Summer Update

Not sure where summer went...only 10 days until school starts! I am so not ready! Ok, I am not ready for school, but I am ready for fall. The heat this summer has been a little over the top, and fall means football! Tickets came in the mail the other day, followed by some happy dancing when I told Jared he could go to the Texas game. So what have we been doing all summer? Here's a quick run down.

Ashley has been living in Logan and working and preparing for her senior recital. She really is only one recital and two classes away from graduating, but will go the full year to finish up a sign language minor. The other day she called me and told me she had practiced for 4 1/2 hours. Wow! In high school it was a chore to get one hour from her. She did 4 weeks of EFY this summer also, one of those weeks was in Nauvoo. She had such a fabulous experience in Nauvoo, I think she finally understands why I love the place so much.

Nauvoo!

Alexis is on her third transfer in Grafton, the farthest north you can serve in her mission. What an amazing experience she is having! She plays the piano every Sunday (don't you just love it when you tell your kids they will be grateful they can play someday, and then they really are grateful. It makes all the work to get them to practice worthwhile.) The people in Australia are absolutely amazing. They feed her, give her gifts, and she even got three cakes on her birthday. She isn't going to want to come home! She has been out 5 months already!

River in Grafton (I think it is the Clarence River)

Jared is working as a lifeguard this summer, and works as many hours as he can. He is working almost 50 hours this week. We don't see him much, but the mission savings is starting to add up. He is running to get ready for Cross Country. He just got his schedule for school, and is perfectly happy with the way it is set up. They gave him two periods of Seminary and no English. I am making him go in to change it tomorrow.

Breanna is so excited to start 9th grade. She has been working picking zuchini and squash at 6am to earn money for school clothes. Hopefully she is still excited for school after the homework starts. She and Grant have been sharing lawn mowing duties this summer, and she is constantly trying to talk Grant into taking her turn.

Grant is starting his last year in elementary school. How did I get to be so old? He will turn 12 in just a little over a month, and is looking forward to moving on from primary. His sister thinks he fits in perfectly with the deacons already. The other day he made cookies, and I told him they were delicious. He said, "Well they aren't as good as yours, Mom. Your cookies are pretty hard to replicate." Who knew he even knew the word replicate, but that he could use it correctly was pretty impressive.

Youth Conference in Manti

What else has been going on? Tony and Jared went to Priest's Camp, Breanna and I went to girl's camp, and all four of us went to Youth Conference. We had a wonderful Stevenson Family Reunion at the Heber Valley Camp, and made a quick trip to Idaho. Had a wonderful visit from Tony's Dad and Karen as they finished their mission in New Hampshire. What a wonderful experience they had, and it was so fun to have them here for a few days. Then this week we had fun visiting with my sister and some of her family as they were out here from Iowa. Now I am ready for a vacation from summer...

Stevenson Family Reunion