We took a trip to Lagoon. It really is a pretty good amusement park. We ran out of energy and desire before we ran out of rides. (It didn’t help that we went the day after the older kids got back from camp, and they were a little tired.) Everyone had a pretty good time.

We have finished up the camp part of the summer. Henry was in the Newsies, Curtis attended football and basketball camp, Peter attended basketball camp, Zack participated in t-ball and the triathlon, and Evie also participated in the triathlon. The boys went to camp with the church and did some awesome rappelling. And in between all that, we have time for little adventures like wading in a swimming hole in a local creek.

I gave this advice to someone, and honestly, myself too. Seek inspiration and then follow that. Trust it. And believe in yourself. Too often, I get caught up in self-doubt, don’t trust my instincts, and I get off the right way. But there are other times when I feel strongly about something, I follow that, and I end up with great joy in my life. Things work out.

Things that happen a lot in the summer:

• Play outside in the pool and on the waterslide
• Going to parks and swimming pools
• Going on nature walks
• Finding fun things to do, like nature scavenger hunts
• T-ball

The little kids also did a “triathlon.” They biked/scootered, ran, and then went down a waterslide. It was very cute. Evie did it no problem, even though she’s two (just a little help on the slide), and Zack was the second kid to finish out of our group.

We also went to Utah Lake one evening. The day was busy, but I never regret getting out into nature and enjoying it. Utah Lake has not been known as a good place to swim. And often, later in the summer, it has an algae blooms and isn’t. But this early in the summer, it was very fun!

I forgot a bit how chill summer is. Fewer places to go, more opportunities to have fun. My garden is mostly planted, and I’ve caught up on a lot of work projects too. I finally feel like my task list is getting manageable instead of getting longer.

We’ve gone swimming, visited the library, and played at the park. Joe and I went on an anniversary date and went to the movies, and down to the Krishna temple. We hiked to a waterfall with friends. And we tubed down Dry Creek at our local park. I’ve wanted to do this one for ages, but the water level at the park is usually too high or too low. We found a day that was just right. It was a shorter tubing run, but easy to walk about and repeat a few times.

My boys occasionally watched Jet Lag: The Game on YouTube, and they came out with a physical game of hide and seek that we’ve quite enjoyed a couple of times. It includes hiding in a wide area (our small version of the game lasted about 3 hours), and taking pretty awful selfies. I recommend the show and the game.

School is done, with the rash of year-end projects, parties, graduations… Lots of pictures of Zack, because he finished up Kindergarten! He has grown so much, from being unable to read anything other than very easy words to being pretty capable of both reading and writing simple things. The other kids had great years. Curtis transitioned to Junior High, and learned that he did have to do homework and squeaked out a 4.0 for his last semester. Peter thrived in 9th grade; he had a 4.0 and took an AP Geography class. Henry enjoyed his first year in the gifted program. We ended most spring sports, now we have t-ball, still basketball, because Peter is always playing basketball, and summer camps are coming up.

It’s also warm enough for paddling!

I’ve enjoyed flowers in my garden and flowers out hiking. I went to the Three Falls area with friends to catch the show of arrowleaf balsamroot, and with my husband to the suspension bridge in Draper. We also enjoyed a game of Jet Lag, where we spent three hours playing a game of hide-and-seek across our city. My team lost, but only because the other team pulled a move card right before we found them and were able to move around.

It’s really been a great season, and I have a great life!

Every spring feels a little manic and busy. It’s usually when my business is the busiest, there’s gardening outside, the kids have activities and are finishing up the school year, and there’s summer to plan.

I wish I had great advice on how to balance everything. I don’t think there is a magic formula: just consistent effort. And sometimes things don’t work out the best: my lawn looks awful, my veggie starts are behind, I take too long to get client work done, and I forget to do homework with my kids. That’s okay.

Some days, I would rather enjoy the wildflowers.

For Earth Day today, I went out and spent nearly three hours gardening. A couple of hours in my own garden, mostly pulling weeds, and another hour volunteering at the school garden, and trying to guide kids from having zero success to maybe a little bit of success.

Spring has been great. Lots of time outside. There have been the normal activities: sports games, playtime. We did a mini-art show at the library, visited lambs, and spent time with friends and family.

Easter was nice this year. I tried a lot of new things, mixed with old traditions. We did a normal egg hunt, resurrection eggs, sang in the choir at church, dyed eggs, and had daily devotionals about Jesus. I also gave up most social media for Lent, flew a kite, bought some Easter decorations, did a puzzle of Jesus, went to an Easter display, made a flower arrangement, went to the temple, and walked in the cemetery at sunrise. My favorite might have been that early morning walk: it felt so significant to think about the resurrection on Easter Sunday in the cemetery, and at the same time of day that disciples found out that Jesus was risen.

There’s been talk on my purusing of social media if parents of young children are happy.

Having kids is hard. We went to the Ogden Nature Center last Saturday. It’s a great place with lots to do. But the kids struggled to walk even a half-mile. They’d complain that their legs hurt or just cry, and we carried Evie most of the time and Zack for some of the time. This part of parenting doesn’t have a lot of joy.

But then we would get to our destination: treehouses, playgrounds, ponds with birds. The kids would run off, their tired legs forgotten, and enjoy themselves immensely. And I got to join in that joy. A treehouse for an adult is not that fun, but with a child, it is magical. I’ll take the hard walks for those wonderful moments of happiness and joy at the end.

It’s been busy. Peter has a million sports practices doing club basketball, high school basketball, and soccer. Curtis finished up his basketball and started 7 on 7 football. Henry has been in a play that did performances last week. Zack has had swimming lessons. I’ve had garden design clients and gardening. Joe’s been sick for a few weeks but is finally on the mend after getting meds. It’s crazy but in a good way.

I went on a field trip with Zack. He wanted me to go so badly, and I surprised him. He loved it. I did not, but sometimes it’s worth making your kids happy.

And there is still lots of leisure, we got a new couch that has been getting lots of use. And it looks exactly like our old one: the problem wasn’t the aesthetics but the couch breaking out the back, thanks to kids. Luckily, it’s also been warm outside, so it’s a lot easier to keep the kids entertained. Except for Evie, who thinks she’s old enough to ride her strider bike down the street all by herself: I have to keep a close eye on her and have lost her too many times.