This year my sister Melanie invited the whole Morgan clan down to her house for a sleep over. Each family pitched a tent in the backyard and we kind of "practiced" camping out with all these little kids. We had originally thought of heading up the canyon, but decided it might be best to do a trial run close to the house, bathrooms, etc. She has a big backyard that was perfect. I figured my job was to remind Rick a few times to make sure the sprinklers were turned off!
We started with a barbeque, then let the kids play outside until it got dark. After a few technical difficulties, we all watched an outdoor movie on a sheet hanging from the balcony. It was amazing to me how much stamina all the little kids had while I missed the end of the movie fighting to stay awake -- I think they all must have had naps!
It was fun to sleep in the tents, although I do think a few people abandoned their sleeping bags for a bed in the house. That morning, we had a big Fourth of July breakfast and then set up a big inflatable slip 'n slide for the kids to play on all morning while the adults played air hockey, ping pong and watched World Cup Soccer.
Suddenly out of nowhere, a big storm camp up really fast and everyone had to scramble to get the big inflatable toys down. The afternoon turned into a rainy windy day and we were really glad we had partied the night before and all morning. When we got home we discovered that one of neighbor's houses had been struck by lightning. Scary....
24th of July
We spent the 24th of July with the Browns up at their cabin playing card games and roasting hot dogs. And of course, we had to roast marshmallows to make s'mores. I have discovered, that it is best to skip the graham cracker thing altogether and just stick a square of chocolate inside of a toasted marshmallow and then pop the whole thing into your mouth. Who wants to get full of graham crackers anyway? Clark stayed and spent a couple of nights at the cabin with his Grandma to keep her company and get plenty of individual attention. He and Elliot both love staying over at the cabin!
Since Elliot is 12 now and an official Boy Scout, he got to spend a week at Camp Steiner with his troop. He wasn't sure he wanted to go, but we all assured him he would have a great time, and he did. He earned 6 merit badges and wore the same shorts and shirt all five days! That's what it's all about -- right?!
The same week Elliot was at camp, Tess and Madeleine left for a 4-day Pioneer Trek with our Stake youth group. They were bused to Wyoming where they then spent several days reliving some of the experiences of the Mormon Willie & Martin handcart companies. While dressed in long skirts and bonnets, they pulled handcarts, set up and took down camp, received mail via a Pony Express rider, forded streams and re-enacted several specific pioneer stories. It was a great faith-building experience that gave them a real feel for what it must of been like for their own pioneer ancestors who crossed the plains to come to Utah. Their leaders went to a lot of work to make this a memorable experience and while we missed them and worried about them a bit, we were glad they were able to go.
If you are interested in a few rounds of ping pong, we are now the proud owners of a new ping pong table. Elliot is our most avid player, but to date has not been able to beat his dad. I think he gets $10.00 when he does. Maybe Alan will pay anyone who can beat him! [Editor's note: NO!]
This summer our backyard has been filled with wildlife. We have a mother deer with her darling twins that come around quite often, a red fox we see once in awhile and a squirrel that likes to come up to our deck and sit on our barbeque. The front yard has a quail family with about 12 babies hanging out in the bushes and although we haven't seen it, we do know that a skunk spent some time in the front yard!