A summer letter

A few weeks ago The Guy wrote a letter to his family about what we've been doing this summer. Instead of trying to blog about each item I've decided to add a few pictures to his letter and call it good. 

Enjoy!

P.S. The different fonts are the different narrators.

P.P.S. I just finished editing and I added a ton of pictures, not a few!

Hi family,

I have been a bit of a free rider the last few months by enjoying all of your letters and updates while not sending out any of my own. So, after reading your inspiring email tonight, D (congrats on what sounds like a great baptismal service), I thought I would send a quick note.

We have been absolutely loving summertime here in Chicago. So far, the highlights of the summer have involved a few fun trips, biking, playing sports, and hitting the beach as a family. 

We had a great 4th of July with a bunch of friends. We went down to central Illinois where we spent a couple of nights in a hotel and spent the day on a farmhouse with a lake where we could swim, play games, and watch fireworks.

At the lake with friends

Jumping off the diving board!

Picture time with one of my young women - she always makes faces!

The Little One loved the tire swing.

Relaxing on the hammock with my friends.

Getting candy from the pinata!

She enjoyed the giant chess board!

We then spent a week at a beach house in Michigan with some friends. It was super relaxing. One of the highlights of the trip was Loren catching a fish for the first time (a small rock bass in a little river). 

She had a little (big) run-in with the bed and looked like a Who(from Dr. Suess) for the duration of the trip!

Sparklers!

The girls were really into birds and drew these pictures all over the sidewalk. 

I loved them.

Breakfast with friends. 

And the bird book!

Playing on the beach.

Lisa made the girls their own fishing poles.

It was darling to watch them try to fish with dowels and safety pins.

Couldn't surpass this beauty!

Enjoying the lake!

And the sand.

Having fun together!

This is what happens when you light 50 sparklers at once.

Beach games!

Burying kids is a must!

Help! We can't get out!

More sand art!

More friend time.

(Don't know if you noticed, but a few more friends came to join us one day. We loved having them too!)

We enjoyed all of the fun conversations we had with friends!

Last Friday, Linda and I let go of our inhibitions and went on a Segway tour of Chicago for a date night. The tour was fine, but the real highlight was getting to ride around on Segways - even if the helmets made us look a bit dorky. We discovered that Linda has an incredible hidden talent for riding a Segway. I couldn't keep up with her even when she was riding with no hands! 

We really enjoyed the Segways a lot more than we thought we would.

There is a huge chapel on the University of Chicago's campus that has a large set of carillon bells. Every Sunday evening they fly somebody in to perform an hour-long concert. We love to invite families from the ward - especially new families - and sit on the grass outside and listen to the bells while having a picnic dinner. We had a really great time last Sunday listening to the bells with friends and eating some new, dutch oven-style bread that Linda has been trying out.  

After the bells concert last Sunday, I grabbed a flight to Boston for a squash, I mean, economics conference. While my presentation went fine, the real highlight of the trip was talking and hanging out with Jaren and playing squash. One night, we played 24 games of squash in a row before the staff at the athletic club (where we had purchased week-long guest passes) knocked on our door and told us that they needed to close. It was such a great trip that every time I try to stand up, my legs remind me how much fun it was to be with Jaren for a few days.

After getting back early Friday morning, we got to spend most of the day on Friday at the Chicago Zoo. Eloise was completely captivated by all of the animals and ended the day with a ride on the merry-go round (Loren and Adelle were given the option and chose to pocket the money that it would have cost to do a ride).

Saturday started with Loren and I playing early-morning Ultimate Frisbee and then "icing down" in the lake afterwards (with really big waves!). Linda then took us all to a farmer's market where some fresh produce was purchased to complement the produce that she is harvesting from our small garden in the backyard. The day ended with Adelle and I watching a White Sox game with a friend of mine here in Hyde Park and his daughter. Adelle seems to have taken after her dad and enjoys being in the stadium and the atmosphere of baseball quite a bit more than the actual sport.

Today was spent at church, in meetings, and another night of carillon bells. The real fun, though, starts tomorrow morning when Loren, Nolan, and I head up with a few friends to the Boundary Waters for a week-long canoeing/camping/fishing trip. We purchased and are taking a digital fish scale with us on the trip. We want to quantitatively determine who is able to land the largest Northern Pike and Walleye. Linda is getting the raw end of the deal by not getting to come on this trip, but hopes to make up for it with a couple of sewing conference trips of her own over the next few months. 

We hope that things continue to go well for you, D, in Korea. A full-time missionary spoke in our ward today and I couldn't help but think about you and how gratifying it must be to be fully devoted to spreading the good news of our Savior. We pray for you often and hope that things continue to go well.

The Guy