June & July Whiz By. . .& Trans Tahoe Swim!

Four weeks from today, high school starts for our youngest two.  Marta will be leaving to start her job as an RA in Heritage Halls at BYU before then, and Eliza departed yesterday to spend her last six weeks of summer in Wisconsin with her grandparents.  And we haven't had a lazy day of summer yet!

This is what has kept us hopping!







Levi graduated from eighth grade--the last of our children to graduate from Soulsbyville School!











Tess had her Senior pictures taken--glamour makeover and all!
She's beautiful without the fluff, and this is just my phone shot of her!










Before the family reunion, Levi and I headed out to Maryland for a visit with Rick and Jill Kemper and family, and some playing in the Washington, D.C. area.

Levi at the White House

Uncle Rick has a couple of old-fashioned bicycles.
They are more scary than you would guess to ride.
despite his steadying hand.

We walked to the Capitol end of the mall

With Aunt Jill, Bridget, William and Levi at the Bureau of
Engraving and Printing.  

One of the highlights of the trip for Levi was time in Uncle Rick's wood shop learning to make "scales," or handles for knives, and producing one for Levi and one for a Father's day gift for Mark.  Pretty spiffy, and quite alluring for Levi, who has now set up a miniature shop in our garage to produce more knives (with generous support and encouragement from Uncle Rick!)

On the way to Wisconsin, we met up with Chicago Houghtons and Chains for Chicago dogs and a quick visit.







That Kemper family reunion Tess told about that we did all the travelling for.  .  .here are the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, except for Joe, Luke, Aidan, Andrea, and James, who couldn't make it, and Nora and Reed who didn't make their appearances until a few weeks after the party.  You can also almost see Grandpa in this picture--in the upper left.  Less than a week after he was released from the hospital, he was enjoying and hosting this crowd.

On the way back from Wisconsin to Maryland, we drove through a torrential storm with flash flooding!

Shortly after the storm abated, Bridget, Marta, and Tess in
an Ohio parking lot.  

We also went to a high-flying Adventure Park in Maryland.





Once home from our travels, it was time to prepare for Girls' Camp.  Everyone was part of the action!



Mark and Tess finished up their "Go Dog Go" car, which was deemed a great success, and placed upon "Maximus the horse" as a prank the last night of camp.

The Sonora 2nd ward crew at Girls Camp

Eliza attended camp as a counselor, and Tess as a Youth Leader (both did great jobs, by the way!)

Marta helped prep with sign-making and general support.  (Oh, and I was camp nurse--this was the sign to tell where I was.)

Levi test-rode the "car" and he and Mark helped us load and unpack.

Once back from Girls Camp we had just enough umph to finish up training and pack up for our Trans Tahoe adventure, a six-person relay across lake Tahoe.  With help from friend who loaned us boat and condominium, we created a fabulous family memory! 

The 10-11 mile swim began on the northeast at Sand Harbor,
and finished up just above Tahoe City. 

 Driving and launching with this rig was a bit nerve-wracking, but it made for a comfortable few days on the lake!  We even got to meet up with cousins Maren and Julia (and Julia's two children).


Saturday, July 19 was a gorgeous day on the lake with water temperatures between 68 and 71 degrees--unusually warm!  Despite the attendant not showing up at the boat launch, with some help from fellow swimmers, we made it across the lake in time for the start!








Marta was our lead swimmer.  We were one of 220+ teams, and she started in the last of four waves of swimmers from Sand Harbor.  The rest of us waited in the boat to meet up with her as she rounded the buoy at the edge of the small bay.  








                                 After 30 minutes, Tess took her first turn in the water.










Then it was Eliza's turn.  We didn't exactly have to push Eliza in, but it wasn't her favorite thing to do to let go of the boat!

Fourth came Levi, who zipped through the water, despite some pre-swim jitters.  (It's scary to look down into 1000+ feet of water, in case you're wondering, let alone to jump in and swim more than a mile).  Levi was our fastest swimmer, clocking at 2.6-2.7 miles an hour most of his time in the water!

Levi psyching himself up for the swim.

The girls danced and stretched with Mark to help him warm up for his leg!

Even I swam--the slowest on the team, but steady!

Napping did occur between swim "legs."

Mark captained the boat most of the time.

Levi wore his British goggles to
include Luke, serving his mission in
England, in the race!

After we'd each swum 30 minutes, then 15 minutes,
and Marta had taken her third turn for ten minutes,
Tess jumped in to finish the race,
with Marta and Levi trailing in the kayak!
Our time:  4 hours, 54 minutes!

We were a happy crew at the finish line.  We came 8th in our division, and 139th overall--a decent
(and better than we expected) showing for first-timers with a slow mom on their team!

"Team Mountain Houghton" celebrates in Tahoe City after the swim!

We enjoyed the rest of the weekend exploring Tahoe City, attending church in the Kings Beach ward, cooking good food, playing games, and visiting.  Happy family memories!

Denise