August 1st!! Where did the time go?

I can't believe it is August already! The month has flown by and I've been so on the go that nothing has been blogged about either - so here is what I have been up to -

(the abridged version)

Spent a week in Utah - a few days helping Michele get ready for her big trip to Ethiopia and the rest of the week playing with and watching her 2 adorable kids. We kept very busy.

We played blocks . . .

We went for walks in the neighborhood, went to the park, colored on the driveway with chalk . .

had picnics in the backyard (under the shade of the trampoline since it was over 100 degrees) -

another good reason to run through the sprinklers . . .

.

played play dough . . .

watched movies and read LOTS of books . . . .

Like I said we were busy - but look how adorable these two are:

Another bonus - was my best friend from my college days at BYU - Hawaii was in Utah visiting her daughter. Jayne is from Australia and married Frank whose Air Force days had them living all over the place - but always far away. She was my Maid of Honor at my wedding - we've shared so many good times it is hard to believe it had been 13 years since we've seen each other.

And we figured out it had been 25 years since I'd seen her husband Frank (also an old friend from the college years). Wow - time has gone by so fast - but I feel lucky we got to squeeze in an evening reunion and do some catching up. Nothing like true blue friends that always remain. Jayne is one of those :)

I enjoyed the rest of the week with the kids - they are so funny together . . .

It's like "Grandma Heaven" to sit on the front porch on a warm summer evening with your two grandkids enjoying their popsicles - I could do that every day - there's something so sweet and nostalgic about it and brings back memories of my own popsicle days when my kids were little

It was awfully hard to say goodbye to these two - but I had to get back home and be off again . . .

I was home long enough to un-pack and re-pack and head off Monday morning for a week at girl camp where I got to spend time with some very fun ladies . . .

and wonderful girls. I went 7 years in a row - but I haven't been back for 8 years so it was fun to see what traditions remained and what was new.

Back home again the next week so Landon wouldn't forget me. Our big project - loading up all the big toys and extra donations that came in for his Eagle project that we couldn't ship to Ethiopia. We had 11 boxes of toys that made a Children's Shelter in East Oakland very happy. Thanks again to everyone - still giving Michele a chance to catch her breath and then get pictures of the toys going out to the orphanages in Ethiopia.

Throw in some wedding planning and shopping for bridal gowns with Josie (which I am totally enjoying) and it has been a busy month.

Tomorrow Landon and John head off on a High Adventure trip and I head out to Chicago to see Tiffany, Randy, and Madden. Can't wait - my only complaint is the summer is disappearing much to quickly