July 2021

July was a bit of a blur. It started out with the girls and I going to stake camp. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to go, but the stars aligned and we were to a point in the remodel where I knew being gone for a few days would be possible. So I left my mom and John with instructions, and I left town!  It was a stake camp this year, and while I'm sure it was very nice, I spent nearly 15 hours a day in the kitchen, so I was exhausted! Heather was with me. We worked hard every day and then went swimming to cool off in the evenings. And then we woke up at 5:30 the next morning and started again. We ended up having a good time, but after the first day we were a little worried. There was some tension in the kitchen at times, it was definitely a learning experience! And honestly, it was a nice mental break from worrying about the remodel. So I welcomed the change.  The biggest thing I learned from my experience is that I want to be a helper. There were a lot of empty offers to help us. And we needed all the help we could get. One of the priesthood holders up there for the week came and spent a lot of his time helping us. It was an example to me. I know that I have given lots of empty offers to help in the past, this made me realize that I need to fix that. I need to just act.

The girls had a great time. I have very few pictures. Like three. The week was filled with devotionals, swimming, eating, dancing, skits, and playing games. But I only got pictures of the knife and ax throwing. Which we're pretty good at. 

This was Emmie's first girls camp. She was a little nervous. Especially about her tent assignment because she didn't have any close friends in her tent. However she ended up having a great week and getting to know the girls in her tent. I was relieved that she had a great time. She was so young and I was nervous too!

Look...they let me out of the kitchen!

This was Ainsley's last girls camp. She was a YCL and did a good job of involving all of the girls she was in charge of. she played games and involved all the girls. It was awesome to watch her be such a great leader. She had a bit of a panic attack one day. I think she had over exerted herself, was over tired, and probably dehydrated. So I took her down to the lake and she took some quiet time to swim and have a moment to herself. Afterward she was ready to go!  The lesson learned for her is that sometimes we have to make sure that we recharge ourselves so that we can help others. 

Two of my favorite young women friends left me this beauty on my phone. And they were always sure to say hello when they walked by the kitchen!

Owen also started a construction job in July. He worked with another boy from his school (a teammate of Logan's from the LAX team). They just did whatever random jobs this contractor needed done at a few of his job sites. He mowed lawns, chopped down trees, swept, cleaned, cut down weeds, and all sorts of other miserable jobs. He worked for 6 weeks and made well over $1000. He hated it! But he is a hard worker and did everything that was asked of him. I was very proud!

And when I got home, my showers were done!  YAY!!!

With the showers being done we just needed plumbing, and then we could move back into our house. We were finally able to move back in on July. We moved back in on July 8th. And then I spent the 9th helping with Olivia's Demar's wedding reception. Truth be told, there were  a few awkward moments when I inadvertently invited myself to the family dinner, but it all ended up being ok. We worked all day decorating. Heather is incredible at decorating and putting together parties. She did an amazing job putting it all together. During the reception I worked with several other friends in the kitchen keeping the food stocked. It was a fun night. But I'll be honest, after all the crazy...I was ready for a rest.

I came home from that reception and slept for a very long time. And then when I woke up...it was time to enjoy the end of summer just a bit. The cabinets weren't finished, and there were still a million projects to get done at the house, but I needed a break.

We were able to schedule a time at the baptistry for Emmie to do baptisms for the dead for the first time. The appointment as at 6:30 in the morning, but it was great. It was the first time having my whole family in the temple together. 

We ended July with a trip to McCall for some kayaking. We did a day trip with the Demars and went just north of McCall to where we had camped along the river last year. We hadn't been able to do any camping this year so this was as close as I was going to get. We left in the morning and got a subpar spot on the beach. But the water was nice and we were able to spend time kayaking and playing in the water. We even got to see a moose crossing the deep river. We just saw her huge head bobbing along the surface as we kayaked. It was awesome! We made a fire that night and had some dinner before driving home. A close second to camping.