August 2021

 Kylee got to go to Stake Youth Conference.  Ryan got to go too, but he was in charge of it.  I didn't get to go but it sounds like it was a lot of fun.  This is the campground where they stayed (we stopped by to check it out when we drove past).

Finally got to go to the temple again. It is by appointment only, and you have to book it a month in advance, but it was so great to be there.  And it's always so beautiful.  

The kids love going to Ammon Days.  Kylee didn't come and Sadie hung out with Jen's family the whole time, but the boys had fun!

Dylan is a master at pop-a-shot at our house so he was certain he was going to win the biggest prize. But this one was a little different, mostly the balls were smoother so it was harder to one hand it.  But he still got the second biggest prize.

Kaden showed everyone how putting is done.  You could tell he's a golfer.

We were invited to a BBQ with some friends and neighbors and had a nice time chatting with some of the best people.  Our kids had fun too.  I didn't get a picture but we also got together with the whole Anderson side of the family for Cheryl's birthday and it looked a lot like this too.  It's fun being able to chat with adults and not have kids whining constantly.  The teens often join in our conversations too.  It's a fun stage.

Have I mentioned how warm it was this summer?  Starting the first weekend in June, it was basically in the 90's all of June and all of July.  It was relentless.  But my pumpkins loved it, and my cucumbers and zucchini and squash too.

Close to the end of the month, Kaden asked about tennis again so I hurried and put him in the camp again.  He likes it and is quite good at it.  He gets frustrated when he feels like he doesn't do very well though.  Something funny about this week long camp, he was the only white kid with like 4 or 5 Asian kids.  I didn't realize tennis was an Asian sport.  I think another blonde girl showed up later though.  These kids were not all from the same family either, I noticed at least three different parents that didn't act like they knew each other.  It's not that surprising though, it seems like an intellectual and disciplined sport. Some of the moms there seemed quite friendly and asked me how long Kaden had been playing because he was talented.  They had thick Chinese accents, but one of them had an older daughter that was really talkative and also reading the books my kids have all read and Sadie is currently obsessed with.  So we chatted.  Anyway, there was this guy there that I had seen talking to the guy working in the office.  And he had a racket and looked like he was going to play when the kids were done.  I was curious about how to play in the facility, booking a time, the cost, etc.  So I decided to be social and I went up and asked him if he and his kids played there.  He said (in a fully american accent, btw) "oh, no, I'm from So-Cal."  He didn't really seem interested in being friendly.  He said something about how they were able to play because they were doing a tournament there that weekend.  Anyway, the next week one of the coaches came up to me and said, "did Kaden tell you he played with a celebrity?"  He said, "do you know who Michael Chang is?"  I did not.  He told me he was a pro who played against Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras (those are names I know!)  So I quickly googled him and yep, that's the guy I tried to talk to.  It makes me wonder how often he gets recognized.  I mean, I'm sure he knew I didn't recognize him.  But you would think people who know tennis would.  Or at least would in this context.  At least I understood why he was kind of stuck up.  Kaden's coach said he had hit some balls with the kids one of the days.  I wish I had known and could've taken a picture.  If Kaden ends up playing tennis later in life, it would've been cool to have it.  Oh well!