SUMMERLAND

September 20, 2012

SUMMERLAND

Our Summer Detox was quick.

One day the kids were staying up till midnight, video controllers in hands,

eating who knows what, sleeping in their clothes

and waking up embarrassingly late the next day...

...and just a short twenty four hours later on the first day of school...

uh yeah, it was pretty much the same (except for the waking up part.)

Our summer was blissfully lazy.

But how could that be? Summer went by in a flash.

Even our traditional "Night Before School Fashion Show/School Shulute" evening was rushed.

This is a traditional night of ours when the kids show off all their new threads

and receive a bunch of junk for the first day.

The next day it was like morning of the living dead

with little recollection of how to do a morning routine.

Brett didn't realize "early morning seminary" actually meant "early morning."

bless his heart.

Nothing helps a stressed out teenage girl on the first day of school, like the family dog tearing at her new clothes, or her mom calling from the car "Lauren! Lauren...one more picture!"

Sixth Grade Wade...king of the elementary!

River was hoping to see Mr "you know who" - she spied him right away.

I even allowed Kal (my man-child) to go off to Kindergarten and leave me all alone to fend for myself with the littlest two.

Although the whole thing didn't seem quite fair.

I expected to have more time with him, with all of them.

Looking back, our summer of 2012 clearly had a theme.

Three words:

'less is more'

It seemed like we did less things,

but we were more busy than ever before.

We even intended on fitting in a trip to Disneyland this summer, but we didn't.
The kids might've been disappointed, but hey you can't win em all.

In summing up;
I'd say our Summer of 2012 was kinda like a trip to Disneyland;

Almost exactly like going Disneyland.
so what are they complaining about?

Yes, there were many similarities with summer of 2012
and the wonders of the Magic Kingdom.
For instance...we rubbed elbows with Princesses,

They even waved and blew kisses to us, it was so thrilling.

We didn't have to purchase those "golden tickets" to have fun,

just like at Disneyland, this summer we went on many exciting rides;

like the thrilling "instant concussion' ride,

The exciting "hold down this large cow while I brand it"ride,

The mind-blowing "waiting for fish to bite"ride. Wow, what a trip!

We loved the "watching the Olympics amid utter fracas" ride.

There was also the..."carnival ride that actually costs as much

as a Disneyland ticket" ride.

My kids really enjoyed the "sneak up on mom with a snake" ride.

(Although it was nearly fatal for them.)

And then there was the coolest roller-coaster ever,

The "tease each other until Mom's ears bleed" ride, my all-time favorite.

This summer we saw lots of Characters, just like at Disneyland.

We saw plenty of "Goofy" girls.

And "Tweedledum and Tweedledee"

Move over "Pluto", Sissy is the new dog in town.

There was "Prince Charming"

and of course "Happy, Dopey and Bashful"

"Grumpy" and/or "Sleepy"

And Mr. "I can Fly" Buzz Lightyear.

Disneyland may have Splash Mountain and the Indiana Jones Ride...

but, lets be honest...

usually by the middle of the first day at Disneyland,

all the really kids want to do is to go back to the hotel and swim.

This summer we beat them to the punch. We indulged the kids all summer long.

We didn't even have to guilt trip them by saying...

"Come, on guys! we are at Disneyland! the Happiest Place on earth!

...we are not going back to the hotel to swim!"

Or..."When I was your age, I only went to Disneyland once!"

"We went on every single ride, and didn't even take bathroom breaks...

...and we stayed till it closed and we loved it darn it!"

"Now stop complaining and start having fun right now or else!"

A guilt free summer - so underrated.

Although nothing beats the fireworks show at Disneyland,

Our fireworks display during the Fiesta Days was actually quite impressive.

we are easily impressed.

Besides, this summer we all had enough smoke filled skies to last a lifetime.

Can I get an Amen?

Who needs the warm California sun? when you have the

weird unpredictable Utah weather.

(this was the fifth of July)

"Yo Ho Yo Ho a baseball life for me!

A single, a double, they're stirring up trouble, heads up me hearties yo ho!"

Wade and the boys had a great run this summer.

And just like in the Pirates of the Caribbean,

these boys pillaged and plundered, and scoundreled and ravaged...

and learned life lessons in the process. We hope.

Without question though, our family reunion was the best, a highlight of our summer.

It was like riding "It's a Small World" over and over and over again.

- It's so much fun when it begins, but by the time it's over, you feel like punching someone. -

Check out our homemade pinata, Neves style - (box with electrical tape and twine).

You won't find one of these at the Disneyland gift shops.

Stay classy Neves family.

Everyone thinks Disneyland has the corner on entertainment?

Nah,
This summer we were thrilled to have headlining our family reunion entertainment, the totally legit, legendary, Shakespearean trained, acting coach/comedian/teacher extraordinaire...

Uncle Richard Johnson !

jealous?
Yeah, it was awesome watching a grown man demonstrate how to
walk and talk like a girl. (those hips don't lie)
And he was all ours!

I will admit though that anyone would have a hard time competing with the Disneyland fare;
the Churros, corn-dogs and Mickey Mouse ice-cream. Soooo good.

This summer we too ate like kings.
Watered down lemonade...