So We Gotta Say Goodbye to the Summer...

Man alive, where have I been all your life? More importantly, where have I been all of MY life? Well, first it was Flagstaff, then it was Utah, then it was Flagstaff again. But mostly I have been trying (pretty unsuccessfully) to find a quiet corner to hide from my very adorable, very loud, very cooped up children. (It hasn't been a complete failure though...the seven books that I have somehow managed to read this month can surely attest to that.) My desires to keep my children supremely busy this summer seem to have fallen by the wayside, as I feared they would, and we have spent much more time at home than I hoped we would have to. But alas, the fact that we are in the home stretch (school starts in less than a week!) makes everything feel just peachy, and I can say with lots of naive confidence that it will be a cinch to do lots better next year.

Are you dying to know what I've been up to? I thought so.

We let the kids miss the last two days of school so that we could go up to Utah for my niece Fantasia's graduation. (What kind of high school has their graduation on a Thursday, I ask you?) I cannot believe that my wonderful niece, who was a beautiful baby not all that long ago is now a beautiful 18-year-old high school graduate with college in her sights. I am so proud of her for not only what she has accomplished, but who she has become.

 I could honestly just keep her in my pocket all day if only she would let me. 

And, in case you were wondering, yes, that's her 12-year-old 

sister Zariah to her left that's taller than her. At least 10-year-old 

Audrrina and 4-year-old Lincoln are still a little smaller. 

LaVerl, Z, Fan, Drina, Lincoln, Cyndie.

I love them all.

Fan and her boyfriend, Zac

We also hit the aquatic center, which Spencer was convinced 

was just a really big bathtub for him to play in.

And we had the rare opportunity to visit the temple in St. George

My parents and my brother Michael and his girlfriend Ruth joined us, too!

Goodbye to Cedar, but only for about a month...