Shauna, Paul and Joaquin Mayer: August 2017

This summer has been a busy one with all of the activities both family and church. I have not kept up with my blog posts, but here is an update on what has happened this summer. School starts next week so this is pretty much the end of it. It is a bit sad, but I love seeing the kids get back to learning and having a bit more direction. Just so you know, I think they need ample free time as well, but after an entire summer of freedom it is time to get back to a bit of a schedule.

Immediately after school was out we headed to California which I have already written about. After that I had several church activities that included Scout Camp and Girl's Camp. Then we headed into family reunions. We had a mini one with my family and a longer one with Shauna's. Baby turned two in the middle of all of this. Then things ended very well with Pioneer Trek.

Both Scout Camp and Girl's camp was exciting and good for the youth. Scout Camp was at Bear Lake this year at a Ward member's home on the lake. I took Joaquin with me to give Shauna a break from having all of the kids. He had a great time and is clearly going to be one of those annoying deacons in a couple of years. We left late in the day on a Thursday and made it to the lake as the sun was going down. We were driving on the east side of the lake when out of nowhere a deer jumped in front of the car and we smacked it good. I was a bit shocked but it was no big deal. Joaquin was a bit traumatized but thought it was pretty cool once he saw the reactions from the scouts. I then realized I had a $500 deductible on the insurance and it bummed me out a bit more.

The scouts spent time on the water and in the water. They also played a bunch of board and card games until late. The next day we went to Minnetonka cave and enjoyed hiking around underground for a couple of hours. We went to Le Beau's for shakes and then went back to the house to play around finishing out the camp. It was always good to spend time with those young men and I hope they understand the commitment from their leaders, which commitment is a reflection of their testimony.

Girl's camp was a little more eventful than Scout Camp. I went up later in the day again and was there in time to go on the overnight hike with the older girls. We did a bit of hiking and ran right into a moose that was crossing the trail. It was not more than 20 yards in front of us so that was exciting. I was there with Jeremy Olsen who is everything funny and good about people and the girls love him. He was a bit of an actor before he joined Costco so it always makes things fun around the camp fire. The girls did start the fire with a flint and steel and we generally had a blast goofing around and taking a night hike.

The next morning we hike back to the cabins and went to the lake for a boat and canoe outing. It was fun and I was attacked by about a dozen girls who thoroughly soaked me. We hiked back to camp and had some free time. I took a nap for a bit until Jeremy got me in on the skit preparation. During this time one of the girls got really sick for various reasons and we had to take her to the hospital. At the hospital they felt like she should be life flighted to Primary Children's Hospital. She ended up being okay, but it was a bit scary for the girls. Brandon and I drove down later that night and visited her and her parents at the hospital. I got home around 2 am.