Just a few straggler pictures from our summer adventures.
I’m pretty sure I have 10 pictures just like this – Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Utah – rolling hills and beautiful landscapes all along the way.
We spent a lot of times in the parks – a luxury you can’t very well enjoy in Arizona during the summer. The “death” park is always a favorite – a name we’ve thrown around – but not widely accepted. It’s the city park where all the playground equipment would never pass today’s standards for safety and concern for children. The huge metal slide with a shallow edge. The wooden teeter totters that send you flying in the air. The rickety merry-go-round. Equipment that makes my kid’s eyes light up with excitement. They were really curious about the merry-go-round. “You used to have these at your school?!” Yep – until they yanked them all due to safety issues. We visited the park on multiple occasions.
We played with cousins and then played some more with cousins. Camping with them. Swimming with them. Fishing with them. Summer evening games with them. If you ask my kids, there is never enough cousin time.
I convinced my mom to paint her living room. She’s not one for much change and that color on the wall has been there for almost 20 years. I think the last two years I’ve visited I’ve pushed to paint that room and she’s always denied me the opportunity. I went and got a paint sample and just a few days before leaving she told me I could put it on the wall. (we strategically painted it behind a wall hanging, just in case she changed her mind!) I’m still not sure what made her pull the trigger that afternoon but we found ourselves at the paint store just 20 minutes before closing begging them to mix it up for us that evening as opposed to the next day. Luckily the color match was in their system already and we walked out with three gallons. And the fun began!
I was able to squeeze in some friend time along our journey. I love reconnecting with so many great friends/roommates, I just wish I would’ve remembered to take pictures with all of them. And for those I missed – I’ll be back next year!
I’m sure my parents were more than a little excited to see this rowdy bunch exit the building. 🙂 We’ll be back next summer and hopefully Briggs will be passed the high pitched squeal/scream phase. Fingers crossed.
