SHANNON HOWARD JULY LETTER

Only 3 weeks until school starts back! Glad, because I’m tired of siblings pestering siblings. Sad, because I don’t want to give up the laziness, I MEAN leisurely pace, of summer life. I had ambitious academic plans for the summer, such as writing an article for an English journal. But, scholarly journals don’t pay and require rewrites and often are picky about what they accept, and . . . So, instead, we’ve enjoyed swimming, and free bowling (a “DARE” summer program ) , and sleeping in, and watching stupid summer reality TV like Wipeout (which is surprisingly entertaining ) .

We have already attempted to acclimate ourselves to the Southern humidity by taking a vacation to Williamsburg, Virginia , last month. We loved learning more about Revolutionary America at the Colonial Williamsburg living museum, but, if truth be told, I think my boys enjoyed Water Country USA and Busch Gardens a bit more. We forgot that other parts of the U. S. have trees and vegetation so thick that you can’t see the other side of the highway. We also realized that water is in no short supply as we could wring it out of our clothes after spending muggy days in the sun.

We enjoyed an eventful 4^th of July. Annie and Karen and cousins spent the holiday with us. We swam to cool off during the day, and after an evening Monsoon storm (that included pea-sized hail ) , we put on jackets to watch the fireworks that night. Since it was still drizzling, we watched from our balcony. Our local newspaper reported 15,000 viewers at our town park. Wonder if they all heard us singing (i.e., belting ) patriotic tunes along with the firework show? Jensen spirit is alive in Payson!

The most significant moment of our independence day: Harrison learned to ride a bike! Spencer has been teaching Nicholas to ride over the past few weeks and felt confident he could speed-teach Harrison . His aid (and cousin “peer pressure” from Nathan and Nicholas ) paid off!

We have reports from Chaperone Travis that Spencer, although unenthusiastic as he packed his camp backpack, is actually enjoying Scout camp. Our troop went to an official Boy Scout camp ( Camp Geronimo ) this year, which means better sleeping quarters and cooked meals! He is swimming, shooting guns, and hiking to earn more merit badges. It’s several degrees cooler on the Rim, and there’s a canteen that sells candy and soda pop. Doesn’t sound too bad to me!

Exciting plans for the remainder of the summer? I have jury duty (at our county courthouse 90 miles away! ) , and we all have teeth cleanings! Maybe we’ll try to attend another D-backs game if the excitement of aforementioned tasks isn’t too much for us!

Speaking of excitement: I finally used my Nutrimill wheat grinder that I ordered online 2 months ago. Yes, I ground wheat and used it to make homemade bread. I’ll leave you all to process this shocking fact . . . Jensen homemaker-hood is (sort of ) alive in Payson!

Hope you are enjoying your summer and saving your pennies (or dollars ) for the reunion next July! Go Jody!