The Dog Days of Summer

Wow! It is hard to believe Summer has slipped by. With school starting and fall sports, it is hard to remember summer. It was so nice to look back and remember our fun in the sun!

The kids love playing with cousins at Grandma's house - especially with this cool pirate pool. This evening we had a dinner together with all Chad's family, and then a little pool fun. The next morning was the annual Gutsman race, which the Iverson clan always has several racers to represent the family, and a supportive cheering squad. It was Chad's 23rd year doing the race!

Here I am finishing the Bair Gutsman. The Gutsman is a hiking race up to the top of Bair Canyon (yes, to the top of the Wasatch Front!), and then a 5 mile run on a dirt road to the finish line in Farmington Canyon. I had a great experience, and despite getting lost in the ferns for a few minutes, I finished with a PR - 2 hrs 43 min. What an awesome experience.

Here is Carson, hanging with some of his favorite friends - the dinosaurs at the Dinosaur Park of Ogden, UT. We had grandma join us on a trip back in time. Carson enjoyed running from dinosaur to dinosaur and finding his favorites. He likes "reading" the map and exploring. The background dinosaur sounds make this place extra exciting.

This summer, we have enjoyed doing fun things with my sister, Julie, and her kids. One of our big excursions we do together is visiting the Children's Museum at the Gateway. Kate is LOVING this ball activity. It is always crazy there trying to watch all the kids, and we are always relieved when we leave. But, the kids sure have FUN!

We have enjoyed doing playgroups with neighborhood moms all summer, and they have involved a lot of trips. Here we are at the Tracy Aviary. We thought the best part of the Aviary was their bird show. It was incredible to see those birds perform and be so close to them. Here Audrey is watching a large Vulture, just after it flew right over our heads and landed there.

We have promised the kids we would go to Boondocks for two summers. Two weeks ago, it was finally time to have some fun. The kids chose to ride the Motor-cross cars and to play miniature golf amongst all the fun structures you can see from the freeway. The cars were Carson's favorite by far, but it was also fun to see the golf course up close and feel the Volcano's heat!

Last Saturday, we had an Iverson get together. A pool party and picnic. After the picnic, the kids enjoyed exploring this stream and eventually walking in it and having a mud bath. Meanwhile, the adults enjoyed catching up and having fun as well.

We have mixed emotions about school starting. Audrey started first grade this year. I was really looking forward to a little more freedom in only having two kids at home during the day, and Audrey loves school and her friends. As the big day drew near, I started to get a little emotional about the changes. I have been with Audrey daily her whole life, and it is hard to adjust. Her first day she got on the bus fine and had a great day of school with lots to tell us when she got home. Meanwhile, Carson and Kate asked about her and I realized they didn't know she was already gone (they had slept in late). Later, I got her plate down for lunch, then realized for the first time she would not be eating lunch with us anymore, somehow that struck me as sad and world changing. Then later when we were doing our usual things, Kate turned around and said "Audrey?". I had to remind her that Audrey was at school now. And finally, we feel like we are sneaking around when we do fun things and she is not home to do them with us. I don't know how to feel less guilty. Wow! So much has changed. We love that cute girl.

Here is Carson at his Flag Football camp (Go Preschool sports!). Once again, he loves it and he has finally agreed to give team sports a try soon. What a cutie!