Check!

Yay!  Checking a couple of things off that summer list, and feeling so much better!  The children and I went to Bear Lake despite some serious opposition.

Thursday morning I bottled plum sauce, plum juice, and made pulp for jam.  Leslie picked the green beans and they were cleaned and put in the fridge for another day.  We took Jake to pick up his schedule and his retainer.  Camille attended "Sevie day" (for the 7th graders) at school, and we loaded the car.  Children were actually sitting in the car, when Leslie became sick to her stomach.  Please!!!!! Can this not be happening! (Stinkin' McDonalds).  We gave her stomach a few hours to settle, and then headed into the evening, Jake driving on the freeway for the first time, mom hanging on to the car door and her sanity for dear life!  Jake did well with the driving.  We stopped a couple of times for sick Leslie and I took the wheel to drive up Logan Canyon. (Now everyone else is hanging on to something...winding road through the dark, deer and cattle on it!!!!)  We arrived at 10:30, where Dave and Tiffany greeted us graciously.  Everyone crashed into bed and sleep.  But 2 hours later, Seth decided he was ready to go home.  Scared of the new surroundings,  he and I spent a very sleepless night, one I do not want to repeat soon.  But finally, Friday dawned.

The children played in the pool while we prepared for lunch and the lake, and then we spent one absolutely heavenly afternoon under the most gorgeous blue sky, playing in the sand and the water, hot-dogging on a wave runner and getting sunburned.  It was a perfect gift.  So needed, as I finally feel like I can let go of this summer and move forward.  We came home to a few ripe tomatoes too, so all is complete. They can go back to school and I will be content.

Caleb dug in the sand most of the day, an engineer with a medium to manipulate, he was in a state of bliss. Not in the photo, but usually by his side in all endeavors is his cousin Jonathan.  They are great friends.

Ethan coming back from a triumph on the wave runner, feeling like quite the man. Uncle Dave was the greatest to take Ethan to pick up the wave runner, thus being the first to have a turn. :)

Bathing beauty.

Miriam is playing dead on the beach.  Cousin Bethany is looking more alive.

Jake as a mermaid, note the tail and the clamshells :)  Cousins in charge of the art work behind are Naomi and Caroline.

Seth, on the beach, towing Jake in on the inner tube, Leslie in the background.  Leslie just lived in the water.  She is a fish and can't seem to get enough of it! 

Thank you, thank you, Dave and Tiffany!  We had so much fun!  And, of course, after wearing him out on the beach, and deciding the natives of the house were friendly, Seth slept for 12 hours the second night!  Phew!

Jacob drove us all the way home, through Evanston.  He even navigated Parley's Canyon with the semis.  Ohhh, I am going grey fast, but we are safe, burned, sleepy and happy.