This Summers Going to the Dog!

I feel like I finally have begun summer. After having been away from home for what feels like all of June, I'm done with our travels and enjoying some lazy days. Well somewhat.....

Noah decided to dress up Blaze one day. Blaze was good with it. I think she actually liked it. She's such a sweet dog.

This past week was Girls camp for Kirstin and I. It was the hottest week ever!!!!!! With 3 days topping out in the 100's. I know you west coast boys are thinking "100, Ha!" then tack on humidity in the 90's and we felt like we were about to die.

Here are some pictures of us making our leaders flag. We painted our feet to make roots to a tree on the flag and our hands we painted for the leaves.

This is Alyssa, my youth camp leader. She is a great girl with loads of energy and a firecracker personality. She's 17 and was a great motivator and help.

The girls did a great job and we came home without any girls having to go to the hospital from heat exhaustion which made the camp a success in my book. I didn't get any other pictures. It was too stinking hot and I was too busy. :(

This weekend Emil's parents and sister moved from the house they've lived in for the past 30 years.

The movers didn't actually come until Monday but Emil was over at the new house putting in ceiling fans, a cat door and hanging curtain rods on Friday and on Saturday we went over as a family to help move whatever we could which didn't amount to much but it was just fun to see the new place and spend some time with them.

This is their new house. I'm so happy for them. They've been busy getting everything in it's place. It's in a very nice neighborhood and I think they'll love it there. It's not too far from their old house so they're familiar with the area.

This past Monday I drove Kirstin, Taylor Seal (a friend from Nags Head) and Emil M. to Southern Virginia University for EFY. It's a privately owned school in Buena Vista, Virginia. This is the Main Hall. Isn't it just romantic? It reminds me of that hotel from the movie "A Moment in Time" with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymore. I digress, Anyway....

My brother Mark and my niece Sheila both went to SVU for a year. (not at the same time) I spoke to their recruiter while I was waiting for Kirstin to register for EFY and got some good information about it as a university.

Orson Scott Card, the author of Enders Game is a professor there at present. Enders Game is a book that both Emil and Kirstin read for Battle of the Books so that was enticing from a perspective writers view. It's a very small (750) university that is "committed to providing our students with an excellent liberal arts education in an environment that embraces the values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." That was enticing from my view. Interestingly enough it borders Lexington, where Emil attended VMI.

After his baptism he attended the Buena Vista Branch. It's a small world

It was about a 4 1/2 hour drive up and another 4 1/2 hours back. That's why I took Emil M.

Is it any wonder they're called the Blue Ridge Mountains?

I never get over how beautiful the mountains are. It was so amazing. I had Emil M. drive some of the way back and that was a nice break for me.

Today is a beach day for the kids and I. Well Noah, his friend Solomon who spent the night and Myself. To quote Emil M. "there's too much sand at the beach" for his liking. I can't really argue with that. There is a good deal of sand at the beach but for you my friends I will send you all the beach without any inconvenience of that pesky sand. (ie. you get pictures ;) Next Post!)