Lazy Summer Days

This summer so far has been so busy for us! I thought that this would be the time to relax, kick back, and enjoy late summer nights. Nope...not much of that has happened much yet, but we're hoping that things will slow down a bit soon. Our weeks seem to be jam packed, going here, going there, squeezing in activities, travelling, etc. Nap time used to allow me 3-4 hours of doing whatever I wanted to, but now if I don't have a prior commitment to work on a project with/for someone, all I want to do is sleep! The heat has just been draining me! Right now as I glance up at my house, I can see balls, toys, stuffed animals, books, puzzles, books and more books scattered everywhere. Where did my motivation go to clean during nap time? I guess it's just lazy, summer days. On to more exciting events: We went on a double date the other night and had such a fun time! We had 2 babysitters to take care of all the kids running crazy in our house. We went to dinner at P.F. Chang's and it was great! We all ordered something different and each dish was amazing! Be careful with the pickled ginger though!! Whew...those things are strong! :) We then drove over the The Luxor and met up with a friend that so generously allowed us to see the Titanic Exhibit for free. It was so neat to see all of the artifacts, read about so many of the passengers, and to learn new things about that tragic event. To our surprise, a lot of the passengers weren't even supposed to be on the Titanic en route to America. Their tickets ended up getting transferred from other ships to board the Titanic instead because of the Coal Strike that was taking place at the time. It was a good exhibit...you should check it out before it leaves Vegas. We've also been getting our game on with Game Nights and BBQ dinners with dear friends. We love hanging out with other families in our area. In honor of our love of games, we bought a Bocce Ball set! I'm known as the Defending Champion or the Queen of Bocce Ball in Kyle's family because whenever we get together and play, some how I always win. Now I can practice to make sure that I never, ever lose! :) We also visited family in southern Utah for Independence Day. We were so excited to go because that was the last day we were able to see Kyle's parents before they left for Salt Lake City to serve a year long mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When we arrived on Tuesday night, we were bombarded with energetic kids, as usual! :) The next morning, Kyle generously offered to watch the little kids while my sister-in-law and I did some shopping. She took me to some amazing home decorating stores...we had soo much fun! At one of the stores, I found a killer deal on an oversized mirror with a chunky frame. I knew I had to have it...but we drove my car instead of Kyle's truck, so there was no way we'd be able to fit it in. I was determined to have it though! I'll post pictures soon of my amazing deal! :) After that, we swam and had a great time! Bryce loved playing basketball in the pool. The other day I even caught Bryce playing basketball in our loft while wearing my high heels! He had a blast! :) I should have taken a photo, it was so cute! After swimming, Kyle's parents arrived and told us that it was raining while they were travelling through Vegas! We couldn't believe it! Upon arriving back at our house, we noticed that the back of Kyle's truck was filled with water. Friends told us that it actually rained all day and that the fireworks shows on The Strip had to be postponed because of the weather. Anyway, it was great to be able to catch up with Kyle's parents and to hear how thrilled they were to serve a mission together! We know they will be AMAZING missionaries and excel in everything that they are assigned to do! We are totally looking forward to visiting them! A few weeks prior, they called us and did FaceTime to show us that they had received their mission call in the mail. To my surprise, they asked me if I would do the honor of reading them the letter! I certainly didn't want to be the bearer of bad news in case they did not get called to serve in the mission that they had requested. So, they held the letter up to the computer screen, and I began reading. Luckily I didn't have to bear bad news because they will be serving at the Family History Center Library in Salt Lake City...the exact place that they had requested! :) We are so blessed to have them as such wonderful examples; always so kind, patient, loving, service oriented and faithful. We love them and know that this will be an unforgettable year of their lives! Now...I guess I have some cleaning to do. More photos to come...promise!! :)