Summer is HERE!

WARNING: The following is a timeline of last week's activities. Perhaps it's journal worthy, at least to let my kids know that they didn't just sit and watch TV all summer long, but other than that, I don't know that any other readers would have much interest in it. If you're bored, can't sleep, or just don't want to get off the computer yet, then go ahead and read by all means!
Summer officially kicked off last weekend (and my allergies have finally tapered off), so we've been busy ever since. Some of the things we've enjoyed while trying to beat the heat:

Last Friday: Ward campout and program up Settlement Canyon
Last Saturday-Part I: Family outing to SLC. We visited Wheeler Farm to see the animals, but it was hotter than blazes, so we went up the road to the Lakeshore Learning Store and let the kids make a craft and play with all the great toys while we cooled off. I got to see Lori for just a minute, which was fun.
Last Saturday-Part II: Then we met my mission companion, Ninna, and her family for a good lunch at Rumbi.
Last Saturday-Part III: Back in Tooele later that night, we went up Middle Canyon with the Piacitellis. We roasted hot dogs and ate s'mores--I think Aki stopped eating after his 12th one. It was a lot of fun!

Monday: Symonie's birthday lunch at Thai Siam in SLC--fun to see her and Heidi and Kate. In the afternoon, the kids and I headed to Tooele's favorite joint, Dairy Delight, for an ice cream slush (or "Mr. Misty"—I highly recommend the tigersblood flavor).
Tuesday: visit to the library for some cool-down playtime and check out books/videos. Went to the pool in the afternoon. It was heavenly—can I just say how much my back and stomach love floating in the water with no pressure from baby?
Wednesday: took Makai to see matinee at the air-conditioned theater. I went to book club that night, which was a great time. See here for more on that.
Thursday: made homemade watermelon popsicles with the kids (thanks for the idea, Daisy!). Then Aki came home early from work and we headed to the swimming pool for a couple hours.
Friday: attended the Tooele Arts Festival, where Aki had his first ever--and second--funnel cake! He ran into my cousin Marcus while they were both in line to get huge plates of roasted chicken—imagine that, the two of them looking for food.
Saturday: headed to SLC for a Funaki family baptism and dinner. Good food, good fun. Aki is back at the Arts Festival as I'm typing, trying to score another free funnel cake when the booth shuts down.

P.S. In other news, friend Stormy had her baby on Monday.

For my dad

I talked with my dad for only a couple minutes yesterday (because one of his other many children was calling on the other phone), but I thought about him a lot. At church, after the kids sang "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home," the bishop spoke about the role fathers have in guiding and directing their children for good. How could I not think about my own father, who was constantly herding (and we are a herd) us to righteous things?

From a 2003 talk "Prayer for the children" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know you have made. Give priesthood blessings. And bear your testimony! Don’t just assume your children will somehow get the drift of your beliefs on their own. The prophet Nephi said near the end of his life that they had written their record of Christ and preserved their convictions regarding His gospel in order “to persuade our children … that our children may know … [and believe] the right way.”

Nephi-like, might we ask ourselves what our children know? From us? Personally? Do our children know that we love the scriptures? Do they see us reading them and marking them and clinging to them in daily life? Have our children ever unexpectedly opened a closed door and found us on our knees in prayer? Have they heard us not only pray with them but also pray for them out of nothing more than sheer parental love? Do our children know we believe in fasting as something more than an obligatory first-Sunday-of-the-month hardship? Do they know that we have fasted for them and for their future on days about which they knew nothing? Do they know we love being in the temple, not least because it provides a bond to them that neither death nor the legions of hell can break? Do they know we love and sustain local and general leaders, imperfect as they are, for their willingness to accept callings they did not seek in order to preserve a standard of righteousness they did not create? Do those children know that we love God with all our heart and that we long to see the face—and fall at the feet—of His Only Begotten Son? I pray that they know this.

How grateful I am that my own dad can answer 'yes' to all the above questions...this child of his does know what he believes, why he does what he does, and what is important to him. Thanks, Dad, for all the greatness you've passed on to me and my siblings!