Summer 2026: Parades, Adventures, Creativity, and a Little Bit of Retirement
Summer is officially over and school is back in session, so
I thought I would record a few of our final summer adventures before they get
buried under homework, schedules, and the craziness of another school year. We
packed a lot into this summer, and looking back, I think we managed to squeeze
every last drop of fun out of it!
Parades, Candy, and a Whole Lot of Heat
On July 24th, our family got to walk in the Bountiful Handcart Days Parade. I love parades, so naturally I was completely on board with
this adventure. I even made bonnets for our daughters to wear and bought $600
worth of candy to throw to the crowd. Yes… $600. Apparently, I believe in
taking candy throwing very seriously.
McCabe got the exciting job of driving Todd Weiler, a politician. Well, technically, he drove Todd's wife and grandchild, but it still sounds impressive!
The parade was a lot of fun, although it was very hot—and
this was only 10:00 in the morning! By the time we finished, I think we had all
earned our parade participation badges.
The kids also spent some time putting out flags around the
neighborhood. Here are Canda and Xavius helping Teagan and Xadia with the
flags. There is something about seeing all those flags lining the neighborhood
that makes summer in Utah feel extra special.
My nephew Clark Johnson has become quite the soap-making
expert. He and Jacinda decided to have a soap-making day, and I was impressed
by how efficient their little production line had become. They had the whole
process down!
Jacinda also took us on a tour of Welfare Square, which is one of her mission sites. While we were there, she found a man from France who was interested in Welfare Square, so he joined us for the tour. It was fun having someone from another country experience it with us.
Tim: Practicing Retirement
Tim has been busy setting up his home gym and working out.
He is getting pretty serious about his fitness!
Of course, even the most dedicated fitness enthusiast needs
a little rest. At one point, Tim decided to take a break on an inflatable in
the pool. When I asked him what he was doing, he replied:
“I look like I am practicing being retired.”
That absolutely made me laugh.
Tim is definitely ready to retire. I am not. Apparently, we are on two completely different retirement schedules!
Our Taiwanese Guests
We had another opportunity to host three Taiwanese students
this summer. We do this every year, but this group was the youngest we've
hosted. They were around 13 and 14 years old and didn't speak much English.
Thankfully, we had Google Translate!
Despite the language barrier, they had a great time. They
rode in the Blueberry, shot a BB gun, and went to the trampoline park.
Somehow, fun seems to translate pretty well into every language.
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One Last Getaway to the Tetons
The kids got one more getaway before school started. On
August 19th, Teagan, Xadia, McCabe, and Tim headed to the Tetons for
some rock jumping, lake swimming, hiking, and enjoying the beauty of nature.
Sometimes staying home is the best way to avoid being the
person who gets assigned the smallest sleeping space.
Teagan and His Metal-Melting Hobby
Teagan has developed a very interesting hobby: melting
metal.
He has a furnace and melts aluminum cans into bars. He also
works with lead and other metals. Since he was getting more interested in
forging, we decided to sign him up for a forging class.
He got to melt metal, heat it up, and then bang it on an anvil. It was something completely different and new for him, and he loved it.
I am really glad he got to have that experience. Teagan is a
smart kid who loves trying new things, and this definitely kept him interested
in the hobby. I have to admit, I never imagined that one of my kids would grow
up wanting to spend his free time melting metal, but here we are!
Tim's Famous Diet and Fitness Lessons
Tim has settled into a steady diet of fish, ground
turkey, yams, and cabbage salad. He likes it so much that he has started
teaching other people about it!
Here is Lance Stubbs learning how to make Tim's famous
cabbage salad. He was making a batch to take back to BYU.
Tim also enjoys teaching people how to exercise in his home gym. Here he is teaching Teagan about muscle-ups.
I really like seeing how healthy Tim has become. If he keeps
this up, he may actually live forever—which is probably good because I don't
want to have to start dating again.
Tuacahn Adventures
Tim has a tradition of taking the kids one-on-one on an
outing to Tuacahn. Each child gets to see a theatrical production, which
makes for a special experience with Dad.
Xadia got to see Grease, and she came home absolutely
thrilled. She told me the play was really good and that the song “Hopelessly
Devoted to You” was a real banger.
Apparently, that means it was a really good song.
Jacinda also got to see Grease and Les Misérables.
She was completely enthralled by the stage production and the acting, which
makes perfect sense because theater is right up her alley.
During their trip, they also visited Zion National Park
and Bryce Canyon, all while traveling in the camper van.
One of our traditions is to stop at the St. George Visitor Center and fill the van with snacks for the missionaries. The missionaries are always very appreciative of this tradition—and I'm pretty sure they have figured out that we are coming.
Panda Express and Interesting Facts
While Xadia was off on her getaway and Jacinda was at her
mission site, I took Teagan out for some Panda Express.
We had a great time eating and talking. Teagan always has
some unusual fact or idea ready to share.
For example, he started talking about how Jesus was Asian
because He was born on the Asian continent.
That is Teagan for you. You never quite know where the
conversation is going to go!
Back to School… But Apparently It's Winter
School started, and here is a picture of Teagan getting
ready for another school year.
No, it is not cold.
It is still ridiculously hot.
But Teagan has grown out his hair and wears a beanie
because, according to him, it hides his earbuds.
Priorities.
My Creative Side
I have a few creative outlets, and one of them is sewing.
I found this fabric at Walmart and decided to create a
pattern from one of my shirts. The final result was a dress with a belt, and I
have been amazed at how many compliments I get when I wear my homemade clothes.
That always fascinates me. I think people assume that if
something looks nice, it must have come from a store. I love being able to say,
“Actually, I made this!”
It feels like having my own little recording studio and
orchestra at my fingertips.
A Wedding Celebration
My nephew Quentin Johnson got married, and we were lucky
enough to attend the wedding.
Here we are all dressed up and looking pretty snazzy!
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Two down, two to go!
I think Mimi is officially entering the stage of life where
weddings become a regular family event.
Thirty Years Later…
I was also able to attend my 30-year high school reunion.
It was amazing.
I am so grateful to everyone who came. It was wonderful to
see old friends again and catch up on the lives we've all lived over the past
30 years.
It was also bittersweet. We learned about classmates who
have passed away, and it made me realize just how much life can change in 30
years.
I ended up creating a movie of the reunion and writing a
song about it. The song is based on the conversations we had that night, and I
am really pleased with how it turned out.
Thirty years ago, we were just kids wondering what our lives would become.
Now we are looking around the room and realizing that we
have all experienced successes, struggles, heartbreaks, adventures, families,
losses, and a whole lot of life.
There are so many great people in this world, and I feel
very grateful that our paths crossed.
My Birthday: Grease, Les Mis, and Feeling Like a
Celebrity
My birthday was amazing!
Tim took me to St. George to see Grease and Les
Misérables. We decided to make the experience extra fun by dressing up.
For Grease, we dressed up as Sandy and Danny.
Then, for Les Misérables, we changed into formal wear.
We met some of the cast afterward, and they absolutely loved our outfits. In fact, some people actually thought we were part of the cast!
That gave us a good laugh.
But the funniest part happened the second night. We went
back to the theater, and this time we weren't wearing our costumes. Some of the
cast members still recognized us!
For a brief moment, I felt like a celebrity.
It made me decide that I will always dress up for the
theater for two very important reasons:
#1 — I love making the costumes.
#2 — The cast really appreciates it.
And honestly, life is more fun when you have an excuse to
dress up. When we got home, the kids had
decorated the house and invited friends over for a dinner to celebrate my
birthday. It was so lovely and the cake
was so good. I also finally met Jordan
Hill, the guy Jacinda has been crushing over.
He is very nice and polite. He
gave me a sweet birthday card. That was
so very thoughtful.
Goodbye, Summer
And just like that, summer came to an end.
There were parades, candy, flags, soap, Taiwanese students,
camper-van adventures, mountain hikes, theater trips, metal melting, cabbage
salad, sewing, music, weddings, reunions, birthdays, and enough memories to
fill an entire album.
School may have started, but I am grateful we finished
summer with so many good memories.
Now it's time for the next adventure!
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