A week in the life of July

Wonder of wonders,  I'm less than two months behind on this blog.  Yay?

So we got back from our east coast travels on Friday, July 13th.  (Luckily we escaped major misfortune.)  The next day Annika attended her preschool graduation for Upstart, an online program run by Waterford.  Good-bye Rusty and Rosy.  We will miss you--sort of.

The following Monday Brooklyn left for Brighton Beehive camp.  Here she is with her cute friend Hannah.  While I don't have any pictures, I know they had a fantastic time.

I dropped Talia off a couple hours later at Camp Cloud Rim for Girl Scout Camp .

Here's Annika saying goodbye.  I'm super proud of Talia having the courage to go back to camp this year after leaving early last year due to sickness.  I think she had a great time.

The theme for her camp?  Backpacker.  They spent three two days and two nights out on the trails.  I'm more than a little jealous.

One of Talia's counselors shared a bunch of photos.  Such a gorgeous place! 

They actually backpacked around Brighton, hiking many of the same trails that Brooklyn did.  They passed Lake Mary, Lake Martha, Lake Catherine...

...and ended up on Clayton Peak.

You know you've climbed far when you reach the top of the chairlift.

I hope the weather is as beautiful when our family backpacks next weekend.

To celebrate their return to camp, they apparently jumped in the lake fully clothed.  That's one way to cool off.

Meanwhile, the littles and I entertained ourselves with some mountaineering of our own.

Silver Lake may not be rugged, but it certainly is beautiful!

Plus, we got to enjoy all the brazenly cute ground squirrels.

One of them ran right across Eli's foot with hopes of getting a treat.

No treats from us, little squirrel.  Better luck next time.

During the week, Eli, Annie, and I also spent some time caring for the Emerson Garden.

Nicest school garden I've ever experienced.

Most of the produce wasn't mature, but we did pick a few beans, raspberries...

...and basil.

Later in the week Eli spent a couple of days at Cubshire Scout Camp with his friend Joshua.

They were both elated to come home with pocketknives of their very own.

More scary than a pocket knife is this tarantula that Annika held.  While I wasn't there, I imagine she loved it.

Aunt Brianna took Annie, Eli, and Ruby to a super cool program called Scales 'n Tails.

We, in turn, took Ruby to Sam's Club.  Guess we know who the cool Wheelers are.

At least there were samples?

At the end of the week, Eli was so thrilled to be reunited with his sisters that he carried their packs...

...and gave them a great big hug.

Sometimes it's nice to say goodbye just so you realize how much you miss each other.