I knew when I returned from Texas to Utah that the rest of the summer was going to fly by. It is. While I’m trying to slow things down a little for the girls so they can recover some sleep, I am desperately trying to wrap up all the projects I have started this summer. Like any mother I have a whole stack of things I really want to finish when I have time. I am determined not to add to that stack. This week, I altered the dresses I sewed for the girls so they fit a little better. I worked on felt dolls. I cleaned up the play room at my parents and sorted through all the toys. That may not sound like a lot, but it took all my time.

The adventure of the week was a quick trip up to Island Park. Friday we drove up to Jackson and spent the night at Doug and Carrie’s house. Saturday morning we headed to Island Park. Our first stop was checking on the progress of Idylwolf, Mom and Dad’s new home which they are building. The car I was riding in was full of the women: Mom, Carrie, and me. As we pulled up and saw framing on the main floor (it was much further along than we expected) we all started squealing with excitement. It reminded me of driving up to Pemberly when we visited England. Walking through the real structure was amazing. We have spent so much time dreaming and looking at plans that seeing the actual structure framed in and looking like it would turn into a house was great fun. The property is beautiful. The design is incredible. I can’t wait to visit next summer!

Our next adventure was floating down the Snake River in canoes, one of our favorite Island Park activities. We explored some great little inlets and saw some pretty birds. The girls loved riding in the front of the canoe and dragging their hands in the water. I think those few hours were some of the most peaceful I have spent all summer.

The greatest misfortune of the trip was carsickness. Mom, Dad, Alan, Kate, Jane and I all rode in my car because we didn’t want to split up. That was a grand idea except that Kate didn’t do so well. We had four car rides and four unfortunate incidents. The good new is that we are so used to such problems that we were well prepared with ziplock bags, baby wipes, and clorox wipes for emergency clean up. Nonetheless, it’s pretty nasty. The quote of the week is slightly gross. Kate puked for the last time just a couple of miles away from my parents’ house. It was huge. Just before we left we had a crepe feast with every kind of berry imaginable and, unfortunately it all came up again. I caught it all in a bag and Jane saw it as I was passing it out of the car. Jane looked up at me and said, “Mom, did Kate puke a smoothie?”