We're all a little Nutty

Instead of camping, this year's family reunion was a "staycation."  We swam and tested our limits with motion sickness and started our own "weight loss by sweating" program.  It was fun to see cousins together, because even those that live close by don't get to see each other enough. Cautious, perhaps, but finally brave enough to jump off the diving board. Daphne looked so cute laying down and sucking her thumb, that I decided to join her Grace, on the front row of my favorite roller coaster! This roller coaster appealed to both the big and small. It may have caused people to stare, but the matching t-shirts for the younger kids made it much easier to keep track of each other. Keeping cool while waiting in line for the Rocket (my other favorite ride). I love how adventurous my dad gets when we go to Lagoon together! We got thoroughly soaked (and revitalized, since it was 100 degrees!) on Rattlesnake Rapids! Chowing down at ...

What a blessing it is to be baptized just like our Savior, Jesus Christ!  Ian's day was extra special because he was able to be baptized by his brother.  After he had covenanted through baptism to remember the Savior and keep His commandments, He was ready to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Not only does baptism give him a fresh, clean start, but having the ability to be guided by the Holy Ghost throughout his life will hopefully keep him making good choices in a world full of conflicting voices.  (Didn't mean for that to be a poem...) After the baptism, we came back and chowed down on pizza, then went to the park and played baseball until we couldn't take the heat anymore.  It was a fun day with family and friends.

Summer started off with a bang, in some ways literally.  On the last day of school, I decided (with 10 hours notice) to go with my parents to my uncle's funeral in New Jersey.  He and my aunt and cousin have always been so good to me.  Being with them is an absolute delight and I always leave feeling better because of how kind they are.  I am grateful to have been able to spend so much time with them over the years, despite living far apart. While I was on the train on the way home from the airport (after a sleep deprived 48 hour whirlwind trip), I received the dreaded phone call, "Mom, I've been in a car accident."  Everyone is fine physically.  And, although having to ride our bikes to swimming lessons for two weeks was inconvenient, our car did eventually get fixed and life went on.  Thankfully, the 100 degree weather waited for our car to be fixed also! Machine pitch baseball has been a disappointment because of so many schedule conflicts th...