couldn't have said it better

this picture perfectly captures the heart of kindin this summer... her two loves: swimming and piano practice.

population: 768

we spent a weekend in a tiny town to visit my brother's family and it was magical!  (i haven't spent time in a tiny town like that since wandering the streets of preston, idaho in college - which incidentally proved to be my first newspaper appearance as well as the time i was serenaded with accordian music by napolean dynamite creator jared hess.)  it was magical chasing fireflys in big open fields, their annual fireworks display was impressive, and the kids even performed in their very first tractor pedal pull - right down main street.  ...and they loved extra time with their cousins!

longing for the ghost of summers past

the free time i imagined we'd have together is much less this summer than it ever has been.  this summer we may have overscheduled with extracurriculars.  this summer, the oldest wants to be with her friends every minute too.  this summer, we haven't gotten to any items on our summer to-do list!  yes, there has been some time for making silly faces, a lemonade stand, rounds of uno, and painting nails (jack handles the blow-drying element) but... it has been a crazy busy summer!

the mystery of the undisclosed main character

almost every night before bed, jack begs for a story all about him.  it started as a sort of makeup for the lack of attention i feel he gets as the middle child and it continued because he loves it!  It goes like this- a story whose main character sounds an awful lot like him but whose identity is never disclosed. (wink, wink)  every night it turns into a game in which he yells, 'it's me!' when he hears a clue that leads him to believe it might be him to which i reply, 'no, no, no.  it's just this boy i know. but it's NOT you!'  most recently, the stories have been methodical-aimed at eradicating the main character's thumbsucking problem. and last night, i was too tired to make up a story so i promised a written one in the morning.  with it already typed out, i include it here.  Enjoy! :)

There once was a boy with the initials J.E.P.   He had blonde hair.  He had a wonderful smile.  He was a great tennis player.  Lots of people liked him.  And he loved to swim- he even liked to swim in his bath!
            This boy was going to be in first grade soon.  He knew he needed to keep reading (like a 2^nd grader) to be ready.  But mostly, he wanted to "stop licking his toes" to be ready!
 J.E.P.  had a great idea.  He knew just what to do.  He got on his knees and asked his Heavenly Father for help.  He said, “I know I have a great smile.  I know I am a good tennis player.  I am glad I have a lot of friends.  And I really like to swim.  I have so many blessings!  But I need your help with one thing.  I want to be ready for first grade.  I need to keep my toes just as they are and only use them for walking!  Please help me with this because it is hard.  I know you understand.  I know you love me.  And I know you will give me the strength I need."   That 6 year old boy got up from his knees- ready to try and try and try.  He decided he would pray for help every time it was extra hard to use his toes only for walking.
           A few weeks went by and first grade was about to start.  J.E.P. was ready- he felt good about school.  He remembered that some days were awesome but some days were hard.   But he never gave up and Heavenly Father had helped him!          

first ever family vacation

yep..  the parrys recently embarked on their first ever family vacation!  acoompanied by my parents and brother, we headed to mount rushmore for a long weekend.  highlights of our trip included:

storybook village.  i hated sacrificing precious vacation time here but the look on dolly's face as she stroked and petted each storybook character was worth the sacrifice.

a must-stop stop at wall drug

the alpine slides in keystone were so.much.fun!  every member of our travel crew loved it and the kids are begging for more!

the (stuffy but patriotic) mount rushmore lighting was a wonderful way to spend the 4th- being reminded of the men who sacrificed so much for our freedoms.  here's jack imitating the stuffiness!
 

breakfast at the colonial house with their yum-o-lah caramel rolls!

jewel cave where we discovered another of mom's hidden fears! (the 'big hole' aka the grand canyon was the other one!)

blaine's request- the local demolition derby.  the boys in the party particularly LOVED it.

and, of course, fireworks with the niblings!