August Appears to Be Over

Just like that. Summer, she's gone. Joe and I used to shop at the Smith's on 9th and 9th and there was a checker there who announced one day, in early September, that "summer's back has been broken." Meaning, I guess, that the really hot days were gone. It sounded kind of gruesome. But Joe and I have used that phrase ever since ("Do you think summer's back has been broken yet?" "I don't know...may have a few more hot ones.")

But you know, it was a pretty mild summer. June was rainy. And did it ever even get over a hunnert in July and August?

So last I checked in, it was Joe's birthday.


The above was taken at Litza's Pizza. I like Litza's. It's very family friendly. You can sit in the way back with a rowdy youngster and not disturb anybody. And we order a child's spaghetti for Emma and she generally gobbles it all up.

A week or so later we went on the ward campout. It's the first time our ward has had a campout so we were happy to get in on the ground floor (inasmuch as we still feel like interlopers much of the time). It was in Scofield, which I'd never heard of. It's past Provo, somewhat farther than we anticipated. It was pretty chilly, but very pleasant anyway. Oh, the smell of fresh, woodsy air. It's a tonic! We chatted with many ward members and felt like we accomplished about six months' worth of getting-to-know-ya in less than 24 hours. How very time efficient. Emma liked staying up late and roasting marshmallows around the communal campfire ("Hoooowwwwl"). She was asleep the second we turned out the lantern in the tent. She woke up the next morning, in the shivery cold uncomfortable camping morning, and moaned, "I want to be home." But once you get up and get some hot chocolate in you, you're glad to be in the mountains again.


Then I got Emma going on some swimming lessons, provided by one Valerie at Dimple Dell Rec Center. Oh my absolute heck, what a jewel this Valerie is! Emma can swim! After three lessons, she could swim. It's been thrilling to observe. I'm keeping her at it, inasmuch as Valerie says Emma catches on very quickly to things. Maybe she can be on swim team! I was a total fraidy cat in the water and probably didn't learn how to swim till I was 7 or 8. Kindly Mr. Carter at the Cove Swimming Pool had to take me under his wing personally and horse whisper me into the deep end. So having a 4-year-old who seems to have a knack for it is kind of a treat. Plus it's such a good total body endeavor for her, which I think she needs.


Em started school on the 17th, Monday Wednesday Friday mornings. She is under the tutelage of Miss Jeri and is learning classic childhood songs ("Good morning to you! Good morning to you! We're all in our places with sunshiny faces!"...I didn't know anyone sang that anymore.) She has also learned "Tommy Thumb is up, Tommy Thumb is down. Tommy Thumb is dancing all around the town. Dancing on my shoulders, dancing on my head, dancing on my knees, then tuck him into bed (kiss kiss)" I told Joe it's worth the admission price just to hear her sing that song.

I like to hear Emma sing. I like how she often misunderstands lyrics ("Blah blah black sheep, henny penny wolf," for example). In "I Love to See the Temple," she used to sing "For the temple is the house of God, a perfect Salt Lake beauty!" I think she now knows the real words, which makes me sad. Although she still does sing, "It is my secret duty!" at the end, which I'm not about to correct.

This past weekend, all of Joe's siblings were in town, which happens less than once in a blue moon, so everybody got together for picture takin'. Nice looking crowd, don't you think?


Well...at the rate I'm going, I should have another post about October 1, so hope you enjoy the mild September days.