The longest post I have ever written.

Warning... this may be the longest post I have ever written. There are several pictures to keep you entertained, though, so don't give up just yet. And it is late, I am tired, so if I seem a little slap happy, it's cause I am.

You know it has been a long time since you blogged/read blogs that when you go to type in your own blog address and can't quite remember what it is is. Yup, I had to try three times before getting it right. Whew! It has been way too long and I completely failed on my goal to have a fabulous July blog. And now, it is August 22 and I am so behind. Hey, in my defense, we have been on the move since Memorial Day and we are just barely getting to hold still.

It has been a super eventful, super fun summer and I don't regret a thing. But boy, am I whooped! I am actually looking forward to winter so that I can stay in my house and hold still! That is not good! Don't worry, I'll be back to complaining about the weather by January 15th.

Summer was a slow start for everyone this year with the crazy weather. But we took full advantage of every warm opportunity. We played at the pool as much as we could before Chelsie and Blair moved...

For Memorial Day we were (of course) in Duchesne. This year, we decided to check out Nine Mile Canyon which really deserves a blog post of its own, as most of this does... but for now you will have to be satisfied with knowing that it is totally worth the trip and we are planning to go back sometime soon.

We also spent the 4th of July out there with the whole Merkley crew and that is always a blast. One of the highlights was a balloon blowing contest... the catch was that you had to blow them up with your nose! I don't know if Eli wins for two at a time or Ali wins for biggest. Honorable mention to Luke for filling a balloon with snot...

We took some great pictures of the Merkley grandchildren...

Then, we took a last minute trip to Jackson, Wyo., for my family's annual timeshare. We had such a blast and it was made even better that my sister Melanie and her four fabulous kids came from Phoenix. It is always so fun to see them and I miss them so much!

In Jackson we had a bit of a hiccup, though. We arrived super late on Monday night and had to leave Thursday, so we wanted to make the most of it. On Wednesday, we headed to the Tetons to take the kids on the ferry across the Jenny Lake and take a small hike. Long story short, Emma stepped on a diamond plate metal cover (that was covering some sort of hole in the ground) and burned the holy moly out of her feet. After having her 'examined' by the EMT Ranger on duty, we rushed back to Jackson and spend the afternoon in the ER. Not fun whilst on vacay.

The blisters were horrifying, to say the least. And the next few pictures are not for the faint of heart...

These pictures are of her left foot. The right foot was equally as bad, but the blister extended to her heel.

We were instructed to have her follow up at the Burn Center at the U of U on Friday. They cut the blisters open, relieving all of the pressure and Emma was immediately a happier girl. We didn't think she was going to be able to walk for two weeks or so, but she was putting pressure on her feet by Saturday and walking on Sunday. Then the real challenge started, as Emma CANNOT hold still.

This is what her feet looked like on Monday when we changed the dressings.

Our next appointment was on Thursday and they declared her healed, just 8 days after the burns. All of the staff was impressed with how quickly she healed and how she didn't have any complications. Power of the Priesthood, I tell you. It's good stuff.

We had a great Knight family reunion and it was so fun to be with all of my family. Knight Family tradition is to have a talent show the first night of the reunion. It turns out to be super silly and mostly mocking. Luke and I put on a good showing of...

Any guesses?

Oh, let's see. What happened next? I have stayed busy in my garden, raised a flock of laying hens, been laid off from my job, reorganized my house (whoops, still working on that one). And, big bummer, Garret and Jocelyn moved to Georgia. We miss them like crazy, but it must have been where they need to be, cause we have heard they are doing great.

Noah's 3rd birthday was August 3rd.

We celebrated the day of by going to Applebees, where I thought they would make a deal of it, but that just turned out to be a disappointment so it was great that we had a super fun party planned.

We had a backyard water party and it was so much fun! Grandpa Merkley got right in there with the kids and had a great squirt gun water fight. We had lunch and the kids played on the slip and slide and in the alligator pool that Noah got as his birthday present. It was so fun and I owe a big thanks to all the family and sweet friends that came and celebrated with us, not to mention spoil Noah rotten with presents. Truly the highlight was daredevil Rya, being thrown down the slip and slide and running up the hill for more. I think she went down the slide at least 20 times.

Emma was finally adventurous enough to go down the slide with Rya after the water was turned off.

Then we went back out to Duchesne for the County Fair, one of our favorite staycation traditions. It was a great weekend, with the exception of no sleep and Rya falling through the bleachers at the rodeo.  And somehow, I have lost the pictures. I took hundreds, I know, so hang tight. The drive has to be here somewhere.

Amidst all of this summer madness we have also spent some great days at the park, Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum and Farm Country, This is the Place Heritage Park, South Davis Rec Center, to name a few. We have been so busy!

Luke has tested with several different departments, but no job yet. He made it to the #2 spot with Duchesne, but they hired within so that is a bummer. Right now he is testing with Park City and Kaysville and we keep checking for job announcements every day. Here is hoping that the reason he is always in the top 3 is because he hasn't applied to wherever we are meant to be. The moment he does, all will fall into place and we will know where we are supposed to spend the next 5-50 years of our lives.

I am enjoying my mini mini farm with my overgrown garden and my chickies. I have most of them named now, and I will post pictures as soon as I can. They are funny little birds and I enjoy them so much more than I thought I would. I have been spending my mornings weeding and picking ripe vegetables, then I move on to feeding and watering the chickens. Giving them any scraps from the garden that don't look great and they love it! Then into the house to see what I can make with my spoils before they spoil. So far, I have pickled peppers, too much jam, several batches of salsa (in several flavors) and I haven't even begun yet. I love it!

I am also loving this time right now with my kids. They are at great ages and they are so funny! Noah speaks so well and the things he picks up on and repeats amaze me. He has also started that adorable kid thing where he gets it backwards... "Mom, I want to carry you. Mom, I want to hold you." I have been waiting for this and I love it! Emma just talks constantly and it can be a little wearing, but she is so sweet you can't get too frustrated. She has a huge vocabulary and I think I am the only one who understands it. Cracker, Tigger, Copper, Color sound all of the same. So funny. And you would never know that she had burned her feet so badly.  She runs all over the yard with bare feet. She is a tough little woman. She gets that from me :).

Tonight, we had dinner for Steve's 52nd birthday! Happy Birthday, Grandpa Merkley! It was a quick dinner because Luke and Steve got elk fever and wanted to head to their hunt tonight. They packed everything up and will be gone for 4-7 days. Good luck to them! In the meantime, I am going to sleep in the middle of the bed. I need my rest! This week I've got canning to do! The tomatoes in my garden are ready and I will be one busy girl. I hope you have enjoyed this humongo post.

Til next time!