June/July in review

I'm not loving my old 10 list format, so I'm trying something new. Hopefully it works out.

Things I want to remember:

1. Doing Ragnar with Shane and Amy and all my friends.  It was better than Christmas.
2. The barbecue we had at my sister's house for my mom's birthday.  My kids played in the pool for 5 hours straight and loved every minute.  My youngest great nephew and two great nieces were there and so it was a little like baby heaven (they were 3, 2, and 1 month, respectively. So cute!)
3. We celebrated my dad's 69th birthday.  Amy fed him cake, my mom gave him a diet coke, and I took pictures while our kids chased rabbits around the courtyard of the resthome.
4. Talked about blackmail photos with my niece Haley.  She apparently has some good ones on me, so I should be nice about her.
5. Turned 36.  Sigh.
6. Gave a talk in church. It was the first time since I've been an adult that I've spoken in sacrament.  I based my talk on Elder Bednar's talk on revelation.  I love the way  his mind works - he explains gospel concepts very logically and I'm all about logical gospel concepts!  I'm now set for another 15 years on giving talks I hope!
7. Found out my bestest friend Rebecca is going to have a baby. I am so excited for her and her husband Steve!
8. Sunday bike rides at the Jordan River trail with the kids.
9. Going to Snowbird to ride the tram look at wild flowers.  The weather closed the tram so we kind of had to kick it and find someway to entertain ourselves.
10. Thomas and Ben finished fourth grade and kindergarten in June, and then started fifth and first grades at the end of July.  I have two kids in all day school - I've reached Nirvana.  I'll let you know when I get more than one day in a row of being home to enjoy it. 
11. A night out with my sister at my work's retreat.  We giggled the whole way through Sundance's Sound of Music.  Someone around us in the audience even farted. It was awesome.
 

Books that took up my time:

1. Cold Sassy Tree.  It took 3 attempts, but in the end I loved it.
2. The Graveyard Book.  I had it on my list for a long time, and finally read it thanks to my lovely book exchange.
3. Til we have Faces. My first non-Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe CS Lewis book.
4. Matched.  This is a trilogy, so if you hate waiting for books for years on end, don't read it.  But it's really good and written by a lady in Salt Lake who has reached the shangri-la of coming from this culture and writing a book that doesn't end with someone dying or getting baptized (or both.) 
5. Spoiled (I heard about this on NPR and it was awesome. It kind of brought me out of my nearly 18 month long book slump.)
6. Currently, I am reading Ann Patchett's State of Wonder.  It is so good!

Things I worried about:

1. My dad.  He is declining, and will probably not last much longer.  I will miss him but will be so glad that he is no longer trapped inside his body.  He is actually home now and we are helping to take care of him.
2. The debt ceiling debacle.  I think it's ridiculous that the greatest country in the world allowed itself to get that close to the edge.  Everyone in Congress should get fired. That would teach them for worrying about reelection when the reputation of the USA is on the line.  I blame NPR for being so awesome that I even know anything about the debt ceiling crisis. I think I liked things much better when I was ill-informed and oblivious to the things going on in the world.
3. Finding runners for next year's Ragnar.  I know, it's a year away. But team Still Chafing Tail is registered and ready to go but still needs some runners.  If you don't sign up right away, you just don't get in.  Now we are in.  I have some people I keep telling that they are running. I think they think I'm teasing, but I'm not.  They'll come to see things my way soon enough (insert evil laugh.)

Stuff I purchased:

1. Headbands from Sporty Girl.  I love them!  I would wear one every day if I could.  I got 3 and wear them whenever I run or go out in the sun. 
2. Some new shoes to replace my broken wooden ones.  I aparently found the only pair of shoes at the Nordstrom sale that weren't one sale.  But they are cute and I'll wear them forever, so it's okay, right?  Right?
3. A couch.  Or rather a set of couches.  I can't wait for them to come in!  I will not miss my hodgepodge 10 year old furniture.  I won't.
4. Admission for the Halloween Half Marathon for me and Shane.  It's all fun and games and costumes until you actually have to run down the canyon 13.1 miles.

Things making us happy (I'm kind of blatantly copying NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour here, but oh well!):

1. Handstands.  My kids are obsessed with them.  I should do a post just on handstands because my kids are constantly upending themselves all over my family room.  It's awesome.  They are getting so good!
2. My new camera.  It does HD video!  It can zoom!  It doesn't take crappy pictures!  I love it.
3. Social Media is making Shane happy.  He's helping some people market their ideas and he's loving it.  They had a lunch meeting to work out all the details.  He is so excited to be helping them. 
4. Being home with my kids after school every. single. day. of the week.  This is a new experience for all of us, and has brought much peace to our evenings.  It's ironic that my kids get into all day school and I start working less hours, isn't it?  but I love it!
5. Self-portraits.  It's the only way I get in pictures with my own camera, so I take them. I'm kind of perfecting the art of the self portrait.  Enjoy the fruits of my labors:

What made you happy in June/July 2011?  Will you remember these months for anything in particular?