It is another rainy day out today.  In some ways I’ve enjoyed the cooler weather and the rain.  The kids have played outside a lot more than they do when it is blistering hot.  The downside is that the pool has been closed a lot.  Even that has a bright side though- when we do make it to the pool on the rainy, cooler days, there is no one else there and we have the pool all to ourselves!  

The three older ones swim really well and usually play well together, so they have a good time at the pool.  Chase wants to swim really, really badly, but he is afraid to give up his floaties and do it on his own.  I know he could take off, but he is hanging on to his mismatched (half girly) floaties for dear life!  Ari wants to learn to dive.  When I can, I’ve spent some time with her working on her form and timing.  I love to swim and dive, but I never took a lot of lessons- my form is my own and what I know is mostly self taught.  Ari doesn’t know any of that, and to her I know everything there is to know about diving and swimming.  It feels great to have her have such confidence in me, but it is also a little frightening.  I barely know what I’m doing!

This summer is flying by too quickly!  We have a family reunion in Wyoming and then one in Colorado the first week of August.  We are all really excited to go and see family and play.  I’m the only one that is also a little overwhelmed with the logistics of getting our family there and back!

Pierce has officially entered his terrible twos.  He is almost two and a half- does this mean that I have only a year of this, or does it mean because it started late it will go late?  He is still unbelievably cute and sweet 85% of the time.  The other 15% he is pure stubbornness.  All of the sudden he is a picky eater and eats TONS of what he likes and will not eat anything that he doesn’t like or that he doesn’t recognize.  You would think that with him being my fifth I would have this figured out, right?  Really, I just think that I am worn down and I have to try really hard to not just avoid all battles by only eating Pierce friendly foods.

Brynli’s birthday is in two weeks.  She will be 11.  She is pretty excited and keeps asking if we have gotten all of her presents.  More than the presents, I think that she is excited about her cake.  Brynli loves to cook and she loves to watch all kinds of baking and cooking shows.  Lets just say that her expectations for her cake are far beyond her or my abilities!  Hopefully she will be content to help me make an average looking birthday cake.

I find that the line from A Tale of Two Cities seems to apply to my life this summer.  This really seems like the best and worst of times all rolled up into one.  With everyone home and so much outdoor and family time, life is good and happy.  At the same time, with everyone home and running around and fighting and all the chaos that comes with that, I have very little time to myself and sometimes it feels like the worst of times.  I try to remember a quote by Elder Uchtdorf: “Heavenly Father is constantly raining blessings upon us.  It is our fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us.”  I know that is true in my life and in all our lives.  The thing that makes a difference in making my days, hours and minutes good and bad is not what happens, but my attitude.  When I am willing to see this chaotic summer as a blessing, I am happy.  When I try to ward the chaos off with the space provided by an umbrella I find myself stressed and unhappy.  Unfortunately, having the right perspective is easier to talk about than to have!

I hope this letter finds you without an umbrella, happy and enjoying the rain.