We once again escaped the worst of the Texas heat this summer. I am so grateful to have a flexible schedule that allows us to do this sort of thing - Stella and Roman and I left town for a whole month. Only downside was that we missed Stephen terribly, but luckily he was able to join us for the last 10 days.
We went to Portland, Oregon and stayed with family there. My fab aunt & uncle basically let us take over their basement which was totally awesome. They have three boys between the ages of 9 and 16. Who would ever have thought that these boys would bond so much with a three year old and a baby? Stella just adores 'her boys' and had a ball. Roman learned all kinds of new things and got private coaching from the boys and my uncle. When we left town he was just getting stable sitting up on his own. When we came home he was cruising, crawling and pulling up like a pro.
We also tagged along to spend a few days in Sun River (near Bend). I just love Oregon, especially in the summers. Well, to be fair, that's the only time I go. But their summers are just marvelous. Everyone complains about the heat when it hits 80. Meanwhile Texas had one of the hottest summers on record - 110s and no relief in the evenings. It is such an amazing treat to go north and suddenly you can go outside again! I have lots of family in town and so it was a treat to catch up with aunts and uncles and cousins and create new bonds together - and help reinforce some old ones.
Then we went to Salt Lake. My brother and sister-in-law graciously offered us room in their basement. God I love basements. So wish we had them here! I read once that you can actually have a basement in Texas, it's just that so many people think you can't that no one builds them - thinking they won't sell.
We had a ball catching up with family and friends. My sister-in-law was off for the summer so we got lots of time with her and Kaia. I loved seeing my sister and finally meeting her boyfriend. Good times with cousins and kids of cousins, aunts uncles, etc. We saw a live, outdoor, sing-a-long production of The Sound Of Music at Sundance. It was a ball. It's one of Stella's favorites and she was excited to know the words and music.
We had quality time at the cabin in Wyoming. New additions include a real-life tipi. That place is kid heaven! Stella loved making smores and named them "hot cookies", which is pretty fun to say out loud. Jenny upped the ante by making them on dark chocolate-coated granola thins. Mmm.
We did the first ever (perhaps annual?) Mandala campout. My aunt and cousins Lydia, Emma and Will came with us, and my grandma came for the day. We just did an overnight, easy campout. All food was cooked on the fire, if at all. Will brought his homemade potato cannon which was pretty freaking impressive. Stella wanted to go on a bear hunt. I was a bit obsessed with having pillows there.
We came home and it was still hot. In fact, the whole state was on fire. I think we were right to leave! Hoping to make this an annual tradition. August in Texas is just unbearable. But we are glad to be home, and now working on establishing a "normal" routine after 4 weeks of travel.
