Soul Carving

The musty smell of chlorine mingled with sunscreen. Drippy chins stained blue or green from popsicles. Barbecues, car rides, fairs and fireworks. Summer brings it own brand of exhausting and exhilarating magic. Utah offers unique opportunities for fun and education throughout the summer. Today I'd like to highlight some of the events we've enjoyed this season. Splish-Splash Bash        Fitting for a desert, this area has no shortage of public pools and water parks. Spanish Fork and Springville both boast lovely splash-pads, free and open to the public. My children like to gather bark or bring bath toys from home to have boat races! Springville's pad is much longer, with a variety of depths and fountain areas. Spanish Fork's will get you wet whether you intended it or not! But each has a separate playground next to it and bathrooms available. I also love the sculptures, waterfall and rocks that decorate Springville's pad. Of course either one gets pretty crowd...

       Some of you may recall my appointment to serve in the young women organization of my church. Well, one really cool part of this assignment is the annual Girls Camp. All the young women (ages 12-17) in our area come together at a camp specifically designed for this purpose. This was my first time at Heber Valley Camp , and I hope and pray I get to go back! It's all run by volunteers, mostly senior couples referred to as "service missionaries". They provide their own equipment and stay at the camp to help out the hundreds of youth groups that come through.               While I was very excited to go, I was also concerned for my young family. I'd never spent the night away from my children before, and my baby was still nursing 3 times a day. Lucky for me, I have the greatest husband in the world who decided that he'd simply pack the 5 kids into the car and make the hour drive up to visit me everyday ...