Where does the time go?

I can hardly believe it is the middle of August. The last few weeks have absolutely flown by. I had been looking forward to school starting for the kids again until my inbox suddenly erupted with the 'to dos' that this time of year brings. At the tail end of a brief bout with what I'm sure was pneumonia, I'm seriously feeling a great lack of desire to do any of the 'to dos' on the list that keep showing up.
Here's a list of what's up and then some pictures of what's been up, hopefully mostly minus comments of the stress I'm feeling at everything that must be done :)
-Football has begun again in earnest. If possible, this area is more involved in rec football than even Kaysville. It has been a really interesting process to watch. Although games don't start until mid-September, weeks are filled with practices (goes with the territory) and Saturdays are filled with youth football fundraising events. Ty is trying his hand at quarterback, something he's wanted to do forever and now he's getting the chance to try it a bit.
-August is a time for celebrating birthdays. Ty's b-day was low-key. He and I went to a movie together and then he had a game night with a friend of his. That sounds totally boring just typing it out like that, but two of his favorite things to do are going to the movies and hanging out with a good friend and playing strategy games half the night. He had other options, and that's what he wanted to do. We had Abbie's party with her friends yesterday. It involved friends and a lot of singing and she said it was the most fun party she's ever had. I'm so glad, I was a little worried - but more on that later.
-Justin starts soccer practice on Tuesday and can hardly wait. School can't begin soon enough for him either!
-Spencer's enthusiasm and non-stop gusto is at an all time high and when not channelled into something constructive becomes a little destructive. The next challenge is finding something for when everyone else heads off to school in a couple of weeks.
-Somehow, I let myself get talked into being a co-chair volunteer coordinator at the elementary school this year. Something that a couple of months ago seemed easy breezy, but as the thick of that responsibility begins along with everything else right now, I keep thinking, "What was I thinking?" At least I'm not doing it alone :)
-Dave learned the other day just where exactly he'll be and when for the next year, and honestly, it took me a full day to get a little more composed. Since school began a year ago (yes, a year ago, can you believe it?), the program has taken on a few more clinical sites. For education purposes, this is great. However, what it will mean for our family this next year is a different story. His travel and lodging accommodations will have to be quite a bit more extensive than we had been planning for. Depending on how his car holds up will also determine how much he's actually home in the next year. Ugh.

Abbie and Ty had three fun filled weeks with family visiting Utah/Idaho in July. It took us a whole week to get them back to realizing what it means live as a family unit (i.e. the world doesn't revolve around them and they are expected to help keep the house in general order, etc.) instead of being spoiled visitors in someone else's home. They both had such wonderful times and were unbelievably spoiled by our generous families who we can't thank enough for all that they did for Ty and Abbie.

The rest of us went to pick them up and got some great family visiting done as well. Wish it could have been longer and we could have seen so many more, but I'm so glad we decided to make the quick trip to pick them up.

Abbie and cousin Kassie - If Abbie can't have a sister, at least she's got a cousin as great as Kassie :)

We spent a couple of hours in Idaho with Tony and Kim's family. It was such a great break from our long drive and they took us to this awesome spot on the river just 10 minutes from their house.

Mini-golf in the blistering heat with Connor and Parker.

Ty and Abbie were able to get some good quality time with dear friends. I know Abbie's trip wouldn't have been complete without time with Hannah.

Okay, this is kind of a weird picture of Ty. . .but it was so much fun to watch him with Avily. He ADORES her.

So this post has taken me days and days to get to the point that it is somewhat postable. Life has been busy. Birthday shots to be continued. . .Love you all!