Fun with Sharon!

I love that Sharon and her family comes in August! It’s that perfect time of year, when most family parties are over and we’re just counting down the days till school starts. I wish I could hang out with her everyday… but I understand she has other obligations, like family and friends that want to see her too. I also have the work thingy, which puts a damper on fun sometimes. Oh well!

We had a great day in the Heber Valley! We drove down to Bridalveil Falls, ate lunch, and let the kids play in the water. I’ve never been there was it wasn’t busy, so this was a real treat! We then went back to Midway to snag Anna, and headed off to Dairy Keen for snack time: French fries and ice cream! It was a little toasty for the city park, so we just went home to prepare for MORE food! You wouldn’t think we’d be hungry for dinner, but the 3 pizzas we made were quickly gone! It was fun having so much action around.

First Day of School and the NEW Traffic Light!

Oh, where did the summer go?! It seems like we did a lot, but it really flew by fast. Anna started 1^st grade and Dallin is in his final year of pre-school. I love that she can now walk on her own. It’s not like it’s that far, and she has friends to walk with. I love encouraging her independence. I’m sure when it gets cold, she’ll start begging me to drive her… which would actually take longer, but she doesn’t get that. Dallin still gets escorted to school, but it’s not until after lunch, and by then, it’s nice and warm!

The week after school started, we had a PTA-sponsored ice cream social. I somehow got roped into being a PTA person this year. I have no idea what I’m doing, and feel like an idiot asking questions. When the principal called last spring, he said I’d be in charge of the new school garden! Well, that evolved into being in charge of the person in charge of the school garden, as well as about a dozen other activities, all of which I’ve never participated in before. Great! Well, I shouldn’t complain about volunteering. If Anna went to the local charter school, I’d have to volunteer a LOT more, and probably still have no idea what I’m doing!

The biggest news, by far, is that Midway got its first traffic light! It even made the news, if you can imagine that. I can’t believe how controversial it was! Half the town was against it for some reason. Of course, none of them actually live on Main Street or Center Street and have to see the traffic on the weekends. It’s a sweet light, all sleek and black. The kids get to fight over who gets to push the button to stop traffic. I just have to think, “How did we ever get along without it?!” I feel like it’s been here forever. We did have a scare that UDOT was going to extend the sidewalk from the new traffic light, past our house! I’m fully aware that my amazing vegetative buffer is in State right-of-way, and they have every legal right to tear it up for a new sidewalk… but is it really necessary? Good thing they ran out of funds anyway installing the new light. Whew!  

Solar Eclipse Party

With the rest of the world heading to Idaho and Wyoming, we decided to stay local and get maximum benefit by being CLOSER to the sun than anybody else (11,943 ft!!!), but settling for 91% coverage. We stayed overnight in Francis and partied way too hard for grandma and grandpa being away (they went to Idaho). There was a little more running, screaming, and sand box hand-digging than normal. Both Tom and John came by with some kids and we all had a blast! Lots of BT cake and lots of ice cream!

The hike to the summit was a little rough. It wasn’t long, but steep, and the kids started giving out about two-thirds of the way up, even with the candy bribes! Luckily, Uncle Allen showed up right in the knick of time and saved us all! The eclipse was amazing, but the view from the top was even better! You could see clear from Evanston to Provo! It wasn’t that windy and the kids loved playing with all the cairns everywhere! We trudged down the mountain and drove over to Mirror Lake for lunch. We managed to eat an entire huge bag of Doritos and (almost) an entire watermelon! I think the kids were REALLY hungry! In true Hawkins tradition, at least one kid had to ride home (from Mirror Lake) without their wet clothes on. This time it was Drew. He didn’t care. He fell asleep in about 2 minutes anyway.

Ackerson Family Reunion

Aug. 9-12

We had such a great time at the annual reunion at Bear Lake! There are always lots of kids and lots of food! It’s not that far from our house either, a little over 2 hours. It doesn’t explain how we were the last ones to show up, again. It was almost dark, but the kids somehow found their way to their favorite cousins anyway. Maybe they use sonar?

Thursday was “lake day”! John and Heather rented a boat which Allen gladly captained the whole day. We determined he has the most boating experience. We also had Vanessa’s jet skis, her paddleboard, the “family” kayaks and plenty of water toys. My kids seemed satisfied just playing in the wet sand all day! Drew even ate some of it. Dallin did take a turn in the boat and Allen let him drive it apparently! Uncle Allen is so cool! We stayed until the very last minute and even took our time cleaning up. There were very few sunburns but a lot of tired kids. Drew was pooping out sand for days!

Friday was a fun adventure, starting with an hour at the go-kart track, reserved privately for us! It was such a blast! Dallin was absolutely beside himself with ecstasy. You could hear him above the loud roar of the go-karts even, being driven around by his cousins. It was definitely the highlight of our day. After lunch, we headed up to Bloomington Lake for some rope swinging! I did not swing (I wish I could), but plenty of people did! It looked like so much fun. Some of the kids just played in the lake until they were numb. Luckily they warmed up on the hike out. Definitely a place I want to visit again! John was in charge of dinner and came through with gigantic pizzas! These pizzas were 36” in diameter! Who has a pizza oven that big? Bear Lake does! At the end of the day, only a few measly slices remained. We ate it all! Traditional family skits followed later that evening and we all had some laughs.

Saturday was our designated pack-up day, but some of us wanted to go play at the beach one more time. Luckily Vanessa stuck around with her motor-less toys. It was better than way. The beach was super crowded! We were only there for a couple hours anyway. We stopped for raspberry shakes on our way out of town, but then the kids decided they didn’t like raspberry shakes! Oh well. That’s what mom is for! They were too exhausted to eat anyway and slept the whole way home. It was a great reunion!

Paul and Stefanie finally buy a house!

Could it really be?  Yes!   Paul and Stefanie are the proud owners of the cutest house in Layton! Totally beats our Midway house, square-footage wise, and has a fenced-in back yard.  They also have an amazing park just down the main road that has a splash pad!!!  That’s where me, the kids, and Grandma Christy hung out at for half the morning!  So jealous!  Since Paul and Stefanie have moved so many times, they really had it down and moved all their stuff in record time!   I’m sad they’re further away from us now, but I’m happy they get to experience home-ownership finally… and all the fun realities that go with it, like a mortgage, yard work, broken major appliances, and permanent neighbors.