Summer Days

Apologies for the stagnant blog. It seems like the blog always falls by the wayside during the summer, because we're so busy with. . .well, summer.

I'm still trying to get the house back in shape after some back-to-back-trips. . .At the end of June we went camping with Nonny & Poppa and approximately half of our ward. We had a lot of fun sighting wildlife (2 black bears, 1 coyote, and a plethora of buffalo/deer/elk) and looking at many, many "stinky geysers" and other sights of scenic wonder.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Anna, sacked out in her carseat

My cute family

Jared and I got a kick out of this sign.

I especially like the guy casually walking away in the background,
seemingly totally oblivious to the catastrophe.

The bison in Yellowstone act like they own the place.

Awe-inspiring sight of scenic wonder #37

Obligatory family photo in front of aforementioned sight of scenic wonder

I can't say enough good about our campsite, just a few minutes' walk from the Madison River. I think the girls would've been happy to spend the entire trip wading around and throwing rocks into the river.

Where Mom got her testimony that the church is indeed true. We attended sacrament meeting in the employee rec hall at Old Faithful--with a Coke machine just a few steps away from the pews.

Old Faithful, about 30 minutes before showtime. . .

Anna and Poppa

Old Faithful in full glory. It was truly spectacular-- this photo doesn't do it justice at all.

We got home from Yellowstone just in time for me to shower, re-pack, and head to the airport. I flew out to Tulsa with Amy for some training for her brand-new Just Between Friends franchises in Layton and Utah County. (Everybody, go to those sites right now. And come to the sales in October. But mostly go to the sites--I was the one who put them together, and I need you all to proofread/link-check them for me.) We had a great time in Tulsa. . .considering we were in Tulsa. No, really, I was pretty thrilled just to have someone else make the beds and wash the towels for a few days! After a long day of training, we would spent most of the evening just driving around Broken Arrow, sampling the local cuisine and making fun of the store names.

Mmmmm. . ."Kupcakz"!

We never did find out what they sold here. . .

I got home from Tulsa just in time for the 4th of July--which we celebrated in "classic Olson" style: dinner at the park by the 16th Street Gallery, followed by parachuter fireworks and sparklers galore. . .Aunt Skylar, Lael, Sinead, and Anna with Jared--

showing off their mad sparkler skillz

"B" is for Bronwen

And now here we are in the middle of summer. Our garden is. . .hmm, flourishing would be an exaggeration. It's growing, though. We've gotten a handful of peas, and there's a little cluster of cherry tomatoes on the plant that didn't get chomped by a deer. The girls are doing well, growing like crazy. I just realized I haven't even mentioned Anna's second birthday. My poor little second child. I'll start setting aside money for your therapy right now. I think I did manage to get some pictures this year, at least.

The birthday girl gets ready to. . .warily eye the candles.

She was a lot happier with her presents, thankfully.

Happy belated birthday, Boo Bear! You are such a ray of sunshine in our family. . .We love ya! (No, Brandon, I'm still talking about Anna here. Yes, she totally kifed your nickname. But the same sentiment goes to you--just replace "ray of sunshine" with "piece of work".)