July Tid Bits

Let's dispense with the gorgeous sunrise photos first because July spoils us for them!

This one was actually driving away from Spanish Camp after I dropped off Liesel and Ireland and those clouds were fluffy and HUGE! The picture doesn't do them justice!

I love seeing the mist rising off the water but it's really hard to capture in photos. This is the best I could do.

Some Queen Anne's lace along with your sunrise!

My early morning walks are such a sacred time for me to start my day with some peaceful contemplation. 

Aside from that, I did pretty well on some Wordle! To be fair, my sister Katrina sends it to me first and I usually know her first two words so I can suss out the word a lot faster that way.
 

Brent updated his memoji to have a sweater vest and I have to say I am here for it!!!

The biggest event in July was the hotly anticipated newest Nielsen. Whitney was induced and we went to dinner that night. I was on pins and needles, checking my phone every few minutes... OKAY glued to my phone! 

At long last she arrived safe and sound although it was a difficult delivery for Whitney. There were shouts of joy all through the house!

Some Instagrams that gave me a chuckle:

Truth! I am absolutely living for our Disneyland vacation in November! This was a sweet story that popped up that made me even more excited:

After Spanish Camp I treated these two to brunch.

A couple of birds were honest to goodness bouncing on our trampoline one morning. Then they just settled in for a while!

We have made somewhat of an investment in American Girl merchandise over the years. I have to say it's rather lovely on the rare occasion it's all neatly packed up and put away!

Sydney wrote this out for me and it made me laugh (I am always making To Do lists!):

The pink gingham shirt and high-waisted flair jeans were new. Liesel took one look at Ireland and said she looked across from a country singer and a woman from the 40's who just discovered pants. Well I love the look anyway!

Yes!

The yearly battle of the summer workbook was in full swing. Every year. Every. Year.

At least Sydney draws some cute family portraits on the trampoline when she's taking a break from all that awful learning!

Sometimes rainy days are the coziest days and man I love that cheerful lamp!

Gita has been working really hard on getting her trampoline ariel and she finally nailed it!

We regularly have the girls participate in studies at the University of Chicago but this one was a super involved study. 

Gita and Sydney each made $50 off this one and hopefully contributed to science a bit in the process!

I made some adjustments to that dress we found in the back of my parent's closet and Liesel gave it a try. She looks pretty fantastic I think!

So curious about this guy we sat behind in traffic. He seems to be a Christian, Mason, Boy Scout, stripper, organ recipient (also seems to be disabled and retired bc he's old? Fascinating.

BYU Cheer Camp

 Brent and I parted ways this summer when it came to the BYU camps. Liesel and Ireland weren't as keen on the Cheer Camp so we switched tacks to Cougarette Camp for them- which is purely focused on dance. Sydney and Brigitta loved Cheer Camp and besides, there's no equivalent of Cougarette Camp for the younger kids. Last year one camp followed another but for whatever reason, this year they were several weeks apart. With Liesel and Ireland at Spanish Camp and Brent taking Sydney and Brigitta to Cheer Camp, I would have the house to myself. I could focus on work and relax a bit. Not that I wasted it! I used the opportunity to shampoo the carpets and man oh man, they needed it! I was also able to have a quiet house to myself and just mentally reset in the middle of an always hectic summer.

Brent was really excited to take this trip! He really thrives whenever he visits Utah- just so many fantastic memories! He was excited to spend time on campus again and get to attend Music and the Spoken Word which really is balm of Gilead to the soul. 

Sydney and Brigitta were so excited they were literally skipping through the terminals.

They made some cute friends.

Worked on some flying.

Fan-girled a bit. This cheerleader is named Ammon (who happens to be my favorite prophet in the Book of Mormon). He's also an incredibly nice person so the girls really like him. Brent sent me this picture and it positively made me smile.

They spent hours and hours on campus outside of camp. We do whatever we can to infuse that Y spirit in them!

Brent managed to take the girls to some fun eateries and visit some old friends. He hooked me up with an even better hotel than I was planning for my visit which was nice. The girls really enjoyed the pool!

They came back refreshed and full of stories to tell me! It was a win-win!!! 

Spanish Camp

In trying to drop Liesel and Ireland off at Spanish Camp, I was a bit too eager and tried to drop them off like 4 hours early. Having already checked out of the hotel, we decided to explore the town a bit. Turns out, Bemidji lays claim to Paul Bunyan and Babe the Big Blue Ox. 

The Welcome Center has lots of abnormally sized objects like telephones:

Mittens:

Toenail clippings? I thought that was a bit excessive...

The fireplace the girls are standing by in the phone pic is made up of stones from all of the United States which is pretty cool. There is a very Instagrammable sign right by the waterfront as well!

Just a couple of blocks away, we found a really fun shopping district.

We explored and got some ice cream and finally headed back to camp right on time.

This year, the girls were pros- all ready with their passports and prepped for their introductory test. They knew which activities they wanted to sign up for and had no problem locating their casas. 

After helping them unpack and settle in, they were anxious to meet other campers and start making friends- which just warmed the cockles of my heart. The pandemic really killed a lot of social skills in these kids and to put yourself out there and seek out friendship is a brave thing to do. Liesel and Ireland gave me hugs and they were good to go! Once I was at the car I found the jar of beads Liesel wanted to take with her so she could make bracelets so I trekked back to give her that and they were already immersed in camp life.

Summer storms abounded and I was caught in a doozy of one on the way home. It cleared and a bright red moon shone for me around the Wisconsin Dells which kept me going until I was in the clear.

 Parents have access to photos from each day and oddly the girls were rarely in them. We were able to catch a few and they were clearly having fun.

Picking them up two weeks later, they were thrilled to see me and surrounded by all their new friends. 

They showed off some dances and songs they learned before we hit the road for the long drive home. Initially we talked about stopping at Mall of America and doing some more shopping but there were more storms on the horizon and we decided to just make a beeline for home. We stopped at the exact same Jimmy Johns we did on the way home last year. Liesel showed off her henna tattoos and informed me Reagan has done them before. 

It always throws me when one of my girls tells me something about my sisters I didn't already know...

Liesel told me if this had to be her last year of Spanish Camp, this was the one to go out on. She really enjoyed herself but she's also ready to pass the baton. Next year she will focus on getting a job and saving for college and Gita will accompany Ireland to Spanish Camp. It's a sacrifice for us to send the girls there, but so far, it's been 100% worth it. They have never had anything less than an A in Spanish and they come back with so much cultural knowledge and so many memories!