August: Get Out Ma House!

 Oh August. You've been hot (but not humid), smoky (thanks, California), and SCHOOL STARTED. 

Addie and Aani went to youth conference in Capitol Reef Nat'l Park just a couple of days after we got back from SC. They had a good time and we're thankful they got to go! I don't have one picture from it, since they weren't allowed to take their phones, and no leaders have posted anything. 

Dad hanging with his girls while I talked to my brother. This was at my niece Haylee's homecoming breakfast yesterday. 

For Nils' birthday, we headed up north to the Ogden area for two things: Smith and Edwards, and to try Nils Swedish Creamery. Smith and Edwards is a Nils favorite, and I read something about this creamery a year or so ago. Obviously we had to try it. The 13 year old girls working there didn't seem impressed that Nils' name is Nils, though. 

Nils went on a man outing on Saturday with some friends from the neighborhood. They went to Diamond Fork Canyon to Fifth Water Hot Springs. Good times were had, and dad bods abounded. 

We often walk up to the top of the neighborhood, where there's a park that has an exercise loop. The other night we got up there and there was a cow. Sometimes we feel like weird things happen to us and no one else. 

 Nils 3D printed this guy, so now we have something appropriate to adorn the piano. 

First day of school! Glory Halleluja. Ava's in 6th grade. 

Aani's in 9th grade. 

Addie's a junior. She gets up when it's dark so she can go to early morning seminary; she takes early morning seminary so she can have more room in her schedule for electives. 

This is what our days looked like a lot before school started. We're not sad about school starting. 

Nils got a VR headset, and it's not possible to look normal while using it.

Our stake had a fast for rain. The evening the fast ended, the heavens opened. We were at my mom's house, and sheets of water were coming down. Her outside stairwell started to fill up with water, and the water started coming in through the basement door. We had no choice but to get out there and bail water. Fully clothed, we ran up and down the stairs with buckets and buckets of water. The rain was relentless. We did that for about 30-45 minutes before it slowed enough that we could stop. It was insanity. We were soaked to the bone, and had to wring out our clothes and put them in the dryer before we went home. Good times. 

The Saratoga Springs temple got Moroni a couple of weeks ago! We were told about it, so I got to go watch. It was really cool to witness. Rumor has it that this is one of the last temples they're putting him on. I don't know if that's true, but it likely is since it was posted on Facebook. Facebook=truth. 

Life updates: YouTube plugs along. We started a new woodworking channel in hopes that it will grow and develop a more loyal audience than LRN2DIY. We've done a lot of research and feel like this is the best course to take. This makes 3 channels to plan for and manage, but it will be good in the long run. 

Anders is still working for OC Tanner and enjoying it. He's had a few people reach out to him to apply for positions at their companies, so he's a hot commodity. He's planning on moving out by the end of October, and wants to have his car paid off by then. He's got a good head on his shoulders, and he continues to be loud every chance he gets. That could be with his voice, the piano, his subwoofers, his whistle, his footsteps, his squeaky office chair, etc. He works from home most of the time, so we hear him a lot. 

The girls are well. Addie's doing swim, and deciding if she wants to work at the indoor pool during the school year, Aani wants to join swim as well and babysits pretty regularly, Ava's on student council and in tumbling. They're good girls and we're thankful for them. 

I got desperate with my crappy skin situation and started taking a medicine that I was prescribed years ago and had a bad reaction to. I've been fine this time as far as reactions go, and I *think* it's helping. I still have some break out areas, but it's less. Will go back to the doctor for a follow up in a few weeks. I've been flaring since December, and enough is enough. It's bad. 

Thanks for reading. You deserve an ice cream sundae. 

Atlanta and South Carolina Adventures

We spent the last 10 days of July in Atlanta, GA and Charleston, SC. Good golly, it was hot. 

We rode to and from the airport in a limo, because we're so fancy. Actually, some friends in the neighborhood own a limo and will shuttle you to the airport and back for less than it costs to park your car at the airport. You know we're always up for a bargain, and a limo ride to boot? Yes indeed!

Getting to Atlanta was an ordeal to say the least. Our red eye flight (again, a bargain...or was it?) had a connection from SLC to Vegas and then to Atlanta. Leaving SLC was delayed about an hour, and then the Vegas to Atlanta flight was delayed 4 hours, and this was in the middle of the night. It was rough. Most of us ended up laying down on the gross airport floor in Vegas to try to get some sleep. We were so tired. Between the slot machines, the angry mobs of people yelling at the gate attendants, constant airport announcements, and being moved to 3 different gates, sleep did not come much at all. 

We have found that most the "adventures" we have in life are due to us being cheap. You want to have adventures too? Be cheap! You'll get to ride to the airport in a limo, at least. 

We did make it to Atlanta eventually, and after taking a few long naps and getting a good long night's sleep, we made a trip to The World of Coca-Cola. This is us in front of the vault holding the recipe. We love Coke, Nils especially. It's basically the only soda that I like as well. There are lots of fun things to do there, and the gift shop especially is a Coke lover's paradise. 

Like this is news, but the south is so hot and humid, and we felt like we were going to die. We hiked to Amicalola Falls somewhere in Georgia. It was really pretty. What wasn't as pretty was the sweat pouring out of us nonstop for 10 days.

We stayed with York and Luly, and enjoyed time with them and their kiddos. They were so kind to let us crash at their house for our Georgia time. 

After a few days in Georgia, we all packed up and drove to Charleston, SC, about 5 1/2 hours away, where the sweating continued.

We:

Took a carriage tour of the city and learned a bit of the history. 'Twas hot.

Stayed downtown in two houses clustered together. On the first night, the AC broke in our house, so this was also a hot experience. The AC was fixed in a day or so.

Took pictures of the cousins who were able to make it. Grove and Andi and their kids all got Covid the week before and the week of the reunion, so they weren't able to come. Super crappy! AND they live in South Carolina.

Made our hooligans take a picture together. 

The carriage tour lady told us about some of the haunted places in Charleston, so Nils and I took the kids ghost hunting around 11:30 pm. They said it was boring, because we didn't see any ghosts. But we did have a scary encounter with some herons. 

We went to a park that was said to be haunted, and heard some crazy noises coming from up in the trees. We heard things jumping around and screaming- it sounded like monkeys. A minute later, something huge jumped out of the tree onto the ground, but it wasn't a monkey. It was a huge bird from h-e-double-hockey-sticks.  No joke those things are two feet tall and scream like monkeys. 

I liked the ghost hunting night. It was quiet in the city and kinda spooky anyway.

There was a hot tub. Like we needed to have anymore hotness. 

We visited an old air craft carrier, which was probably the most boring thing we did, and cost waaaayyy too much money. 

Traversed this bridge many a time. 

Lunch at Ben and Jerry's. 

Had a beach day at Isle of Palms and got a break from the humidity. 

Visited the Aiken-Rhett house, an old mansion in Charleston. It was interesting and sort of depressing, but mostly interesting. Coincidentally, I read the book "The Invention of Wings" right after we got home from this trip, and it takes place in Charleston. I kept picturing the city, and especially this house the whole time I read it. Great book! 

We had fun with family, and seeing new sights. However, we were all sweated out, and so ready to come home to our desert. The flight home was much less eventful than the one there, hoorah.