Paige wants me to blog something...

Alright already ...MY SUMMMER....By Robin Johnson...Age 39

My summer was fun. We did lots of stuff. We drove our Vanagon to Connecticut. It took 8 days and we had fun, but we also had car troubles... I tell my kids the things that go wrong on our trips are what make the trip more memorable.

We only had 8 days to get to Connecticut because we had to be back in time for Sarah to go to Girl's Camp. I wanted to stay on our road trip longer, but Sarah really wanted to go to Girl's Camp. It was her first time. She had fun.

When Sarah and Jacob came back, we went visit my brother-in-law, Gary...only he's not really my brother-in-law anymore...but I still love him and I think of him as a brother. We flew with my mother to St. Louis where Gary and my nephew Colton met us. We had fun. We saw the arch and ate at the Spaghetti Factory. The Mississippi River was very flooded and we even played in the Mississippi River...in the middle of the street in St. Louis.

Then we went to Nauvoo. We had fun. But at some point my mother blew a gasket and yelled not very nice things at me. Then we didn't have fun. So Sarah and I went to Minnesota to see some of our friends, while Jacob stayed in Iowa with Gary, Colton and my mom. Sarah and I had fun...but I missed Jacob. Jacob did have fun in Iowa though. I tell Sarah and Jacob that the things that go wrong on our trips are what make them more memorable. We don't want to remember that part though.

We all met up in Omaha, NE to fly out. While there we saw Winter Quarters. I thought it was interesting and wished we had more time to see more.

After we got home from that trip, Sarah and Jacob went to Texas with their Dad, so I had a lot of time on my hands. I don't remember what I did with it...but I think I did some house cleaning somewhere in there.

When Sarah and Jacob came back, we decided to go to Utah to see our friends the Ericksons. Instead of just driving straight up, we went to San Diego to stay a weekend with a friend and then drive to Utah. We had fun in San Diego. On Saturday, we went to the beach and played in the ocean. I got stung by a Stingray. That hurt a lot...!!! That was NOT fun. I tell the kids that
the things that go wrong on our trips are what make them more memorable. We'll definitely remember that! We went to the beach the next day...and we had fun.

Then we drove up to Utah and stayed with Paige and Ryan and their kids. We had fun. My kids think Paige's house is the highlight of their summer vacation. I like it a lot too. We got to see Paige in her Seussical play...she was really good. I got to eat donuts with Michelle...that was fun...! Paige and I went Garage-sale-ing...that was fun. I even hung out with Larry and saw his new house. My kids played and played with the Erickson kids...They had fun. Paige and Ryan are very nice to keep letting us come to visit them...Thanks Paige and Ryan.

We had to come back from our trip to Utah in time for Sarah to go to Girl's Camp...in her Dad's ward this time. Sarah had fun...again. Then Sarah & Jacob spent the next week-and-a-half with their Dad. I cleaned the house...but this time really cleaned it. I even painted all the walls and de-cluttered every room.

My back patio was cluttered with all the stuff I had to move out of the house when my washer overflowed, so I had to work very hard to bring all that stuff back in, find a place for it, or throw it in a garage sale box...or in the trash. Lucky for me it had rained while I was in Utah and the patio roof leaks...so a lot of it got wet...so I could throw even more away. It was a relief to clean the patio off finally, but there was the most amazing cricket infestation I had ever seen. I believe it could rival the Pioneer's Cricket Infestation of May 1848. My chickens and goose were of no help...obviously not prone to gorging and puking as those seagulls are.

When my kids came home, I took them camping at Oak Creek. Every year we go there to pick wild blackberries...so it was time. We camped two nights...and it was lovely. We picked blackberries, played in the stream and rock-hopped and Jacob spent hours with Colton trying to spear a trout with a knife on a stick. While I knew he would not likely ever get one, I was amazed at his tenacity. Very rarely does something catch Jacob's interest that long...that is not electronic.

After camping...we came home, made blackberry pies and jelly, shopped for school supplies...and a few days later...SCHOOL STARTED!!!! Whooo-hooo!!! Now we can stop all that vacationing and get back to work!!!

HOW WAS YOUR SUMMER???