Wrapping up Summer

Summing up our summer adventures!  A good chunk of my summer was consumed by coursework.  Even though I graduated in May from SLCC with my RN (Registered Nurse), I enrolled in the University of Utah in June to earn my BSN (Bachelors of Science in Nursing.)  

I'm completing an online RN to BSN express program as an Acute Care Diversity Scholar.  I knocked off four classes over the summer and am enrolled in three more classes this fall.  That leaves me with just two more classes before I graduate--yet again.  I'll probably slow down and take one over spring and the last over summer since my new job has a super intense learning curve.

Go Utes?  I have to confess, this picture makes me cringe a bit.  I'm still a Cougar at heart who bleeds blue for BYU.

Other sites around town--the colorful whale a few blocks from Callie and Adam's home.  A humpback may seem rather misplaced in the desert, but our annual rainfall has improved since the whale's installation.  Coincidence?  I guess we'll see.  

Talia and Eli along with their friends Clara and Magnus.  This group was headed to FSY (For the Strength of Youth) Camp at UVU (Utah Valley University).

Thinking of FSY makes me thing of our Brooklyn.  This was the week she went to the MTC.  We miss our gal so much!  We know she is doing amazing things in Spain, but wish we could clone her to be here with us at the same time.

Annika's been busy crafting.  She sewed this octopus Ron in her sewing class with Ms. Jane.  Apparently Ron needs glasses.

Annie also LOVES to craft in miniature.  She creates the most elaborate mini-scenes and plays with them for hours.   This one involves leopard seals, snowballs, fish, and orcas.

I know I've posted pictures of this before, but here are some pictures of Talia designing and sewing her Taylor Swift Evermore dress.  These kids are so creative!

It's only appropriate that she's modeling it while watching the Sound of Music.  We prepared well for the concert in Austria, especially considering how little time we had to plan our trip!

On our way!  Still feel like this one of the most memorable and special trips I've ever taken.

Meanwhile Jason and the kids enjoyed the beautiful weather in Salt Lake.

Visiting our awesome neighbors.  Dads make the best jungle gyms.

The Bountiful Temple shining with celestial light.

Justin and Brianna were so kind and included our family in Millcreek's Venture Out once again.  This program is amazing!

Ruby tries out archery while Annika makes some crafts and conquers the shooting range.

Peaches!  Our twig of a tree has grown and is starting to produce.

Celebrating Callie's birthday with cheesecake.  One candle for one year wiser and beautiful as ever!

Gelato time!  Cousins and sugar--it's a fantastic mix.

Time to balance out all that fun with some work.  Here's Annika participating in eye therapy.  We stopped eye therapy because we were terrible at being consistent with our "homework."  On the positive side, Annika's migraines have gotten tons better by consistently wearing her neurolens glasses.  She had this moment where she decided that she was tired of having terrible headaches so often and personally committed to wearing her glasses.  It makes such a difference that we no longer have to remind her to wear them--she reminds us.

Working on construction skills at Lowe's.  Adam has been so great at including in Annika in these fun Saturday events!

Speaking of construction, our yard is getting a makeover thanks to revamping Virginia Street.

Moving away from town, we went up to Park City for an afternoon to ride bikes.  I was hoping that it might be easier on Annika's heart than hiking, but it's still a bit of a struggle.  At least the trail is gorgeous!

Speaking of hiking, I tortured Annika by having her join us on a hike up to Lake Mary.  She needed to take a "beat break" every ninety seconds for most of the trail on the way up and was feeling kind of grumpy.  All worth it when we go to the top, though!  Plus, she and Eli raced way ahead of me on the way back down.  

Eli is SO patient when we have to go slow, even though he is amazingly fit and can outhike the entire family.  He is thoughtful, sensitive, and we feel so glad that he is part of our family!

Next adventure--the zoo!  Our good friend Robyn Christensen kindly treated us for her company's client appreciation day.  She was trying to think of people who would enjoy seeing the animals and immediately thought of Annika.  She was right!

In the absence of live creatures, Annika appreciates plastic animals as well.  Here she is playing at the Children's Museum.  She asked me today if I she could set up the tank for her (now deceased) bearded dragon in her room and use it for her fake lizards and snakes.  Cute, and kind of pathetic.  I wish the gal had a real pet of her own.

I like it better when Annika rides in the front seat of the Life Flight.

Annika liked the museum, but I think she liked chasing the pigeons on the way home even more.

First days of school!  Talia is a Senior in the International Baccalaureate Programme at West High. She has six IB classes this year, four of which are higher level.  Yikes!  She's also done a great job completing her Extended Essay exploring the question: To what extent did John Locke's Two Treatises of Government influence Thomas Jefferson's contributions to the Declaration of Independence.  After all this work, college is going to be a breeze for this gal!

For the record, here are Talia's courses and teachers. She's taking  IB Art (Evan Smith), IB Spanish (Susannah Anderson), IB Biology (Hilary Thirlwell), IB History (Helen McNally), IB Literature (Mindy Thompson), IB Theory of Knowledge (Polly Reynolds), AP Statistics (Daniel Nelson), and Seminary (Alicia Latui).  So much for taking it easy Senior Year!  

Eli is a Freshman at West High and likewise has a demanding schedule.  He is taking Seminary (Alicia Latui), AP Spanish (Susannah Anderson), Engineering Principles (Trevor Smith), Honors Biology (Hilary Thirlwell), Secondary Math II/III--doubling up on two years of math in one (Ms. Hansen), Honors Language Arts (Adam Harmstead), Commercial Arts II (Jamie Delfin), and AP Human Geography (Sandy Twiggs).  These munchkins make life easy because they are responsible for keeping track of their own coursework and get it all done without me nagging.  Thank you both!

This cute munchkin struggles more with getting her homework done, but lucky for her, this year she doesn't have any!  She's having a fantastic sixth grade year at Wasatch Elementary School.  She has two amazing teachers, Ms. Wendy Birdwell and Mr. Fearick.

More critter fun!  We may not have any pets of our own, but at least the friendly neighborhood cat Fluff occasionally comes to visit.  This is seriously the friendliest cat I've ever met.  Fluff wags his tail!

Fluff helped us as we set up our new trampoline.  We had to replace ours when it got damaged during a neighbor's tree removal.

Annika stepped up her beauty game when a neighbor of ours gave her the most gorgeous acrylic nails.

Eli opted for a more rustic look when we decided to hike Big Baldy.  The hike isn't all that far mileage wise, but it sure is steep!

There was mailbox at the summit with a hiking log and sign to celebrate our achievement.  

Celebrating our safe descent with chilaquiles from Maria Bonita in Orem.  So tasty!  Just for the record, I totally recommend bribing your children to hike with you.  Makes great memories!

Last but not least, after 3+ years of wires, Eli finally got his braces off.  So handsome! 

Whew!  There it is.  A bazillion pictures later and we are wrapping up summer.