Summertime

Oh my.  Summer sped by my house this year.  And I was too busy enjoying it to write anything!  So, I will sum up here:

* Jared managed to stay in Utah the entire summer! He hiked and camped and fished and put in a garden.
* Janalee did a lot of knitting.  She also began working on her "crafts to be finished" list again.
* Walker is still growing.  He spent the summer reading, camping, and hiking.
* Morgen is becoming a better cook.  Her experiments are getting more and more tasty.
* Hyrum was baptized in June.  He made a new friend who is as boisterous as he is, and they've spent the summer running across the fields to visit each other.

We all worked hard at relaxing, and picking out fun activities.  We even did some of them!
This past weekend (Labor Day in the USA), we volunteered for 2 days at Swiss Days.  It's a fair put on by our town, and the proceeds help pay for any beautification projects we do.  We spent most of those two days at the scone booth, rolling out dough, cutting and pressing it, cooking it, then serving it.  The scones were delicious, and one of the perks of our volunteer job!

Gratitude List:
* Our garden, despite our benign neglect of it, has been a winner at producing vegetables this year.  It makes me excited to see what we'll get if we actually nurture it!
* Walker, Morgen, and Hyrum are all back in school, and all enjoying their classes.
* Walker went on a field trip last Saturday, to the Great Salt Lake, to observe and experience buoyancy.  He and a friend decided to swim out to one of the islands, and ended up making the entire group an hour late getting back :).  They had to apologize to all of the parents when they returned.  I'm really glad that he is a good swimmer.
* Morgen is still drawing and singing.  She is getting better at both.  She is also really good at being a teenager (already!), which makes me very grateful that she won't be a teenager forever.
* Hyrum runs all day long.  He loves school, and loves that he can walk to school!
* We have great neighbors and friends.
* We have a wonderful family.
* We have shelter, and food, and clothing.
* God has blessed me and my family.

As a side note, I have debated whether or not to make a big deal out of today.  I don't know that I want to celebrate it- cake and balloons don't really speak to the type of memory September 11 holds for me.  But as I gathered up my kids to drive to church, I decided that doing the same ordinary things we always do would be the best way to remember.  We can worship freely.  We can play games, and watch movies, and enjoy our family and friends, and remember those people who are not allowed these freedoms.  We are truly blessed.

So, we may (or may not) discuss the significance of this day at dinnertime. But I will remember that I am free to choose.  And that I am truly thankful for that choice.