Summer 2012 Recap.

Greetings! Remember my last blog post. Way back at the beginning of summer. When I told you I would post about all my summer plans soon?

Well... it's September 7th now, and that obviously didn't happen.

But I'll tell you what I'll do to make up for it. Instead of looking ahead to summer as I planned, I will look back on it.

First things first.

We (my family that is) started the summer off with a road trip. Six people, one car, 1,252 miles of road to travel.

All the way from Midland Texas to Yellowstone National Park.

We amused ourselves in the car by playing catchphrase, watching The Andy Griffith Show, and...

Playing Hey Cow. You get a point when you get a cow to look at you. Peyton's pretty good at it. 

The bin full of snacks in the back  of the car. We know how to do road-trips.

Rainbow. You can just barely see it in this picture, but it was actually a double rainbow. And yes, we were quoting that stupid double rainbow youtube video. 

Peyton, Mom, Davis, Dad, Kate, Me in front of Upper Falls.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It was gorgeous.

A pretty grand time all in all, even though we were a bit car weary towards the end. 20 hours of Hey Cow with six people, one car, and a snack bin running on empty... well let's just say we were glad to get home. :)

And then after that, it was a most hectic week or two of unpacking, laundry, cleaning house, and packing again.

Then off to Harmony Hill.

(Photo Credit: Chelsea Miller)

It's always one of the best weeks of my year. And no matter how much I look forward to it, or how wonderful I anticipate it to be, it always, always, exceeds my expectations.

After that, LAKE TIME! I love the lake. I really do. Days at the lake go somewhat like this: Wake up. Have my quiet time. Eat breakfast. Read. Read some more. Read outside on the hammock. Go swimming. Eat some watermelon. Read. Go wake boarding, skiing, or tubing. Read some more. Eat a hamburger, or hot dog, or ribs, or something else yummy off the grill. Play catchphrase. Watch a movie outside. Watch the moon rise up and shimmer on the lake. Watch the neighbors fireworks. (The benefit of being surrounded by rednecks). Go to sleep outside searching the night sky for a shooting star until you finally drift off to sleep.

And lake days are some of the loveliest days of my summer-hood.

And then I went to the airport to welcome my brother home. He went to China for a six week internship. I don't know who decided to make it six weeks, but it was a bad idea. That's waaaayyy to long.

We were glad to have him back. He brought me back lots of goodies. A panda hat like the one he is wearing in this picture, a pearl necklace, some of those nifty silk slippers, a fan (I've almost mastered the art of flicking it open in one swift motion like a pro), some sort of China currency, and.... drumroll....... a PARASOL! I've wanted a parasol for such a long time now. And now I have one! 

Then what did I do? I went a wedding!

She's my cousin, and she's pretty fantastic, and SHE'S MARRIED NOW! Which I really can't believe

(I could post every single picture from her gorgeous wedding, but instead I'll just let you click here)

Then, my friends, I woke up one day and realized summer was over. Summer 2012 gone and done with for forever. And it's time to start my Junior year. Time goes by so fast it scares me, sometimes.

Good thing about starting school?

School supplies.

 I looove shopping for school supplies. That's just one of the many nerdy things about me.