Whew...What a Summer!

What a Summer!

I can't believe that it has taken so long for me to post again! This summer was crazy, but soooo much fun! We did a lot of traveling, camping, laughing, crying, cuddling, playing, and working. Anyway, I know that I should have been posting these as we went along, it is so much to cover all in one post, but here are some highlights:

Meet our new son, Troy!
Now we are 6!

Troy is our son E.J.'s friend who has grown up across the street from us. After his father passed away last year he asked if he could come and live with us. It didn't work out at that time, and he spent the last school year living with his Grandparents, but in June he came over to our house the last day of school and stayed! We bought a new bunk bed and dressers for E.J.'s room, and he moved on in. It has been fun to have him here, we have had to work out some kinks (Poor kid had to get used to new rules :)) and legalities with the guardianship, but we have now been named his Custodial Guardians and it looks like he is here to stay! We are so happy to add him to our family! What a huge blessing it is to have him here! (We have also added, or I guess become part of, the Gillen family, with Troys aunts and uncles and his beautiful Grandma Iris. They have been an amazing part of all of this as well!)

Then there were 8...

I joked with friends during the summer that I started the summer with 3 children, in the middle had 6, and ended up with 4. Eddie's nephew Donielle (Charlene's son who is 15) came from Kansas to spend the summer with us, spending about 6 weeks, and his niece Taneisha (22) moved out here from North Carolina to go to college, but sadly had to go back home. We did get to take Donielle on some adventures with us (he thinks we are crazy for camping) and it was a fun summer with a full house. There were days, though, where it was all I could do to not run screaming from the house. And then there were days when I sent them screaming from the house while I ran rampant with a bottle of febreeze. (3 teenage boys in a bedroom... you don't even want to imagine) I have to admit that several times during the summer I felt like the little old lady who lived in a shoe, who had so many children she didn't know what to do.

2008 Summer Travels...

Orlando
We spent a week in Orlando, Florida with Eddie's brother Red and his wife Sophia, and thier girls (we celebrated Whitney's 16th birthday!) Eddie's sister Charlene also came with her older son, Marco (just before he went into the Marines... keep him in your prayers!) We had a great time cooking, swimming at the water park, swimming at the hotel, going to Disney World and Universal Studios, and just hanging out. It was really nice to spend some time with the Gist side of the family. One of the highlights of the trip was getting to have an evening visit with Troy Wright, one of our very closest friends from New York. Another highlight was eating Charlenes' fried chicken. She can seriously cook.

Black family Reunion

For those of you who don't know, my mother's maiden name is Black, so this was a family reunion celebrating what would have been my grandpa Black's 100th birthday. Having a "black" side of the family and a Black side of the family has always been a source of humor for our kids, and I have to admit...it was kind-of funny to see Eddie running around in his "Black" reunion tee-shirt. It was a really nice reunion. We camped for 4 days at the "Monticello Dude Ranch", and spent most of the time relaxing and enjoying family. My mom and 4 of her brothers were there, with tons of their kids and grand kids. We had a float in the Blanding 4th of July parade, which the older kids thought was pretty dorky (or at least they couldn't act like they were enjoying it) and the little kids had tons of fun.

Scout Camp
The week after we got back from the Black family reunion it was time for Scout Camp! Eddie went up with E.J. and Donielle because there weren't enough adult leaders. Troy spent the week at Lake Powell with his Dad's side of the family, so he missed camp, but it was good for him to be where he was. When they got back from camp I asked the boys if they had fun and Donielle goes "NO!" and stomps off into the bedroom. Minutes later they were in there laughing about the skits and singing scout camp songs (something else you don't want to imagine) so I am pretty sure it wasn't the worst time he ever had. E.J. finished up most of his Merit Badges and is now only 3 away from his Eagle Scout.

Yellowstone
See, I told you it was a crazy summer! We spent the 24th of July weekend in Rexburg, Idaho, were my oldest brother Jackson, his wife Libby and their three boys Isaac, Ben, and Jared, live, and spent a day and a half in Yellowstone. My parents, and the rest of my brothers and their families went as well. We only camped one night up near Yellowstone, and spent the other nights at Jackson and Libby's. They have a beautiful home there in Rexburg and we all just kind-of piled in. One of Libby's neighbors asked where she was keeping all of us, and I think her reply was "everywhere". Yellowstone and the surrounding area was gorgeous, and we got to see elk, a bald eagle, and buffalo. One buffalo walked right past us down the road like it had been built just for his personal use. Traffic was backed up behind him for at least a mile. The best part, though, was spending the time with the family. I feel so blessed that my brothers married the most amazing women! I love them dearly, and each of them has amazing gifts and talents that I treasure. They are truly some of my best friends. Plus they keep making the cutest nieces and nephews for me to cuddle and love (keep 'em coming, girls!)

Young Women's Camp! (again)
I know I said in my last post that I had been released as the camp director, but I was asked to go up with our ward Young Women, including Shelby, of course. It was SO MUCH FUN to be at camp and not have to be in charge. The stake theme was "Quest for the Best" and our ward theme was "The Kingdom of the Armed and Dangerous". I am so glad that I was able to be with Shelby for her first camp. We had a great week learning to look for the best in ourselves, in others, and in the world. We had this great moose that lived not far behind Shelby's tent, though, that kept freaking all the first year girls out. And Shelby LOVED her first snipe hunt. (I hurt myself a little when I dove into a bush after a snipe, but hopefully it just made it a little more authentic)

A week after girls camp Shelby and Sariah were back in school, and E.J. and Troy started the week after that, so that was the Gist Family summer in a nutshell! Crazy, huh? Can I just admit one thing? It is sooooooooooo nice to have the kids back in school....