--at least one day each week.
Lindy at the Murray Pool
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| Baby Sean |
Hallee
Sophie and Joseph, out doing service in Island Park during our ward's youth conference.
Peter Tolman invited some friends that he met on his mission in Africa to speak.
Baby Sean, headed out to play near the river.
Hallee, catching frogs in the Henry's Fork River.
Sophie
Baby Sean, getting crazy near Mack's Inn after ice cream. I took this picture right before removing a leach off of Lindy's leg.
One of many hoola-hooping competitions that we staged in Island Park.
We strung up three hammocks near the cabin to maximize our lounging options.
Lindy Loo.
Zeke, manning up.
Hal
One of the days while we were in Island Park, we ventured into Yellowstone for the day, exploring the Old Faithful area, the Fountain Paint Pots and the Lower Geyser Basin.
Zeke
Sophie was with Casey at youth conference, so it was just me, soloing with the younger kids.
Hallee, packing the heat.
Sophie
Sophie, schooling Lindy on the finer points of target shooting.
Last year we staged a Family Olympics here, and this year we did two--one with Casey and one without him. The Olympics included the following events: BB gun target shooting, bow and arrow target shooting, slingshot, foot races, corn hole, hoola hoop, and soccer ball launching. For our final Olympics, we pitted the girls (Sophie, Hallee, Lindy, and myself) against the boys (Casey, Zeke, and Sean). The boys were confident that they'd easily win but the girls dominated.
The deflated, defeated boy's team.
The victor's complete with homemade medals.
Sophie made the winner's "medals" out of the bottoms of disposable cups.
After doing an overnight back-packing with my adventure friends (we do a ladies adventure night every month now), I decided that it was time for me to take each of my older kids back-packing with me on a special mom date. Hallee was first. We hiked up the Big Water Trail that links to the Wasatch Crest Trail and over to Park City from the top of Millcreek Canyon and had a blast.
The kids started school at Wasatch Charter (the magic sauce Waldorf) at the end of August for their third year.
Lindy with her neighborhood friend Charley.
Last summer was a scorched-earth kind of summer here in Salt Lake. There was virtually zero precipitation and the wildfires, both here and elsewhere, were horrific. The sky was filled with smoke nearly all summer. It honestly felt apocalyptic. I took this picture of Hallee, rollerblading up and down our street (while pushing Lindy in the stroller) during a welcome torrential downpour at the end of summer.
Casey and the kids woke up early on my birthday to make breakfast.
Bacon and kid-gifts. What else is needed to feel unbounded joy?
I DID have to make my own birthday dessert--key lime pie.
My adventure friends staged a celebration at the top of Grandeur Peak for the next day, complete with pumpkin-chocolate-chip bread and sparkling cider.
On top of Grandeur Peak
Hallee, glorying over the first egg laid by our new set of chickens.
The Provo River tubing team.
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