July, the month of Months!

July really needs to be segmented into three time periods:  July 4th Weekend, Trip to Utah, and Recovery.

But first, we'll have a look at the pigs.

They're starting to look pretty good, eh?

After many, many years away, we renewed one of Jen's childhood traditions and went camping at Sebago Lake State Park in Maine.  We stayed for two nights, and I can see now that you'd need a solid week to make it a really relaxing break.  There's just so much to do!  Much of it involves sand in your swim trunks, burning the bottoms of your feet on hot sand, and enjoying the cool, clean water!

The other part of camping at Sebago that is lovely is that if you go with good friends (Calls and Koyles in this case) you really have a jolly time.  There are menus to compare, ducks to observe, frogs to catch, sparklers to ignite, canoes to paddle, naps to take, glow sticks to distribute.  Camping really is the life.  It was a perfect way to spend Independance Day.

Then for our Trip to UTAH!!

Our first day there, we visited Temple Square.

The boys were VERY reverent, and had lots of insightful thoughts.  They noticed things that they had seen during General Conference and were interested in seeing a few places in particular.

So we saw the Salt Lake Temple, the Tabernacle, the Conference Center (and roof!), the Church History Museum, and had a little time on the grounds as well.  It was tiring for a warm summer day, but worth it.

And then there were TRAINS.

Promontory Summit, UT

We decided that people from Utah don't actually go to Promontory, but only train enthusiasts and out-of-staters.  We fit both categories.  Ian inspected both the Jupiter (Pacific RR) and the No. 119 (Union RR), and decided the Jupiter was the best.  Blake enjoyed just watching and listening, and especially took in the steam engine demonstration as the 119 made it's way up and down the track before making its way to the engine house for the night.  We enjoyed the dioramas and the replica of the Golden Spike (the real one is at Stanford University).  It was hot and the water-fountain tasted a bit sandy, but the afternoon was very well-spent at Promontory.

We had some sentimental eating and sentimental meeting with dear friends and food.  It really is a great blast to be with people we love.

It was fun to revisit places at BYU that bring back so many fun memories.  Someday, I imagine that Ian, Blake, and Graham may have their own memories of their trips to and from campus, or around the grounds!  We were sad the Bean Life Sciences Museum wasn't open for tours, though.

We also made sure to build in plenty of down-time to play, relax, and just drive around as needed.  It was a hoot.  I love seeing our boys grow in independence and exhibit their capabilities and preferences.  Everyone's got something on their mind-- it's nice to see it expressed every once and again!

More to come.  We haven't even STARTED the part about the JACKSON Gathering.

Yeah.  In July we took hundreds of pictures.  True dat.