August 2008

We’ve been keeping tabs on all the travelers the last few days.  We’re grateful that Jenny was able to get on the plane with the baby yesterday.  And we’re glad that Bjorn is having the fun opportunity of driving across the country with the boys, they’re in church in Mississippi at the moment.  We’re jealous that Bjorn has already held the baby, the rest of us can’t wait to meet baby Bennett!

We started July in Yellowstone this year, where we had a really good time.  We made a memory while sprinting back to the car through a downpour/hailstorm that came upon us suddenly while we were on a little hike.   We made a memory at old faithful as the geyser errupted and we all oohed and aahed. We made a memory at the outhouse as we watched a buffalo graze right behind it.  We make many ice cream memories, and we had fun counting wildlife. We were especially excited to see a bald eagle.

We enjoyed seeing many of you in Rexburg and then came home to a few weeks of Pendleton family festivities.  We’ve had a lot of fun with cousins this summer – and we find ourselves being more and more grateful for cousins as our kids grow older.  Thanks, to all of you cousins for being such wonderful friends and examples to our kids.

Our summer has been so full of activities, it felt like summer vacation finally got started over the 24th of July when we spent the entire day relaxing and playing outside.  It was one of those long hot summer days when we could lay in the grass and watch the clouds go by. We don’t have much else to do until school starts – and I’m delighted that the kids have finally discovered that they can play board games without a parent.  I enjoy board games, but neither Bjorn nor I can fit them in as often as the kids wish - especially a two hour round of Monopoly or the game of life with Ellie on my lap.

We had great fun with Konnie and the kids this weekend. All the girls “dressed up” all weekend, and  we definitely should have had the camera out. The boys had a blast with Micah – “being boys”. We made it to the Pratt Reunion for a few hours and enjoyed basking in the  strength and love of a Pratt family testimony meeting. We also enjoyed being with Aunt Diane and her family at Suzy’s bridal shower - Suzy is very nice. Auriana did an awesone babysitting job, so that Konnie and I could go and enjoy having our hands free for a few hours

Auriana got braces this month and can’t wait to have a locker in Junior High.  Isaac’s been reading a lot and loves any board game where he can get a lot of money.  Natalie loves to play whenever and with whoever is playing – going to bed is not her favorite activity.  Miriam has learned to ride a scooter and has the srapes and bruises to prove it. Enoch wants to read badly and is making great progress.  Ellie gets up and down from the trampoline like she’s five, then she hops onto the swing and pumps herself into a high swing. Bjorn continues to work hard - day in and day out – but we enjoy seeing him at meal times.  Becky continues to try and figure out what to fix for yet another meal.