Hanging on to Summer

We are rockin' the remainder of the summer, or at least trying to... it has been a great summer. There is this electric charge in the air during the change from Summer to Fall, and I keep feeling it! It gets me emotional, it gets me energized. I still had our July decoration hanging on the front door and as I reached into the closet to find August's I was itching to skip to September.

Our pup is going to milk his summer for all it is worth. Croz is always ripping his innertube off though, so maybe that is his way of saying he's about done with summer too.



These last several days have been the most glorious weather anyone could ask for; perfect temperature in the day and a nice shot of cool in the evenings.



We have fit in a couple patio movie nights; Julie brought her river taco and we used it as a couch, it was very comfy. In fact D and I were so cozy on that thing that we both fell asleep during the movie!



I've got pictures from a while back... when Suman and Lindsay came we all took an excursion to Silver Lake and walked around with the kids, they loved being in that crisp mountain air.



Wildflowers!



On another night we hiked to Doughnut Falls, Lindsay's bro found Sabita this cool hiking stick



Hobo Hiker



Suman holding hands with his ma



Doughnut Falls was having issues with a landslide or something... Croz was so past exhausted that I have no idea what was going on at the end of the hike, we just had to get him down the mountain! He hiked nearly the ENTIRE way up in his little Tevas, we were in awe.



Eden, Rhys, Suman, Lindsay, Steven, and Croz attempting poses



24th of July



Anyone who feeds Crosby watermelon is his best friend



D's friend Eve from work invited us to her place for a pool party and we had so much fun!



Daredevil



Crosby found this pool noodle and walked it like a dog all over the place



My guys



Crosby was so snuggly with Eve. Sometimes we go eat dinner with D on his lunch breaks at ARUP and the friends D works with get a kick out of Croz, he snuggles and plays with them all and I swear they all know his name! He wanders the hallways like he owns the place.



"Crosby... sippy sippy..."



D won this noodle fight



D and I had our 10 year high school reunion, I know... say it ain't so. We still can't believe it! It was a good time, lots of catching up, laughing, surprises... I knew Logan would show up! D didn't believe me. But she was up there playing Class Feud and everything. Do any of you know who Logan Tom is? If not, Google her. We used to play basketball together!



They spotlighted D and I because we were together in high school and are still together now, so that was fun and slightly embarrassing... we won a raffle prize. Jared Richards, our class president is now an attorney and we won two hours of free legal advice from him, ha! Hey that's worth what, like $500? I should have him help me start a business or something. Anyway, they had a cool slideshow but D had to leave early to get back to work, so since Alex (an old friend of mine) was my ride back I had no choice but to while away the rest of the night with her... and I am SOOO glad! We were two of the last five people standing! Eating doughnuts, laughing, reminiscing. Good memories. So glad to reconnect; I love Alex so much.



We are always eating up the time we get to spend with Cam, Audrey, and kids... the kids have come over several times and we have a blast. Here's Brig with some turtles. I told them to not get their clothes wet but next thing I know they were all in the pool soaked from head to toe, dumping water on each other. Whatever!



Grant and Claire fought over the end of this snowcone



In order of youngest to oldest: Crosby, Sydney, and Easton



The mamas of the little ones: Jodi, Kim, and Lis... we had a rollerblade/playground/lunch/gab-fest. So wondaful, we shall schedule the next one very soon...



Crosby and Easton had these looks on their faces like, "Grrr. We are men."



So it happened! I completed my 30 day Bikram challenge. Six days of yoga per week for four weeks. Yowza. Well I take that back. The day before the end of my challenge I chickened out and skipped because I could not bring myself to step foot in the dreaded sweat chamber that day. But I was horrified. I couldn't ruin it! So last Thursday I did the first double ever of my yoga practice. I went to the 7 am and the 4:30 pm in the same day and it wasn't as bad as I feared. But I think that's because I made sure I drowned my system with tons of caffeine an hour before class... anyway, I finished and I am happy and I feel good to have reached my goal. The very last class of my challenge I was pretty revved up. I even put my mat on the front row which I have done only a couple times because you are expected to not sit out a single pose, not fidget or wipe sweat or drink water in between poses, etc. etc. so I just plunged right in and did my class next to a yoga teacher. The front row is frightening. You are face to face with yourself in the mirror; up so close. You can almost feel the breath ricochet off the mirror back into your face. About 20 minutes into class I looked myself in the eye, watching a sweat bead run down a tendril of hair like a bead off a string and I just felt... strong.

Maybe one day I'll post a more formal-looking pic of me doing my favorite pose, but until then here is my self-timed one. I tried to get in position for standing separate leg stretching pose to show that... yes! my forehead touches!... but #1 I wasn't warmed up #2 I was in heavy weird clothes #3 I had less than 10 seconds to get in position and #4 Crosby would come over and try to do it right next to me or walk in front of the camera, etc... well it is a cute memory anyway...



I took three full days off and then started back up on Monday, toes on the line. I've been doing this yoga since the end of March and I've noticed over the course of these weeks of going to class that I psych myself out some days. Especially during the floor bow pose... you have to kick your feet into your hands as strong as your legs can kick and then roll forward onto the soft part of your belly and kick kick kick so hard... it kills me! I am starting to learn how to do it to where I don't freak myself out, but every time I tell myself, 'no not this one no I can't I hate it crap I'm going to die, nooooo!!' but I am working on it.



I love all of the instructors because they each have their own way of making you work hard with the way they deliver the dialogue. Janet always reads a quote at the end of class when we are lying in savasana, but yesterday she read one while we were transitioning to the floor series and I loved it; I remembered it:

“In the secret cave of the heart, two are seated by life's fountain. The separate ego drinks of the sweet and bitter stuff, Liking the sweet, disliking the bitter, While the supreme Self drinks sweet and bitter Neither liking this nor disliking that. The ego gropes in darkness, while the Self lives in light.”

Here is Croz copying my yoga pose:



Thanks Nan and Grandpa for babysitting time and again! Love you so much!