Summer's End

Towards the end of Summer things were starting to feel a little bit "dog days" for me, if you know what I mean. Hot, smoky days spent refereeing the children, listening to whining and trying to keep up with a neighborhood of loud, dirty kids in and out of the house all day begging for Popsicles, band aids and other sundries. 

These are the salad days.

But when I look back through these pictures of this past month, I remember that we have made so many awesome memories.
The annual (AWESOME) Fathers and Sons outing to Strawberry Reservoir where the boys always catch a million crawdads, eat some GOOD food, and thoroughly enjoy themselves.

Grandpa Howard helping Sully catch crawdads off the dock.

Noble and crew rocking the dock

A day at the "beach", aka Blackridge Reservoir. We met Kay and her kids for another back to school bash - a picnic and swimming.

The kids are going to miss sleeping in (such as it is around here in summer - 8 AM)

LOTS of football. Lots. Daily, for the last month. Noble has learned so much.

Speedy Noble

And then there's that ever-present dirt pile in the drive way. You remember the one. My dad came over last week with his tractor to flatten it out in preparation for the delivery of...

12 tons of rocks. We like piling stuff on our drive way. Now we just  need to get a cat (I'm thinking a big one. They sent much bigger boulders than we ordered.) and move them into place in the back yard. And after that, the rest of the dirt. It sounds so simple doesn't it?

We camped out with the cousins at the Sullivan's last week. It is a good thing my parents have such a giant yard. So much fun for the dudes.

They buried Tillman in the sandbox.

After Noble's first preseason game on Saturday (which they won 32 to 0!), we headed to Provo (and Mountain West Burrito!) to hang with some old friends from the hood (High School). It was especially good to see the Truscott's - who we hadn't seen in many-a-year. They moved back to UT from the east coast a couple of years ago. Tadd's teaching engineering at BYU these days, and I am SURE is the most entertaining professor on campus. No doubt in my mind. 

Catching up with the Truscott's

Old friends

 We spent the afternoon/evening yesterday living it up at Seven Peaks in Provo (we've been in Provo a lot lately). The kids loved every second. We will do that again. Wish we had taken the camera.

And today...

they started back to school. I will miss them. But I will so appreciate being able to get some things done around here too. 

We take the same picture every year - except they keep getting older.

 Adios, Summer!

J. - 8th grade, N. - 6th grade, G. - 5th grade, T. - 3rd grade.

Night Boarding Provo Canyon

Mike's brother, Tim, finished up his optometry residency here in UT this past week. But before he left town we decided to have one last hoorah. Tim was telling me about riding Provo Canyon on a couple of massive long boards he and a friend put together themselves some years back. He promised that it was my speed, i.e., not too fast and under control - the way mom's like it. I was all over that.

Friday Mike spent a long day up at East Canyon Reservoir with the youth from church - (his new assignment is with the young men) getting beat up on tubes, and wake boarding. Then there was Noble's football practice and a scrimmage in the evening. Afterward Mike and I drove south and met Tim for dinner and a lovely night ride down Provo Canyon.

Dinner at Mountain West Burrito with Tim

We dropped one car at the bottom of the Provo Canyon trail, and then drove in the other several more miles up canyon to Vivian Park (good thing Tim had that Ozzy Osbourne CD playing in his car to get us amped up for the ride - ha ha ha). There was no moon, so it would have been a good idea to have brought head lamps. Instead we tried to stick to the white painted line that we could see down the middle of the paved trail. That worked pretty well except when we got under really thick canopies of trees where it was even too dark to see the line. It got a little exciting when we couldn't see anything at all. ha ha...Tim and I rode Tim's awesome homemade boards mostly luge-style or seated. Mike rode a regular long board, and they tend to wobble at high speed especially (apparently) if you try to sit.  Mike was awesome to ride upright, blind and on wobbly trucks.  His was the more dangerous option, so he wore a helmet and gloves, which was prudent, even though we all had a good laugh that he was the only one all decked out in protective gear. 

Isn't that board a beast?! SO much FUN.

What a beautiful ride! It lasted at least an hour. Wow.  Stars. Crickets. Hair whipping in the night air. Fire flies. Quiet except for the sounds of nature and ball bearings. It smelled so good. You know that perfect summer night smell? Mountains. River. Ahhhhhh. Therapy. I'm up for that again any time. Gracias, Tim.

Apparently, it's a BIG deal. And I am OK with it.

One of the first nights of practice - about 100 degrees out there.

We have joined the Bingham football machine. Who knew that the semi-rural school I went to 20 years ago would end up such a national football powerhouse (4th ranked high school team in the nation last year). With a program like that they have some serious machinery in place to develop talent. And they start 'em young. 8 years old for many. I have been very hesitant to get on this band wagon. My working philosophy with kids' sports has been about spontaneity, anti-establishment, less-is-more... and that is still part of the mix for me, but my thoughts have been evolving. The thing is, my kids are growing up and I am beginning to see the value of certain other experiences. In this case, letting my son choose something that demands a lot of him (and us) and let him see it through.
Noble has been interested in playing full contact football for the last few years, and I have put him off - for a variety of reasons. I was hoping he would change his mind. When he asked to do it again this year I couldn't say no. But we also had some conversations with him: about this representing a new level of competition for him, and a serious commitment (they practice 6 days a week for the first month). We reminded him that he would be getting hit. He assured us he was ready. We also told him how expensive it would be - and that we wanted him to earn $50 towards the registration fee. He did odd jobs, a few very successful lemonade stands with his friends - and (to my surprise) actually earned the money. Which said a lot to me about his readiness for this experience. Somehow he has seemed to grow up a lot this summer. And I am ready to embrace that. After all, the goal is to turn them out as capable adults some day, prepared, not only to take care of themselves, but to benefit the world around them in meaningful ways. I think that I needed to change, back off a little, and let him choose this, let him grow. Even if it dominates his free-time for a while, even with the risk of getting hurt...and especially because it is hard and will demand a lot of him.
Let them grow.

My growing boy.

J. brings it home.

Jess had fun this weekend. County Fair is always the highlight of her season.

With Russell, day 3 of competition.

J.'s cheering section - trying to fend off the heat. I wish I had a picture of Mike and Tim keeping time for one of the speed events, "scurry". They were hilarious.

With her coaches (these girls are tops) - and spoils - post season. Another State belt buckle.

With some of the team.

First season for this little friend, the girl who inherited Pumpkin from Jessie.

A good year all-in-all. She still has State in September. The longer we do this 4H horse program, the more I enjoy it and am grateful for all it has meant for J. These are good kids, good leaders, time well spent, life-lessons learned. At first, it seemed overwhelming and foreign for me...but I am so glad we just went with it for Jessie's sake. I wish I had been able to do something like this growing up. I think it does wonders for the kids. Much thanks to my dad and all those who have made it possible for her.

When the Sampson's get together...

I had some pictures of the Sampson reunion.They deserve a post.
This is my Mom's side of the family. Her 8 brothers and sisters and their kids...and now their kids. This is a big group. For a long time we have been holding the reunions with the Sampson's here in South Jordan  and surrounding sites - thanks to the organizers this get together has been perfected into a formula. Some highlights:

Day one spent splash-bouncing on 2 of these huge inflatable water slides, making giant bubbles with rope wands, air rockets, eating, chatting...and eating. 

Noble's birthday fell during the reunion. Here are Abner and "Peach" Hoffman trying out Noble's new birthday long board.

That night Casey, Helen, Holly, Emory and Casey's kids (calling themselves the Soggy Bottom Boys) opened up for the dance with their rendition of "Boil That Cabbage Down."  I told them after in my best Mississippi drawl, "That was some miiiighty fine a-pickin' and a-singin'! (If you haven't seen that Coen brothers' film, "O Brother Where Art Thou", then you probably didn't get any of those references.)

Then we brought on the big guns - my dad's little brother, Bruce, and his band added a little bit of "Sullivan flare" to the Sampson family reunion. You see, the Sullivan side of the family ALWAYS jam and dance when they get together. And for the past many reunions, the Sampson's have invited Uncle Bruce to play for them too.  Sadly, this may be the last time for a while. Uncle Bruce and Aunt Vivienne are leaving on a mission in September and the band is breaking up. What will we do without them?
Sully was pretty excited for them to get started - as you will see in this video. Here they are doing "Johnny Be Good".

MVI 5681 from Angie Melton on Vimeo.

Day two up Big Cottonwood Canyon - hiking, kid crafts (LOTS of them - including these trash can lid shields and PVC/foam/duct tape swords), food, family stories, tears, music and loving good byes.
This was actually a tough day for me. I had been stressed out running kids around to all their multitude of activities, appointments, and the reunion, managing solo for days with Mike there hit-and-miss (I would stink at being a single mom).  Sometimes you need a little melt-down and then you can get back in the saddle. Other than a little high blood pressure on my part, this day was a wonderful day.

I love seeing my cousins and aunts and uncles. They are an amazing example of how families should be united. I am grateful for them all. I am grateful to belong to them.

Pictures Worth Thousands of Words

There was a time when I thought that having a few little kids was overwhelming. Then I had more. And some of them grew into teenagers. And now I say to my stressed-out 27 year old self ... "Oh girl, if you only knew what was to come..." (And when I am 50 I will say that to my 37 year old self, and so on. Life is a revelation.)
I know you hear this a lot from me here...but I continue to be AMAZED at how much more can be jammed into a family calendar! It's like a hidden dimension ...or a black hole where somehow an infinite amount of stuff can be compacted into a finite space. Mind-blowing.
Mike and I calculated that this past week (actually, this last month) has set new records for our family.  We are learning more every day how to let go, laugh at ourselves, shrug off the small stuff, hang on for dear life, and TRY to savor the moments speeding past us at increasing speed. Could it be that just as the universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate, we actually experience time passing faster as well? Or is it just the result of growing older? I really think having six kids was part of my plan in life because I needed to learn to swim against the tide of social expectation a little, and to RELAX.
Anyway...here are a few glimpses from life around here over the past week and a half.

Sully - fudgesicle face / moppy hair. I wish he would stay like this forever.

The kids rigged up a 37th birthday balloon drop for Mike - delivered a day late. Consequently, the drama of the moment was somewhat diminished...but the thought was what counted. 

Noble started football tryouts this week (AND somehow managed scout camp at Maple Dell as well). Here he is on  the first day they practiced with pads. He also recently got contact lenses so he could play... I didn't realize how much I had missed his face sans glasses. He looks so grown-up to me now. He turned 12 on the 27th of July (that totally blindsided us) and was ordained this last Sunday to the priesthood. That was such an amazing experience for me. I won't ever forget it. 

Grace wears this outfit whenever we go to the library...complete with accessory glasses. So - while Noble is breaking free from frames, Grace is embracing the look (at least for an hour every-other-week for our regular library visit).  She has been our go-to gal for babysitting lately -as we have been running shuttle services all over creation for the older kids. What would I do without her?

Jessie has the County Fair show this week. She showed her 2-Handed horse, Dolli, on Monday night - where she won several blue ribbons and a spot on the team going to state. Today and tomorrow she is showing with Russell (the infamous). Here she is today with a few friends from the 'hood who stopped by to show support. Jessie looks so old...and beautiful.
She's also done some community service recently. Earlier this week, giving some riding lessons for my sis-in-law's YW group. And last week a horse training demonstration at a boy's summer ranch up by Oakley with my dad. She is quite a girl.

I realize Tillman is the only kid at our house that somehow escaped being photographed this week.  We'll get you next week, T.

Also this past week: a Sampson family reunion here in SoJo / Big Cottonwood Canyon. (That was awesome.)  Girls camp. Birthdays for Mike and Noble (which we barely had time to acknowledge). Another RS service project/activity organized & completed. A new calling for Mike (more later).  Mike started teaching two new Econ. classes in addition to his day job.  And today Mike took Tillman and Sully to spend the last night of scout camp with Noble. With all this - the dirt pile has been on hiatus. I know you were all wondering about the dirt pile.

Somehow we are making things work. Thanks to "the village" (Mike hates it when I used that term - doesn't want to give Hillary Clinton that kind of credit). But really, we would NOT be able to do it all without the help people give. Thank you grandparents, church and scout leaders, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors!  We are all in it together.

Might as well do something while I'm doing nothing.

I have been laying here in bed all day sick. Sick. It seems that stomach bug that the kids all had recently, and which I thought I had dodged, came back to bite me. During one of my many trips to the bathroom today I dizzily stepped onto the scale to assess my level of dehydration. I've lost 5 pounds and the day's not over yet. How do you like that? ugh. The kids have tried to step up (Mike had to work today). I felt sorry too, because today is a state holiday, Pioneer Day...and because of me they are stuck at home cooking, cleaning and babysitting the little ones. Sorry kids. I think I am on the up-swing, because I can stand up for more than 10 seconds without breaking into a dizzy sweat now. And I have slept as much as I can. Kind of random, but as I was laying here, mind wandering, I thought of a couple of recommendations I wanted to pass along. Over the weekend Mike took me down to BYU in Provo to see an exhibit I have been wanting to see for months. Loved it. He also took me to eat at this place he's been raving about, Mountain West Burrito. Kind of a hippie-ish dive in Provo with THE BEST Mexi food I have had in a long time. Fresh, organic...and some killer recipes. If you live around here, try it. You won't be disappointed. So there you have it, from my sick bed...my latest endorsements. Go for it. (Or if you're really desperate for something to do, come visit the sick here. I am lonely/bored just lying around like this. Actually, quarantine is probably still best. So, you're on your own for entertainment guys.)

Hiking with Friends

Albion Basin Saturday. I love this shot of Grace in the meadow.

Our friends, the Wheeler's, recently moved back up from southern California. We met them up the canyon yesterday AM for a hike. There was a bigger crowd than I have ever seen up there to see the wild flowers this weekend, but we avoided most of the crowd by just hiking up from Alta instead - an extra mile and a half. We saw the best wild flowers in the lower meadows anyway. The flowers weren't as prolific this year because of the drought, and Cecret Lake was really low - but all was still lovely.  It was a beautiful day. Great company. 

Mike, the story teller, weaving another tale under the ski lift.

While we didn't see as many wild flowers as at other times, we did see our share of wild life. Three moose, a deer and this sweet, pudgy marmot on the rocks.

Progress Report

Slowly, slowly we are chipping away at the hillock on our driveway. 

Noble and Tillman steadily move 10 wheel barrows every day into the back yard. Here they are with the neighbor boy who to our amazement shows up every day to help - even when they start at different times.  He's a really nice kid, and I know that Noble and Tillman are glad for the help, but we have a sneaking suspicion that he may have another motive...the occasional opportunity to talk to Jessie. 

I know. Tell me about it.

For comparison: 
The site 2 months ago on D-Day (demolition day).

As of yesterday.

Mike has rolled some retaining wall rocks into place (thanks to Tim for coming to help). And while Mike and I were gone for our anniversary, my mom got the boys started moving dirt. They've actually done quite a bit - mostly on their own. We'll make men out of the yet.
 Also notice the addition of the play set. FREE from my Aunt Ellen who was re-landscaping her place, and needed a new home for it. Score!

I think we will still need to call on friends and family again for a push to the finish...because at the pace we're going we will have a hill of dirt on our driveway for at least another year. Stay tuned.

Stuff kids do in summer

The Spy Club I started with my younger sibs way back in 1985, Victoria, Texas - has been reincarnated recently (my mother will be delighted to hear). I suggested it as imaginative play one day earlier in the summer when Grace said she was bored. She took that idea and RAN WITH IT. 

She has gone way above and beyond.

They've had a fund raiser (lemonade stand where they made BANK).

They've purchased accessories at the dollar store with said funds.

They have a secret hide out.

Grace checked out several books from the library on spy techniques for kids - which they all studied THOROUGHLY.

And today they printed club t-shirts, their own design, using freezer paper stenciling.

I found some COOL glittery green fabric paint. I love how they turned out.

Aren't they awesome?

Tillman and a buddy built a tent with deck chairs - taking cover today as the thunder storm came in.

And it looks like we've taken in another sad creature for rehabilitation. Noble and company brought home this dove with a broken wing this afternoon. And even though the last time we tried to save a bird, it didn't go so well, I couldn't say no. It currently lives in Jupiter's travel kennel in the garage - which Noble and his friends redecorated nicely. Noble scavenged some bird feed from somewhere in our garage. Last time I looked in she seemed to be loving her little resort vacation. We'll see if she recovers or not.

They have dubbed her "DEN" - an acronym using the first letters of their names. It is written on the top of the kennel.

Pluto strolling past uninterested.

Summer is kids with freedom. And that's magic.