Summer fun!

 I bought a kiddie pool for the kids to play in this summer.  I didn't think we would be able to swim very much with the baby needing naps and such.  They would swim and then come into the bathtub with their suits on because they were so cold.  You would think that they wouldn't be cold with tempts up in the 100's, but they were.  They would almost spend as much time in the tub as they did in the pool.
We had a hard time with the chemicals for the pool that it didn't stay up for that long.  It ended up with wholes in it that needed to be patched and it was ruining our "deck".  I think we still got our money's worth out of it as much as they did swim in it.  We will try it again next year.  Hopefully, it will make it over the winter in storage.

 I went a little crazy one day and decided to take everything down from my plant shelf and give it a good, thorough cleaning.  Everything was so dusty.  This baby buggy was from my Grandma Johnson's house.  The older kids thought it would be fun to put Addi in it.  She actually enjoyed it, even though she was too big and her feet hung out!

 In July, this baby girl started sitting up on her own.  She was 7 months old.

 She is stealing her cousin, Evie's Binky. 

They have the same dress on.  Candice didn't like the collar on it, so she cut Evie's off.  I think Candice bought hers and we were given ours from hand-me-downs.

I can't believe how fast summer has come and gone.

After the accident on Lake Powell, my parents came and stayed with us for a week.  My Mom was still off of work from her surgery.  It was so nice to have them here because the kids were gone for 5 days and Mel had work.  It was just too quiet and things were just too fresh on my mind that it wasn't good for me to be alone.  My sister, Carie brought my kids back on Wednesday.  Friday, my brother in law came and Saturday my other sister came down and stayed for a few days.  We had one packed house!!


At the funeral, the General Young Men's President (I think) spoke to us.  He said that we all ask ourselves the "what if's"  what we need to ask is, "What can I learn from this?"  I know that Mel and I have found ourselves in a spiritual rut.  Mel said when he hit the rocks, he thought to himself, "Now you have hit rock bottom.  It is time to move on."  We really have felt closer to our Heavenly Father since the accident.  We have learned to rely on Him.  He knows what we need. 

There was a powerful fireside given the following Sunday night after the funeral.  I honestly felt that I was going to burst because of the spirit.  It was so strong.  A grief counselor spoke, Brother Rowley, The Parkers, Mel, and the Bishop.  I really wish I could have recorded it.  I don't really remember what was said, I just remember the feeling I had.  Mel was supposed to share his testimony.  There wasn't a dry eye when he was done.