A Sure Way to Get Your Teenager to Go to Bed Early on the Weekend

Here's the secret:  have them run the RACE OF THEIR LIFE in the High School Region Championship Cross Country Meet.

And SMASH their PR by 34 seconds!
(Those of you who aren't familiar with running.....to shave just a few seconds off your PR is fantastic.  To knock off 34 seconds is something I (and many) could never even dream of doing.  It's phenomenal, is what it is.)

 Ya....he pretty much ran out of his head. 

SO MANY student athletes were breaking their PRs right and left.  They did amazing!  I was so happy for everyone to see how excited they were!  The air at that meet was definitely filled with ADRENALINE and ENERGY.  To see a "spent" runner dig deep down within him/herself and find something, then pour it on at the end of a race is one of my favorite things to watch.

It's awe inspiring - and in some cases (my husband's at this meet), tears-producing.  The will of the human soul is wondrous.  You give it your ALL - and then some - until you're done.

....And because they were going above and beyond their normal capacities, there was some falling down, some passing out, some white lips, some throwing up, etc. after the race.

 Here, Kyle had just asked his teammate on the ground, "Do you know who we are?"

And he was pointing at each of them saying their names. (through heavy breathing and he kept trying to lie down)

He got it correct!  :)

But, the Viewmont boys AND girls cross country teams qualified to go to State!!! (the first time in several years).

So, needless to say, Kyle was a bit tired.

Worn-out.  

Weary.  

Exhausted.  

Drained. 

And I think all the other runners were, too, because no one came calling to get together and do something on that Friday night, like they usually do.

When the bus got back to the high school, Kyle texted us to come get him up (NOW).  

He got home, got in the shower, changed into comfy sweats/t-shirt.

AND WAS IN BED BY 8:00 PM!!!  And was asleep approximately 12.8 seconds after that.

THAT'S how you get a teenager to go to bed early.  ;)
(although, we, his parents, had nothing to do with it - it just happened on it's own)

Three Months of Summer - Gone?!? (Which Means it's Over!)

Sayonara, August! 

It was good while it lasted.....yes, children, we DID do something!

Here's how it went down.

Queen of the Kingdom with these lovely ladies.

This song will forever remind me of this weekend!
It cannot be played now without me breaking out into song AND dance - seriously!!

Just playin' in the rain - more like an all out thunderstorm!

Heber Valley Girls' Camp

Haylee and Matt went....Haylee as one of the "girls."  Matt as one of the "Priesthood men."

Cousins "warming up" for the backyard races

ReAL Monarchs soccer game

Farmington City Volunteer Appreciation Night at the pool

Brookelle on the high dive?!?  

(Thanks to "peer influence" she had from a friend she ran into there.)

Desert Star Theatre

"GREASE'D: Happy Days are Here Again"

Splash Pad with friends

Look what I found while shopping at Ross here in our neck of the woods......

a Virginia Tech hat - my missionary son's stompin' grounds now! :) 

Kyle ran the Davis County 5K

(in the time it takes ME to go ONE mile!)  ;)

Brookelle (navy shirt),

Katelyn (grey shirt),

and Haylee (navy shirt) all did the Kids Mud Run on the same day as the 5K.

Flips on the tramp!

Inflatable waterslide party in our backyard with the Fowers cousins!

Off the strict bedtime schedule and fallin' asleep in weird positions.

The results of new school clothes shopping

Finally got to have the full-time missionaries over for dinner!

(as "payback" for all the West Virginia/Virginia families who are feeding my boy every night)

Seven Peaks Water Park ~ jetBlue Day

ReAL Salt Lake soccer game vs. Seattle Sounders FC

School started August 24th

Kyle's first Cross Country Meet for VHS (maroon uni on left)

(an "invitational" meet in American Fork with 40 high schools!)

San Diego with Matt officially finished out August....

 Because truth be told - - I needed a vacation from [the kids and] this Summer vacation. 

{kidding/not kidding}

And, just like that: 1, 2, 3 months of Summer came to an end!

Waaaaaaaa!

and

Yaaaaaaaay!  :)

Two Months of Summer - Gone?!?

July is over and done with - gasp! 

Here's how we spent it...

Watermelon smiles

The Logan fireworks show @ USU stadium on the 3rd
that my Uncle (waving from behind, in the red shirt) started clear back when I was a child....and I've loved going ever since!

Summer nights sunsets...

Fireworks...

...and family rounded out our 3rd of July!

Neighborhood party on the 4th of July - shaving cream and cheese puff game!

Summer cockroaches - bleh!

The girls and I went to "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" that my cousin was the Musical Director for!
And then out for shave ice - the BIG Kahuna - afterwards!

Kyle went on a High Adventure Scout Camp in the Tetons July 8-11.

Farmington Festival Days!

Hooray for the full-time missionaries in the Farmington Festival Days parade! 

(Sister missionaries in the red convertible behind the Elders)

Matt caught TWO shirts that they were throwing out at the evening festivities in the park - Brookelle immediately donned it as her new dress!

We {heart} our Farmington Festival Days

Family Night activity - climbing to the top of a neighborhood tree.

Annual read-a-thon and pizza picnic in our family room.

Katelyn got her long locks cut off!

Katelyn fed her obsession got crafty making bracelets

Katelyn & Brookelle were in the Days of '47 Children's Parade in SLC

Fresh Lime treats!

When the school supplies hit the shelves, we jumped on it! 

(Haylee's back pack pick) 

Lagoon

The new ride, Cannibal!

It's description: Cannibal lifts riders 208 feet and plunges them into a 116° beyond vertical free-fall into an underground tunnel

We ALL survived, although there WAS some crying and closed eyes involved. We also rode it while it was raining, so we were privileged to get pelted in the face with rain drops during our ride; the ride that was not open by Lagoon's season opening day because the dummies were falling out on the test runs; the same ride we noticed, as we waited in line, had a swaying/wobbling inverted loop when the coaster went around that section of the track  - Oh, my!

 

Road trip to St. George in the EARLY morning hours, as the sun is just coming up.

Nothing quite like the hot days of Summer, standing by Port-a-Pottys watching a Pioneer Day Parade!

Hooray for the full-time missionaries (again!), singing, "Called to Serve," in this parade in Washington, UT

Kyle got the silver medal running in the 16 yr. old foot race (because he was the only 15 yr. old who wanted to race, he "ran up.") and won In-N-Out Burger coupons, too!

Sparklers & firecrackers in the street to finish off the Pioneer Day weekend.

(including the "grand finale" that sent many of us RUNNING & SCREAMING, like last year!)  ;)

4-Wheeling in the property behind my parents' house

Our Annual Movie Marathon.  This year's titles: "Penguins of Madagascar," "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb," "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2," and "The Book of Life"

I attended the first day of this 2-day Women's Conference to close out the month of July.