Elder Christiansen is going to. . .

Helsinki, Finland!We're so excited, especially my brother Josh who spent two years next door in Sweden. We love you Elder Animal and Onneksiolkoon!

While the adults were all chatting about the call, Emory snatched the camera and had a little photo shoot. Here are a few of my favorites. (Mind you, she filled the entire card so it was hard to just choose just a few.)

G'day Mate!

I love food! I especially love to try new food. This is a little treat that Heidi and Richard shared with us this summer. It's called the "Aussie Burger". They don't do pineapple, that was a Christiansen addition, but the beets, fried egg and french fry sauce are straight from down under.
Also, we got to go out on one last date before the end of the world - or Cory leaving for audition rotations for 3 months. I get depressed even typing about it, anyways, we went with some great friends to dinner and a movie. I've been dying to try this BBQ place that was on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It was really good, but now I wanna go back for the burnt ends!Pig smiling while flashing you? Weird.

Bear Lake

We've been going to Bear Lake every summer since I can remember. There have been a few years missed, but not too many, and mostly because of living out of state or having baby jazz.
This was our final farewell to Josh and Sydney, but we hope they make it back each summer for our wicked weenie rides.The girls were weenie champions! They loved being on the boat, watching the weenie, and especially riding the weenie.
The "Bear" of Bear Lake.Tessa drinking fry sauce. She is a really picky eater, but if a sauce is good for dipping, it's definitely worth drinking. Cory was our boat driving master.This is what happens when you try to knock over your sisters sand castle.

Chicago

Cory and I have now had two chances this year to get away together, first Puerto Rico and now Chicago. Cory flew in 4 days before I did to do some meeting junk, although he couldn't quite get away from all of it after I flew in.
We went to some fancy dinners, a semi-formal dinner, an "inaugural" thingy for the AOA Board of Trustees, walked around A LOT, shopped, and did some sight seeing.
Thanks to my mom for watching the girls for two nights, and Grandma/Grandpa Cookie for the last night!
This was inside the hotel, every time we walked to our room on the 13th floor I got vertigo looking over the railing.Lower Wacker St. may look familiar but keep your eyes peeled for the Bat Mobile!When I was having some alone time walking up and down Michigan Ave., this Tinman snagged me and made me dance with him. It was fun!Our reflection in the Bean.The Willis (formerly known as Sears) Tower. They changed the name the day I got there. Those little boxes are not for torture, but people actually pay money to go 109 floors up to stand inside a glass box, hanging off the the side of the building!Navy Pier.Delicious Fried Dough and Gelato at Navy Pier.Dressed up all fancy. Thanks to Madison and Robyn for putting my ensemble together. Well, I added the tulle slip, but everything else was theirs!The House of Delegates. Ironically Cory was seated next to the Anesthesiologists and behind the Dermatologists!The new Board of Trustees Members and their significant others. Nikki is the representing Resident and Cory is the representing Student.And my personal favorite, mowing the lawn 7+ stories up!

Playgroup

We've had a super fun time with our summer playgroup. Here's a few things we did:
Swim party in our pool (40 people showed up!)

Classic Skating (the only time I took pictures)
Daybreak Lake
Herriman Splash Park
Shaving Cream Painting
Riverton Park
We are also looking forward to Two-Buck Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point. I got sick as soon as I got home from Girls Camp, so we couldn't go today. (Plus I heard it was Uber busy.)
The pictures are from Classic Skating. I remember this place being pretty ghetto when I was a teenager. They've added tons of blow-ups and an area for kids to ride their bikes or trikes around. My girls loved it!

Tessa would run her little legs as fast as they go around the track, chasing Emory and her friends.
Climbing up.Sliding down!Climbing up.Sliding down.Again . . .and again!Thanks to Katie for not making me climb around inside these things. You can tell from their matted hair, it was SWEATY!

I'm alive . . .

Girl's Camp was a success! I feel the weight of the last few months lifted from my shoulders, and I'm ready for a new project . . . but maybe in a few days!
We had our pictures taken last week, before Josh and Sydney left for Virginia. Here's a sneak peek.
We are anxiously awaiting Adam's mission call, and said goodbye to Cory's brother Luke - who entered the MTC this week.
Busy, Busy, Busy, and now it's time to relax.