Uncomfortably Hot but Unquestionably Cool

August kicks my ass every year.  It's such a busy time trying to squeeze in all of the fun stuff before the summer ends.  It's hectic and crazy, but I love every minute of it! 

The last day of July my BFF Natalie came home from her mission.  This was a long day in the making for me.  I wrote to Natalie pretty frequently while she was gone, and I missed her a ton.  I'm glad to have her back.  I only wish she lived a little closer so I could stop by after work or something.  

Up next was a tour of SLC on the Pedal Hopper.  It's a 16 passenger bike that you pedal around the city and stop at different watering holes.  We'd done it before, and it was fun to try it out with a different crop of friends. 

Camping up at Willow Flats is a tradition that I would greatly miss.  We spent the week of Doug's birthday up there and had a lot of fun.  I was a little unsure about it this time around because so many extra people were coming and it got off to a rocky start due to someone borrowing and only half returning our tent, but I ended up having a great time.  

After driving up to Idaho and back, Kurt and I hit the road (or rather, stayed on it) and headed to Parowan for the wedding of one of his good friends.  It was a little uncomfortable for me, but we had a fun little road trip and got to chat along the way.
  

My super cool friend Brittney works on Antelope Island and she invited us all for a kayaking tour of the Great Salt Lake.  I was a bit nervous, but ended up having a blast.  I can't wait to do it again. 

I discovered a fantastic flavor of ice cream.  I'm going to get so (much more) fat. 

This last Sunday was Natalie's homecoming talk.  It was so nice to hear the things she has learned in Arizona and see the love of the people radiating in her countenance.  I even teared up a little when she bore her testimony in Spanish. (Molly did too, I'm not the only baby!) Brittney insisted we all get a photo together since we were all dressed up, and I'm really glad she did.  She posted the cutest description of this picture on her Facebook page, so I though I would steal it. "Together we've been through graduations, road trips, missions, weddings, divorces and a whole slew of adventures.  I'm so lucky to have these cool kids!"

Hello my name is...

                         

August 4th

Today is Doug's birthday. He would have been fourty-nine today. I can imagine the celebration we would be having with his favorite dinner and cherry chip cake for dessert.  I can hear his sweet laugh as he opens the funny gifts from his kids. He would have loved cheering on his favorite people in our summer Sunday shows. The rest of the world will not notice today as any different. I feel like I always will.  We are going camping without him for the first time this week. It's going to be difficult.  There was so much that we relied on him for. I miss you, Doug. 

PostSecret

I am a woman of routine and I love it.  My favorite thing (and usually the first thing) that I have done for years every Sunday is to check PostSecret for the new secrets of the week. At lot has changed in my life since high school, but this is one thing that has stayed the same.  I love the release it gives people to get their secret out into the open.  Maybe one day I'll see one of my own up there.