Being There

Hi all :) I am looking for ways to avoid finishing my AP English over the summer homework so I figured I'd update the blog.
All is well in the little world I live in and love. Summer is a welcome break and I am absolutely loving it.
Dan's mission stuff is moving forward. (Again, he is going to Eugene Oregon) We had the opportunity to go up to Salt Lake last weekend to go see family that came into town and so we got to go get Dan his other suit and a lot of other stuff to get him ready. He has less than a month left before he leaves! I've already started the crying process, but he's doing what is right and I couldn't be more excited for him or proud of him. I love you, Dan!
Clayton is still working at DI and he really enjoys it. It makes me happy cause I can go look at old golf clubs while waiting for him to get off work. I actually found some really good ones a few weeks ago that I'm slowly building a set with. Other than that he usually is at home and up for the adventures that Dan and I throw at him :)
Mom and Dad are doing well. I guess the cat is out of the bag so I'll say what has been up with them the past couple months. Dad retired! Actually.. That isn't exactly the whole story, but we'll go with it. Basically, the day after Dan turned in his mission papers my dad found out his department was being cut because of the city budget (Dad's department is the city's planning department, Dad being the city planner). It wasn't exactly what we had been expecting..This was an undeserved, unfair, and just plain stupid decision made by certain people who really don't even know what they're doing. People ask me how I feel about it... (Haha if you can't tell from the previous sentence) I simply say basically, put yourself in a situation where you see your hero and the very definition of what makes a man treated so..... poorly, to put it lightly. Think of the anger and frustration you would feel towards the people that did that to him. Well, now you know the basics of what I feel. I'm trying to respect my dad's reputation that he has built up in Utah for the past 30+ years and not say TOO MUCH, because he is the kind of amazing man that wouldn't say anything negative, even in the worst of situations. He is so amazing and so much better of a person than I am. This is a very dulled down version of the story, I guess.  I'm not sure how good it is to put all of this on a blog as it is. Anyways, my parents are doing well and we are still a very happy family and this trial has certainly brought us closer together and helped me to realize just a little bit more about how much the Lord is really there for his children. I've also learned a little more about how much my parents really do love me and they prepared themselves for so many of the situation life throws at our family. They have the strength to move on when I often feel that I don't, and the coolest thing is that they pick me up and cary me with them to show me that I can make it. I'm so grateful for such a wonderful daddy who loved me so much to go to school for so long and get up every morning to go to work so that I would have a good life. And I also have such a suppportive mommy who helps me through everything, she really does. I am such a blessed little girl. And my family really is doing fine, we aren't starving or struggling or anything and we don't have a mortgage so no worries :)
So aside from getting Dan ready for his mission and my dad's new situation life has been pretty chill this summer. We've done a ton of work on the garden, which is..... ridiculous.. by the way. If you ever need help starting a garden.... my mother is the perfect woman to ask.... In days her garden pretty much shot out of the ground quite literally and now it's...... ridiculous... It is beautiful and full of yummy foods. I am very proud of my little contribution to it and my whole family's hard work they put into it.
I've been hiking a lot this summer which has been flipping awesome. I absolutely loved hiking this one place called Kanara Falls for several years but last week I went on it and had an encounter with a rattle snake and I almost got bit. So... I've decided to lay off that one for awhile. But I have been to Zions and several hikes up the canyon which I absolutely love. It has been super fun.
Also this summer I shot my first gun! My first two guns actually. My friend was nice enough to take my whole family shooting with his 22 and his dad was nice enough to let us bring along his 12 gauge shot gun. I shot the 22 a lot and I love it. I also took several turns at the shot gun, which resulted in a very bruised shoulder.I had a way fun time the first time and I went again today for a little bit :) way way way way fun and for some reason a bit stress relieving too ;)
My birthday is on Wednesday. Not sure what we're going to do for it yet but I'm sure it will be fun :)
That is the summer so far, I'll update again hopefully soonish. Till then, hope everyone is enjoying the heat and the sun, I know on occasion I am :)