Summer Spontaneity

Sometimes the random posts are the most fun. Here are an assortment of summer pics, in no particular order.

To start off, art! Annika is so creative with her drawings.  Here are some signs she made to drum up clients for her dog-walking business. While no one signed up services from the Brilliant Awesome Rad WalKers, the advertising was still stellar.

Here are some more random drawings I found scattered around the house. Many of her O.C.s (Original Characters) look a lot like this.

I like this one because it represents her school DnD group.

Also, her dragons are fantastic.

This was the rough sketch for a school project on Gender Equality.

And this adorable one (inspired by Keeper of the Lost Cities) was drawn for a younger friend at chuch. I love how instead of drawing the entire alicorn, she just included the head and hoof. I never would have thought to frame it like that.

I also LOVE the masks that she designs and paints. Annika, we love your originality!

This summer Annika tried out swim team--briefly. Here she is learning how to dive. Should she ever want to go back, I'm sure the team would love to have her!

Moving on, here's Eli hiking up to Grandeur Peak. (Zion came too.)

Other fun mopments: watching Anders and Eila perform with the U's Youth Theater Company. Anders made an adorable oompa loompa!

Eila, on the other hand, was wonderfully spooky in Macbeth.

Well-done, Wilhoits!

As for Jason and myself, we made it up to the Logan Temple for our friend and neighbor Zach's endowment ceremony. This bench is the very place where Jason proposed!

It's fun to think about all the wonderful life that we have lived together since that moment...

...including four babies! But this babe isn't ours--this is Zizheng and Kambree's adorable tot. We stopped by Brigham City on our way home to meet Tofu (cutest nickname ever!)

Back in Salt Lake we stopped by Hatch Family Chocolates to see Eli at work!

Really, this is the best first job ever. Eli loves working here so much! It's so much fun being part of a local enterprise where the neighborhood gathers. I mean, who can be grumpy when chocolate is involved?

Massively content with my giant chocolate-covered banana.

This summer we ventured out to Gilgal Gardens for the very first time. Tucked away in a neighborhood near our home, this little pocket park was envisioned and crafted by a local stonecutter, Thomas Child, between 1945 and 1963.

It's not every day you see Joseph Smith's face on a sphinx.

Personally, I appreciated the hands reaching down to cradle these hearts.

Annika got to spend a few days at Heber Valley Girls Camp where they had all sorts of fun, including axe throwing.

For me, the best part was listening to our neighbor Peter Breinholt perform. I don't think the girls had any idea what a legend he is.

Every post is better with a few animal pics. Our friend Sonja had a hummingbird nest right outside her door.

We got to watch our neighbor's macaw Molly for a few days.

And here is their dog Cosmo during the last days of his doggy life.

Fortunately the Wheeler and Wilhoit pups likely have many doggy years ahead of them. These two are the cutest hanging out together.

This summer we had wildfires pass frighteningly close to our home this summer. This picture was taken from a walk on our normal "loop" through Federal Heights.

The wildfires descended right by the University of Utah and Primary Children's Hospitals. There was some concern that they might have to evacuate. An acquaintance of ours with asthma got discharged a little early because it seemed more dangerous for her to be in the hospital than at home.

A smokey morn.

Farther south, the wildfires were even more intense. Jason took these photos while in Torrey. The smoke was so thick that it literally blocked out the sun.

I suppose there are analogies that even when the smoke in our lives gets thick, the sun is still there. Sending love to all with horizons that feel dark at the moment. May the love of God still warm and comfort until the light shines through.

On to lighter themes, this summer we had lots of fun paddleboarding with the Wilhoits at Huntsville Reservoir.  The water level was kind of low, but not nearly as low as when we went back a few weeks later! Either way, the ice cream treats were delicious--right, Eila?

Random photo of missing our Hermana Talia. Talia, we miss and love you every day!

My work sponsored a trip to the aquarium. Awesome, but still not as great as Omaha's.

Eli and Annika, thanks for being my +2s!

Best thing about summer is hiking! Really, hiking with my favorite people is my favorite thing ever. And these are a couple of my very favorite people!

Unfortunately Annika wasn't feeling the hiking love as much as I was.

So how come the big smiles? Well, Callie told Annika that if she kept hiking without complaining, Annika could talk to her about her favorite band Stray Kids for as long as she wanted. In case anyone is curious, Annika knows a LOT about Stray Kids.

Callie, I love you, you're the best! , 

How can you be anything but happy with flowers like this? Only thing left to do is jump for joy.

In case we needed another treat, a mama and baby moose were farther up the trail.

Here we are at Cecret Lake, checking out the tiger salamanders.

A sun shower on the way down, then pausing for some photos as the light lowers. What a great day--thanks for hiking with me, gals!

Here's Annika holding a bug...

...but even though he may "bug" as at time, this critter is our favorite. Zion, we love you! Almost as much as we love Talia, as evidenced by keeping you even when you are a canine menace.

Hope everyone had a happy summer!