left over summer stuff

I can't believe summer is over! Fall is creeping in and you can feel it at night and in the wind. The kids and I have even spotted some bright colored leaves on the ground. I love this time of year here so much.

Before summer totally slips away I want to post a few things that have gone undocumented in the Shumway family diary (this blog).

Girls Camp:

I volunteered to be a counselor at our stakes Girls Camp in August. I had no idea what I was in for.....how much work it would be........how little sleep I would get.......how many favors I'd have to call in to make sure my children were well cared for for a WHOLE WEEK (thanks so much dear friends)..... how tired my poor pregnant body would feel.....how cool and funny and good the girls would be that I got to be with......how inspiring the other counselors would be......how rejuvenating it would be to commune with nature for a week without children.....how being with so many shining young women would remind me of feelings and experiences I had as a young women.....how a part of me that had laid dormant for so long would wake up........overall it was really an amazing experience. I'm so happy I got to do it. Thanks to good friends and a husband who were able to pick up all the pieces of my life while I was gone.

My Birthday:

I had a great birthday.....the highlight was floating my cake in a great little lake at a nature reserve by our house. It was beautiful and so many dear friends trekked out on a semi-rainy evening to witness this bizarre birthday tradition of mine.

Marshfield Fair Demolition Derby:

It's a tradition. We head down to Marshfield (in horrible Friday summer Cape traffic) and watch cars smash into each other. The kids were in heaven. I really think it's one of our best parenting techniques. They always stick right by me in parking lots now for fear that a car will crash into them. It has also greatly influenced the way that Charlie plays......there's a lot of counting down from ten and crashing objects into each other.

After the all exciting derby we let the kids each choose one ride to go on and stopped in at a bee exhibit where the kids made their own beeswax candles. Charlie was almost as delighted by the fire potential of his candle as he was by the crashing cars.....

Young Womens:

My calling is both thrilling and exhausting. Overall I love it and am learning so much.

I love these girls that I work with and the leaders I have are fabulous. Too bad I just lost half of them (the leaders, not the girls).