Summer Memories Through the Years

Last night I had a moment to myself after I put the kids to bed (Jesse was still at work). I went outside for some calming fresh air and just took in the beauty of a summer night! As I sat there, I began to remember all the wonderful summers I have enjoyed so far in my life. I am going to jot some of the memories down for posterity's sake. Feel free to skip over this post, it's just a lot of reminiscing with myself.

• Raging Waters was a huge part of my life every summer for several years growing up - probably from about 11-17 years old. My mom got our family season passes to help fill our summer days while she had to go to work. When I was younger, we would ride the bus all the way up to Raging Waters (this thought sounds crazy to me now, but we never thought twice about it then)- until I was old enough to drive us all up in my cherished "silver bullet" Chevy Malibu. (That car could be a post in and of itself...) Oh, the joys of "RAGE". Anyone who was anyone had a season pass there. Jami was usually by my side as we would watch all the hot older boys play volleyball. Every single one of my friends had a season pass and we all fell in love at least once during the summer thanks to a Raging Waters connection. At the end of a long day at Raging Waters I would go home and admire my tan/burn that I had received from wearing no sunscreen (which has since caused freckles and age spots) and look forward to going there again the next day!
• Lagoon has been a part of each summer as well! I fell in love with a kid named Nick at Lagoon the summer between 7th and 8th grade. I also had my heart broken at Lagoon by a different Nick (who was my "steady boyfriend") on 9th grade Lagoon Day, when all of my friends informed me he was riding the rides with another girl. Sad. I have many fond memories at Lagoon with family and cousins! When I was little I won a life size stuffed animal dog at Lagoon by throwing a ball into a milk can. My cousin Adria cried until my grandma basically paid off the Lagoon worker to let her win a dog as well. I love you Adria! Wendy bought me a season pass to Lagoon a couple of years ago and we had so much fun taking Collin and Cambree on all the kiddie rides! Good memories!
• Slip & Slide! When I was little, my mom rounded up some massive piece of plastic (probably like 10'x20') and staked it down in the backyard, put the hose on it, and we (and all the neighborhood kids) would all slip and slide away! She did this several summers in a row. My dad always freaked out that it was burning the lawn, but my mom didn't care about the lawn. My grandma always said, "I'm raising kids, not a lawn", to my grandpa who was also a lawn fanatic! My mom followed my grandma's advice and always let us kids just be kids!! Good Times!
• The Trampoline offered many fun summer memories with friends and siblings! We would sleep out on it and look up at the sky and watch for shooting stars. While we were sleeping we all would slowly slide down into the middle of the tramp and would all be laying on top of each other when we woke up in the morning. We also enjoyed putting the sprinklers under the tramp while we jumped on it!
• The 4th and 24th of July had many memories. I fell in love (again) on the 4th of July at the Murray fireworks! "Don't get me started" Anytime there are fireworks involved there is a lot of fun involved! Amber and I worked at a firework stand one summer! We enjoyed Baskin Robbins ice cream as we baked in the firework trailer.
• The Mountains are my favorite place to go in the summer! I love the fresh air, green pines and blowing quaking aspen trees! I also have so many memories of going to girls camp in the mountains. The testimony meeting around the campfire at girls camp was always one of the highlights of my summers during my teenage years. Other fun memories include many family picnics up in Big Cottonwood Canyon and overnight camp outs in my grandparents camper! I also enjoyed a fun trip with my friends to Jackson Hole when I was 16. We went white river rafting and had the time of our lives in the mountains!
• Bear Lake was a favorite for several years with all my girlfriends and the beloved Susaeta family! Kriste's grandparents have a cabin right on the lake, and Kriste would invite a few of us up every year over Raspberry Days. We had so many good times at the lake! During the days we would play on the lake, lay out, and enjoy Carolyn's yummy treats. At night we would get all dressed up to head out in search of boys! We had so many good laughs. One night, very late I might add, Kriste told me that the boy I liked his middle name was Bonnie. I know this will not sound funny to anyone else, but I'm sure Kriste is rolling laughing as she reads this.
• Road Trips in the BMW (Big Mormon Wagon, but my dad preferred to call it the BMW). We had many family vacations to Disneyland, St. George, Yellowstone, etc... that all 8 of us would pile in the station wagon to enjoy a long ride. This was of course before the seat belt laws. We had many-a-breakdowns. I recall one in particular, I must have been around 10 years old. We were on our way down to Lake Powell with the Alvord family. The wagon broke down in the middle of no-where. Some hick guy came along and volunteered to tow us! This was a scene right out of a movie. Our station wagon (with all of us still in it) was chained to the back of an old pick-up truck, going 70 miles an hour with all eight of us screaming at the top of our lungs. We were sure we were going to crash & burn! At 10 years old, I was ahead of my years, and yelled out "I knew we should have said a prayer!" My family still teases me about that to this day!
• I got Engaged on June 5, 1999. It was a strange engagement. Jesse proposed to me in the car, in the Trolley Square parking lot, while it was pouring rain outside! He had planned on taking me out to the Star Observatory, but with the rain, it didn't quite work out the way he had planned. But it didn't matter - More Summer Love - and this one actually lasted!

Well, that's enough memories for now! I love the summertime and look forward to many more fun memories with my own kids! I'm sure I'll think of a million more memories that I'll want to write down, so there may just be a part 2 to this post, unfortunately for all of you.