Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Summertime

I have always felt that summertime is more fun than any other time of year. Despite the joys of the Christmas season and snow, there's simply more to do in the summer. Not to mention, the days are warmer and longer, so outdoor activities are much more plausible than in the middle of the winter.

This summer has been trying hard to stifle our fun, but we're fighting back with determination.


June

For Christmas, Ryan and I got the "pass of all passes" [big deal here in Utah County] and so we can go to Seven Peaks for free. We learned that after 5pm we get free tubes, so we've been there twice so far and plan to go lots more. It's not as big and fun as we remembered it being when we were kids, but it's a refreshing way to cool down, especially when the tube spins around backward and dunks you in the pool at the end.

After my spring classes ended, we spent some time up at Bear Lake with Ryan's mom's family members. It was my first "family reunion." We watched Bruce and Rachel scuba dive, watched Hailey fall off the dock, visited with Michelle and Ben and other family members, snorkeled in the lake, went running, ate milkshakes... etc.

Bear Lake 2012
We got back from Bear Lake and jumped into softball season full swing. Our ward team has won two of our three games so far, and we've made lots of new friends.

Michelle and Ben visited for a few days - we enjoyed lunch at Tucano's and some exciting games of corn hole.

At the end of June, Ryan and I and Scott and Lisa headed up to Canada for a few days to visit Scott's family. We enjoyed the LONG drive (Ryan and I watched movies) and enjoyed spending time with Scott's parents. Especially fun was Waterton - where we hiked 30 minutes up a glacier creek and slid down a natural waterslide - twice. Ryan and I beat Scott and Lisa at horseshoes with a double ringer on the last throw and Grandpa Sommerfeldt taught Ryan and I both how to make wooden bowls. All in all it was a great trip and I enjoyed getting to know more of Ryan's family.

 
Scott, Lisa, Ryan, & Jen overlooking Waterton Lake

Ryan & Jen - Waterton Lake

Ryan & Grandpa Sommerfeldt - making the bowl

Partially completed bowl

At the Raymond Stampede (rodeo)
Once we got back from Canada, we started on a sprinkler system for my mom (credit to Ryan, Bruce, Rachel, and Scott - not me so much) and celebrated Independence Day and my mom's birthday. We also attended President and Sister Hinckley's mission homecoming and enjoyed visiting with so many missionaries from Ryan's mission. 
My mom's beach birthday cake - french vanilla cake, chocolate buttercream icing




Fourth of July cake - white cake, white icing

Flag on the inside - made with a large white cake, a large red cake, and a small blue cake, sliced and stacked.

Pre -sprinklers - working in the yard

"Supervising" :)