First summer Monday: I took all the kids to the outlets and bought whatever they needed. Got it all over with in one day. It was rough, but I survived. It's hard for me now that I can't just pick up what I see they need at Target or on Amazon. They have opinions! My opinion is that the mall is overstimulating. lol
Jack's English teacher, "Cabby," invited him and a dozen other students to a writer's awards night. He treated them to pizza and said something genuinely nice and personal about each kid. He's a strange man, but a truly good teacher. Jack will probably have him for several more English classes through high school, so I'm glad he learns well with Cabby's teaching style.
We all flew out to Utah to support Todd running the Utah Valley Marathon. But first, we went to Lagoon with a big crew of Bonners. We had Erika, Laura and Riley, Missy and Burke, Shaylee and Carli, Julena, Adam and Sophie for a big rollercoaster party day. It was the closest thing we're getting to a Bonner reunion this year, and I'd say it was pretty good!
We slept at Missy's casa. Erika and Todd needed the early morning drop-off, so I woke up at 3:30 to take them. (Erika ran the half marathon.) Julena took Hazel and Jack with her around 5; they all ran the 10K.
Todd ran most of the marathon with his old buddy, Jack Rose. However, Todd was only really trained well for a half-marathon. He lost steam near the end and Jack had to abandon him. Todd was frustrated with his finish and might have to run the same marathon again next year so he can keep training and track his progress.
I was so proud of him, though. It took serious diligence to make time to train for the run in the midst of all Todd's demands on his time. He is so busy with his business, and super involved with the youth of the ward as bishop, and he has been nonstop this spring with big adventures like biking to Yosemite and hiking Half Dome. I loved seeing him be a runner again. I wish it were easier for him to prioritize his health and fit in a run on a regular basis.
Ryan George surprised us by showing up at the race to cheer Todd (and his childhood best friend Spencer) on. It was super fun to have his support so unexpectedly.
We flew home Saturday afternoon, and Monday morning, Hazel and Todd were both off for Grad Camp. For the second year in a row, our stake has offered a two-night getaway for thei girls who have aged out of girls' camp but haven't moved on to Relief Society yet. Hazel was in that group this year. We offered up our cabin as a location for the group, and Todd found himself attending as a host. It was hard for him to stay in the background and let the girls and women do their thing, but I think he was successful. The girls rode horses their first morning, played at our Bear Lake, spent all day Tuesday at Utica with the zipline and kayaks, and then rock climbed Wednesday morning before traveling home.
I had a day and a half at home to myself and had big, glamorous plans, but first I went in for a mammogram, and guess what? I passed out in the middle of my exam! Literally sank to the floor and thankfully my technician got to me in time to protect my head as I went down. I blacked out, dreamed for a few seconds, and came to all disoriented. I hit my knee on the way down and it was bruised for weeks. After that, I had to call Katie George to come bring me home because I felt too lightheaded to drive, and once home, I was afraid I might faint again and hit my head on the tile floor and no one would be home to help me! So I spent most of my alone time resting on the couch. I took a massive nap and watched a movie. Pretty lame.
Hazel came home and she and I had a quiet house to ourselves for the rest of the week. She studied hard for the ACT and took it for the second time that Saturday. We were all STOKED when she brought her score up three whole points, to a 30!
Todd went straight from grad camp to boy's camp, meeting up with Jack and the other boys from our ward for some great bonding for the rest of the week. They were up at Lassen. They mountain biked, boated, hiked, and evidently Jack spent every last minute of downtime practicing the slackline because one of the adults said they would pay 20 bucks to the first boy who could make it all the way across ... who turned out to be Jack!
Their hike ended up being memorable because the man leading it kept the whole group together at an excruciatingly slow pace, "slower than Mom!" Todd sneaked some of the boys off on the way down and they had a good time sledding down the snow on their butts, helping them come away from the hike with something good to say about it.
Meanwhile, Gemma was the only Bonner at girls' camp, living her best life. In sooooo many of the pictures, she is wearing sunglasses, or a backwards cap, or is making a silly face. All reports show she had a fantastic time. She loved the rock wall, the craft area, and the waterfront.
We missed her a ton and really loved it when she found the time and the internet to be able to video call and catch us up on her adventures.
A highlight of her trip was that Grammie and Poppa drove over from Germany to adventure with her in Vienna and come to her performance. They took Hazel and some of her friends out to a jazz bar, which was so much fun, and also a bit of a fiasco, because there was miscommunication with the chaperones about what time curfew was. But, as Hazel reported, there were "bigger fish to fry" and she wasn't in trouble for long, AND she would absolutely do it all again, even knowing she'd get in a little bit of trouble for it.
She spent a lot of time with Lucas and Abel, Aarna and Kaitlyn, and Katherine and Rebecca. They rented scooters and buzzed around the cities. She had a really good time. She said Budapest was her favorite city, partly because it had green space in the city still.
They played in some really beautiful venues.
While Hazel was in Europe, Todd took the young men on a river rafting trip on the American River in Sacramento. Jack said it was tons of fun. Their campsite was right alongside a riverbank, so even when they weren't floating, they were playing in the water. It sounded nice.
Todd forgot his water shoes, so he jimmy rigged his flip flops with tape. Sounds about right.
And I took Gemma and Clara to the cabin for our annual summer getaway. The ladies had a blast, as usual. We spent a lot of time on the lake, we went for a nice walk or two, and we played lots of games.
Then Jack went to FSY, Hazel came home from Europe, and Gemma was a counselor for primary day camp. I went tracting with the missionaries and had a sweet conversation with a lady from Vietnam about how good God is. Hazel had her senior photos taken, Gemma taught young women's and gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting, and Hazel went camping at the beach with some girlfriends. Phew! June was busy!
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