Clark Family Campout

 This year's campout was a rainy one! It was raining when we got there, so Paul, Brent, and Emilie cooked the hot dogs and hamburgers on the flat top inside the garage. Luckily it stopped raining just before it was time to eat, and so Ethan, Levi, and Brent wiped all the tables and chairs down and we were able to eat outside. 

The kids love love love to play with their cousins until midnight.

Grandma had a laser tag game for the kids to play in the yard.

And the adults enjoyed the fire. :)

I started feeling stuffy about an hour before we left for the campout, and on the drive up there I started feeling the way I do when I take ibuprofen. It's a super annoying pressure inside my head, and I spent the evening trying to think of anything new I had eaten or exposed myself to that would cause an allergic reaction. I can't think of what it would have been, or if that's just how my seasonal allergies are going to affect me now. Grrr. Luckily I slept pretty well that night and felt much improved in the morning. It was frustrating to feel crummy at the campout though. 

Paul got up early with Gramps to cook the breakfast. It was another delicious meal! It had rained on and off through the night, but the weather was perfectly cool and calm in the morning. We sat around and visited while the kids played some more.

We went over to Carrie & Levi's house on our way home so the kids could see their baby goats. They were super cute!

Thanks for another fun campout Grandma & Gramps!!

Back to School

 Rockwell started junior high on Tuesday!! It was 7th Grade Day, so it was three hours and they went to all eight of their classes. 

He had a hard time sleeping Monday night and was nervous all morning, but when he got home he said he loved it!! He said his teachers are all so nice, he has friends in almost all his classes, and he loved walking home with Dhiren. It was such a relief to have such a positive experience. 

Wednesday was the first day of school for the rest of the grades. Damon was so excited for school once he met his teacher at back to school night. She seems so sweet and has set up a classroom with such a good feeling in it. He couldn't wait to get there!

Tessa was a little less excited since all of her friends got a different teacher this year. But luckily she said her day was awesome when she got home too!

(She's always up for a good pose. :)

2nd grade & 4th grade

Wednesdays are early out days for the junior high. Rockwell and Dhiren decided to stay for lunch and then walk home. It was fun to have some time with Rockwell to hear about his first real day of classes and sit with him while he worked on homework. I think I can get used to this!

When Tessa and Damon got home, they talked about how great their days were for half an hour, and it looked like this the whole time. Haha. They had a lot of energy!

Wednesday was also Paul and my 17th Anniversary. We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner to celebrate the anniversary and the first day of school. I'm sure glad Paul married me 17 years ago, and that we have created a beautiful family and life together. Best decision I've ever made!!

I loved finding this selfie after Rockwell took our pictures for us. :)

Everyday Adventures

Paul went golfing and to lunch in Heber with some friends from Timpanogos. They had a good time!

We have a new hummingbird hanging around this year!

Rita is about the same size as Greenback, but has more of a split tail and a grey back. The two of them seem to get along well and are often flying around together. She's a cutie patootie too!

Rita is much more curious than Greenback and doesn't mind coming closer to humans. Rockwell and I were watching them flying around the backyard one day, and Rita came right up close to me and flew back and forth a few times. It was so fun! I had my camera out and when she came up so close that I could have reached out and touched her, I didn't want to take my eyes off her. I didn't look at my camera but just pushed the button hoping that I was pushing the right spot and would actually capture a picture of her. Luckily it worked and I got a couple of her!

Greenback was out there too but kept her distance from us. 

We have put out a few bird feeders this summer, and we now have around 20 birds in our backyard at all times. There are finches, bluebirds, and quail. We all love the birds! Paul took this picture of he and Rockwell living their best lives: sitting on the deck, reading, eating popcorn, and watching the birds. :)

I took the kids to Katie's house to swim with Al and Audrey and their kids. It was a great way to spend the day! The kids all loved playing with Gemma again too.

Marisa and Matt were in town and came over for dinner. We love when they come to visit! The kids had so much fun with Big Boy Asher and Baby Liam! We could hear Tessa, Damon, and Asher laughing on the tramp while we were inside in the living room. :) It was adorable. They went to Kauai a couple weeks ago and so we had a great time making a plan of how we can all move there, or at the very least vacation there again soon!

I took Rockwell over to the junior high to practice opening his locker and see where all his classes are. I think he'll be just fine finding his way around the school. Tessa fit nicely inside his locker. :)

Rockwell and Logan were making volcanoes erupt with baking soda and vinegar.

The picture shows some of it spraying into Rockwell's hair. :)

We did some back to school shopping and Tessa was so excited to find a Reese's shirt. Obviously she needed to eat some Reese's while wearing the shirt. :)

We spent Saturday helping my parents clean out Dante's room and move a bunch of their furniture out and deliver it to Mel & Al's houses. They are doing a big cleaning and updating to their house and furniture. They treated the family to Leatherby's that night to say thanks. We're excited for them to be empty nesters again!

Tessa is still loving gymnastics. Every Monday all the team girls wear matching leotards and shorts. It's cute to see all the girls walking in in the team uniform when I drop her and Morgan off. 

White Pine Lake

We were able to fit in one more summer hike. We did another 11-mile one to White Pine Lake. I love this lake! It's gorgeous. I remember when I was a teenager/young adult, I wanted to take my engagement pictures here. I knew it would never happen because who wants to take pictures after a hike like this?! But I thought the scenery would make for amazing pictures. :)

The flowers were beautiful on this trail too.

The last part before you get to the lake is really rocky and very steep.

I like that you can see the trail down below in this picture, and also the gorgeous view of the mountain ranges.

It was a challenging climb, but we made it!

And the view around the bend at the top was so worth it!

I love how blue this lake is! Just gorgeous!!

We enjoyed the views and ate some lunch down at the lake. There was a part where the bugs were swarming us, so Dad made good use of his bandanas. :) I'm so glad I was able to do one more long hike this summer. We were all tired when we got back to the cars, and enjoyed some ice cold root beer from Dad's cooler. :)