Little Man’s Spurs Basketball Camp!

Okay, peeps.

It’s hard to believe, but…as we head into this third week in July, we’re wrapping up the kiddos’ final camp commitments of the Summer!

Chica finishes both her cross country and conditioning commitments, this week—wohoo! Additionally, Chica has a Sur La Table baking camp and Chicklet has an art camp. Both with buddies, which makes it extra fun. And then…we’re done! We will have made it through the bulk of things and can look forward to a visit to see grandparents, and the final couple of weeks before launching a new school year (it’s seriously hard to believe).

But before we can charge onward with this coming week, I’ve got to share about Little Man’s really awesomesauce experience, last week, participating in a Spurs basketball camp with two of his buddies. :)

This was new to us, this year, and a major hit! 

Obviously, Little Man has done a couple rounds of basketball through another organization, and really enjoyed it, so when a couple of his basketball-loving friends brought this to our attention, we were in!

It was a FULL day, all week. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and such a stamina game. Additionally, it was quite a commute to the facility, so I was incredibly grateful to split up the days with the other moms, to make it even remotely bearable.

The three boys obviously enjoyed such concentrated time together. Even though they were split up and assigned to separate teams, they arrived and departed together, ate lunch together, and got to watch and cheer one another one, for some of the scrimmages.



I was suuuuper impressed with the organization and running of the camp. From the get-go, there was excellent and frequent communication, everyone on staff was incredibly kind and accommodating, and the whole thing ran like a well oiled machine!

On the final day, there was a tournament, and Little Man’s team pulled up a sudden death overtime win against the strongest team and advanced to the championship, and it was FUN to watch!



I mean, the hustle of the kiddos was legit. And there were a couple young girls that were insanely good!



Alas…Little Man’s team lost the championship by one basket, and the poor dude was pretty heartbroken. It’s such a hard thing to see your kiddos bummed about the outcome of something they put time and energy in to, but…life lessons, amiright??



In the end, I’m so grateful for this week of really tough physical activity, time with friends, and just a change of pace for Little Man.

It’s hard to keep things evenly split among three kiddos, in terms of activities and parental attention, so I’m extra-grateful for this really fantastic experience for him. And now…onward and upward with the girlies’ activities!

Okay, more mañana, peeps.

Over and out. 

Some Summer Perspective

I’ll be honest, peeps. It’s felt like a very strange week.

It was a beautiful time in Utah, but filled with mood swing ups and downs, if I’m being honest. Just so many signs that Summer has taken its toll on our crew. 

Consistently early mornings, busy schedules, pushed bedtimes, hormones, heat…there are so many triggers for crankiness, even when we’re living our best June/July lives.

And, yet.

As we’ve returned to town and hit the ground running with an insanely busy week, I’ve had so many moments that have forced me to keep things in perspective.

It was so surreal to be away for the catastrophic weather, and return to the tragedy that blankets everything down here, at the moment. Such unimaginable loss.

Two nights ago, when I hauled myself upstairs, body weary and brain overloaded from a difficult day with my emotional kiddos, I was gifted an immediate reality check.

I rounded the counter to find my two youngest, passed out asleep in Chicklet’s room, and immediately flashed to other images circulating right now, of other bunks beds, in other places, with much different circumstances. 

I thought of my mental strain that day, the really difficult moods I’d navigated within our household, the grueling hours (hours!) I’d spent hauling my children all over town for various activities, the mental and physical exhaustion that was weighing me down, and…

I immediately realized that none of that mattered.

My babies were safe. Asleep. In their beds. And the rest was unimportant. 





Our incredibly gifted family photographer is also a lovely woman of faith, who shares her ministry with other Mamas in an uplifting newsletter.

She had the best e-mail, today, sharing God’s words on navigating life and tragedy. It was a gift for me to read, and I’ll be keeping the words close as I remind myself of what’s truly important.

Yes, Summers are intense. Yes, parents get overwhelmed and overstimulated and it’s easy to feel weighed down by responsibilities and poor moods. BUT, my children are a gift, and there’s always an opportunity to spin things in the positive and be grateful for every moment—good, bad and challenging!

More, soon, peeps.

Over and out. 

Deer Valley/Park City 2025–Day 3

Happy 4th of July, peeps!

We celebrated our Americana vibes by visiting Utah Olympic Park, and talk about a playground for adventure lovers!

I think we can safely say that there are a few of us (ahem, ME, cough, ahem) who aren’t meant for extreme sports, given an *extreme* fear of heights. And I’m pretty sure Chicklet and Chica both agree, to different degrees.

So, basically, what I’m trying to say is that the men in the family are the only true daredevils.

Figures.

That said, I’m super proud of us ladies for being strong, independent women, even when the going got rough. We managed the alpine slide, the extreme tubing (down the ginormous and terrifying ski jump runs), and the ropes/obstacle course that ended in a zip line.

And if any of that sounds horrifying…just envision me, sitting on a bench after completing the zip line, with tears streaming down my face while I came down off my terror over the obstacle course et. al.

 

Whyyyyyyy I keep doing these things to be with my family, I cannot tell you.

Also: I may or may not have smacked my face on one of the metal support carabiners at the end of the zip line because I was too upright (instead of leisurely leaning backward). So I may or may not have a small black eye, tomorrow.

Suffice it to say, Olympians now have even more of my respect, ha.

It was a beauuutiful day, we managed all the fun before some rain came in, and it certainly felt like a solid way to feel our American pride.

Okay…picture explosion!

Over and out.