June and July - proof that they did exist

Ok, even though this post has a pretty good number of pictures - it isn't even close to how many there are that I'm not putting up. But for my own sake of keeping record of the last few months, I thought I would pick out a few "highlight" pictures from June and July (not counting some of the bigger events that I've already covered in other posts).

So without further ado, here we go on a tour of highlights:

This first picture is from our ward campout back in June. We haven't had one in several years so we were excited to do that again! Our tent was pitched not far from the river and it was fun to walk down and wade whenever we felt like it.

David told me, "Make sure that when you take a picture of me, I'm flexing!" This one's for you, Loafie! :)

 Malia's birthday is in June and her friend showed up at our house one night with a homemade cake to have with Malia. It was a fun surprise!

At the end of June we had an IDI road trip and spent the first night in the City of Rocks, staying at the cabin of one of the Irish dance families. It was such a cool place! There were several of us dancers there and before bed we decided that we wanted to practice a group dance that we were going to perform the next day. So we turned on an iPod and danced late at night in the living room of a cabin that is quite literally out in the middle of no where. It was almost like a scene from, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"! It was so fun!!
  The next morning we headed over to Malad to dance for the Welsh Festival. That was actually one of my first road trips clear back when I'd first started and we've gone there for several years. But this was our first time to go back in a few years, and I was so excited!!
  After we ran in and performed (no seriously, we ran to make it in time!It was a close call but it turned out just fine), we loaded up and made our way to Twin Falls to dance for a big company party that was going on at the fair grounds. It was a fun day filled with lots of dancing!

 (Ugh, another sideways picture)
         After the performaces in Twin I got dropped off at the Farm and met up with David, who was already there. In the midst of helping out with Grandpa, we also went out to lunch in Kimberley with a few of our cousins. If you're ever in the neighborhood, it's important that you know that there are two places you MUST eat at before you leave. 1) Fiesta Ole - best Mexican take out ever 2) The Sub Shop (that name may or may not be accurate, but whatever it's official name is, you'll know in an instant that you've found the right place). They have some of the tastiest, fresh sandwiches and about a million different kinds to choose from. Delish!!

 
It was the week of the 4th of July while we were there so we still had a few festivities during the holiday. Uncle Jared set up the sprinkler and big tarp on his sloping front lawn again, and we had an instant water slide. Honestly, once the cousins hear that this mini-Roaring Springs is coming to life, it's hard to think about anything else.
  I laughed the whole time I watched the boys on it. No matter if you're a newly-wed RM, or a tiny daredevil, there's no limit to the fun to be had. The inflatible dolphin who lives in the pool even got to take a few runs throughout the day. Good times.....

  The deck is one of the best places to warm up after a day in the water. Ever since I was little and the pool was the latest and greatest addition to the Farm, it's pretty much tradition that you live in your swimsuit everyday - that way you can swim any time you get the notion. The schedule basically consists of :
    Wake up; breakfast; swim; lunch; swim; snack; swim; dinner; swim; and if you're feeling brave - "midnight" swim (ok, more like 10:00 or 11:00). Then you sleep, wake up, and repeat! Sounds trying, doesn't it?

     
  Uncle Jared went all out and bought some pretty massive fireworks to end the day with. But there were of course, the usual sparklers and smoke balls to entertain us, too. From our place at the Farm we could see fireworks going off in all directions; the big kind that shoot way up into the air. It was the best!!

  I also got to take some family pictures of one of my cousins and her family. These guys are a riot and it was something else to get the little girlies to all look at the camera and smile all at the same time! We had fun though and got some really entertaining pictures of them!

  A couple weeks after we got home from Jerome we had the "Boise Youth Spectacular" down at BSU. It's a big youth conference hosted by the institute that comes through BYU-Idaho, or something like that. I ended up getting to be a member of the staff for the whole week. I got my own little dorm room at BSU and spent the week helping out with 2 consecutive session of BYS.
  Even though it had been a long couple of weeks leading up to it, I got down there and ended up having a really good time! We got to sit in on several of the classes and see some neat LDS performers, such as:
 Divine Comedy; Brad Barton the Magician (who was able to tie some little magic tricks into spiritual and life lessons -yeah, he's that good); Kenneth Cope - the EFY music guy; and Jason Hewlett, a famous impersonator that has just started 'performing' at youth conferences like this. All of them were funny and entertaining but had a good message for the youth to learn as well.
  Kelani was there for the first session so it was fun to see her throughout each day. I think she might have been one of her counselor's favorites; everytime I saw her, he wasn't too far away. :)

Here's my claim to fame - that's me and one of the other girls on staff that I got to hang out with all week, and we're both with Jason Hewlett. Seriously, this guy is hilarious! I got to see him multiple times since we were there for both sessions and I laughed just as hard each time.
 This is a link to his Youtube page, feel free to browse through it and watch some of his videos! http://www.youtube.com/user/jasonrhewlett?feature=CAQQwRs%3D

Anyway, there's a few of the main points of summer! I'll try to get some up for August soon, but there's lots to cover for that, too!