What a SUMMER.
I have many failings, not the least of which is my (still) apparent inability to look ahead in such a way that I can anticipate the level of stimulus my life will involve. I did NOT have a conscious idea as to how nutso this summer would feel as I now slow down with two weeks at home. In this post, I’m glancing backwards to document in detail the travel, events and other commitments that leave me saying, “What a crazy SUMMER!”

JUNE

June 1-2nd
Trip to Denver for Geoff’s Dad’s 80th birthday. Naturally, I was making the birthday video on the plane and in the rental car. Here’s what I wrote in my IG post: QUICK Trip to Denver to celebrate Geoff’s Dad’s 80th birthday 🎂 #totallyworthit Gary, who is frequently mistaken for Santa 🎅🏼 Claus, has so many qualities worthy of celebration—he is a friend to all, always learning, questioning and focused on gaining new knowledge. Thanks to Grandpa Gary we have access to more than 20,000 Julian names (ancestors) in our family tree 🌳 ❤️ We LOVE you Grandpa! #garyalanjulian #familyhistory

June 7th
Clark & Lauren drove over from Seattle for Taft’s graduation and shared the BEST NEWS ever—Clark walked in with his hat turned around. I ran downstairs to fetch chips and salsa and when I reentered the kitchen, his hat was turned forward. I took me just seconds to recognize the meaning of “Daddy” written thereon. I had just had a breakdown two days prior about the fact that I’d be sending my sweet Taft off at the end of summer and that my family was shrinking—but never mind! My family is now expanding. I am going to be a 👵🏼 GRANDMA!!

June 8th
Taft’s graduation from CVHS. We hosted a FUN gathering of Taft’s friend groups’ families the following day.

June 13th
I (mostly) wrapped up a super FUN apartment makeover for my friend, Cyndi. My friend, Janene helped me paint her main living room wall before I left with Geoff …

June 13-15th
… to fly to Tyler Chamberlain’s wedding in the San Diego temple. Met up with Clark & Lauren. Clark and Tyler have been best buds since 2nd grade.

June 15-16th
Stake Conference for the Spokane Valley Washington Stake. This is kind of a big deal because my husband is currently serving as stake president, so we are more involved in seeing that it all goes well. This is also a huge blessing—we were able to meet and learn from Elder Watkins, our visiting authority for the conference.

June 17-19th
Craft a Life You Love Retreat in Ojai, CA with Amy Tan and an incredible group of creative influencers. What a treat to be invited to learn and relax together!

June 22-29th
Family road trip north through BC and Alberta, Canada—with a nights spent in Canmore (Banff National Park) and back down through Montana (Glacier National Park). We enjoyed miles of breathtaking scenery and so many memorable moments. We did have to postpone our departure by a few hours to celebrate the life of our dear friend, Weston Ogzewalla (Geoff spoke at his funeral on Saturday morning). And, we came home a day early because Geoff was preparing for a big changes in the boundaries of the (now) 10 wards that make up our stake. Honestly, I’m continually amazed at what my husband manages between home & family, his work as a physician and his church service. He’s pretty awesome.

JULY

July 1-5th
Addie turned 12 on July 1st, so we celebrated with a FUN at-home party with 12 different activities. She also participated in a weeklong day camp, called Cooking FUN. My friend LeeAnn hosts summer camps that are SO awesome—Addie will be doing International Foods with LeAnn starting tomorrow.

July 4th was fun, but uneventful—gratefully! We stayed close to home and enjoyed family and fireworks.

July 6th
Taft received his Eagle Scout award. He has such GREAT friends, who all came on a busy holiday weekend to help us celebrate this pretty-impressive achievement. I made a super SHORT video that I’ll share in my Taft Day post.

July 10-13th
Close To My Heart annual convention, held in Provo, Utah. I spoke at a Lunch & Learn session, where I was able to share the big picture of my Story by Stacy line of products which are now ALL available through CTMH consultants. And the BIG news is that there will now be CTMH consultants in Japan!

July 18-21st
Back to Utah, this time for a homeschool conference with my sister, Darci. Darci started homeschooling 4 of her children last fall and now Addie and I will be homeschooling—following her lead. More on this soon, via the podcast!

July 22-26th
Addie’s second day camp of summer—this time a gardening camp with another of my very talented friends, Julie Hockett. She has created such a haven at Happy Found Farm and Addie LOVED the whole experience.

July 24-27th
My friend Mamie came for a visit. I pretty much just absorbed her into the madness, but we had a great time working side-by-side and conversing (much) about changes and future plans. She is a guest on my podcast for episode 26!

July 29-31st
YW Camp! This is an annual event for stakes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all across the world (girls ages 12 to 17) and this was Addie’s first summer attending, so I really WANTED to go—I was asked to serve on the kitchen/food committee and learned much about preparing—in a camp setting—3 meals a day for 250ish girls and their leaders. The camp was held Monday through Friday, but Addie and I returned home Wednesday night so that we could leave Thursday morning for Hall family reunion.

AUGUST

August 1-4th
If I’ve counted right, this was our 12th reunion and we so look forward to each one. This year, Cougar was in charge and he chose a theme of learning/education, called The Hall Academy. We all met up in an old (being renovated) school house in Archer, Idaho. Hopefully I write a full post about this because there is so much I want to remember.

We returned home on Sunday evening and now all of a sudden it’s Sunday again. Addie, had some oral surgery on Friday, so we’ve been laying low for a few days—which has been SO NICE. We have just 8 days more with Tafty at home, before we head back to Utah. We’re all going together. Addie will visit Grandpa and Grandma—and play with cousins, while Geoff, Taft and I attend a few days of Education Week at BYU. Then we’ll leave Taft there. He has been invited to attend the Foundations of Leadership conference for three days prior to freshman orientation.

We will return home to begin our homeschool adventure!