So, Luke left and took his camera which I've been using for the past 8 months, with him, so you won't be seeing too many pictures on here anymore.
He's having a grandios time at college, and is now officially on his own.
Mom and Levi left Utah this morning and are headed home as I type.
School starts on Wednesday.
Orientation occurs on Tuesday.
Water polo occurs ALL THE TIME!
Marta (I) went to her (my) first day of work on Saturday at the lake- they are losing lifeguards to school, so they hired her (me) for the end of the season.
Tomatoes are coming out of our ears, eyes, and noses.
It has been WAY too hot lately, staying up in the 100's during the day.
We need Mom to come home and manage the house because it is way too hard to try and keep everything clean.
Dad and Tess thinned the peach tree yesterday, which was falling over- literally- because there was so much fruit on it (they took off about 9 buckets full of fruit).
Dad's freezer purge is succeeding in making a serious dent in our storage of frozen goods.
Marta (I) got her (my) Senior Pictures taken by Alexia Wardell, who is awesome!
Summer has gone by WAY too quickly, and it will be missed immensely!
So this month has been plenty busy. Olympics, school-stress, Discovery Kingdom (again), more school-stress, Luke left (for BYU this morning), school-stress (when will it end?), water polo, and lots and lots of birthdays. I have come to know about 11 birthdays in the last week. Only two of which are in my immediate family. Those two also happen to be only 10 days apart. I bet you can't guess which members of our family those birthdays to belong to. Darn. Now I'll feel bad if I don't tell you whose it is, although their names were probably one of the first things you noticed due to their bright coloration. Happy Birthday(s?) Mom and Dad!! Within the next week and a half, they will both turn...34! Not really. Sadly, I can't tell you their real age (cough, cough 50). Sorry, it got a bit dusty in here... ;). We're going to have a big party on Mom's birthday when she isn't here to celebrate. Then, for Dad's birthday (ten days after Mom's), we are having another big party with the two wards in our area. I'm so excited!! Now, you're probably wondering where our dear mother is/will be. I mentioned that Luke left for school this morning, and she and Levi went with him. Can you believe it? She left me here with Marta, Eliza, and Dad for company! Mostly its just Marta though, because Eliza and Dad are at work all day. That's...well, let's just say that she has already put me to work doing her summer homework, sweeping the driveway, etc. Not really. But we have gotten some good things done today. Knowing Luke, he would be very upset if I didn't mention how lost I am without his wisdom. However, we haven't had any technological difficulties yet, so it hasn't been too bad, but we have been missing his humor. For example, we were at the dinner table the other night, planning the week (so we don't all get stuck somewhere), and the following conversation occurred:
Luke: "After Mom, Levi, and I leave it will just be Dad and the 'Goyles' at home..." Eliza: "Luke, I don't appreciate you referring to us as 'the Goyles'." Marta: "Well fine, you're not a Goyle, only Tess and I are Goyles." Luke: "Eliza's not a Goyle because she's so 'Crabbey'!!!"
These are the faces of the names to which we were all referring.
As you can see, Luke is very silly and will be much missed at home, but will have lots of fun at college, so I hope you will join me in saying "May the odds be ever in your favor!" to him.
Other than that, the following things were mentioned in passing:
Marta, Mom, Levi and I went back to Discovery Kingdom with Siena and had a marvelous time!
School-stress is a feeling of anxiety that I get about going back to school. I'm working on the time machine, but it still makes some funny noises and emits green gases at random.
The Olympics are over. ); . Personal favorite athletes are Missie Franklin, Nathan Adrian, and Elizabeth Beisel. And Katie Ledecky, because she was born in the same year as I was and she won gold in the 800 freestyle which is the closest event to mine (500 freestyle) that they have at the Olympics.
Fall water polo started yesterday for Marta and I. Nothing to say about it yet.
Eliza is waiting for her mission call. It should be here any day now! Minnesota and Texas are the two major family bets. We'll see.
Other than that, I have nothing to tell you about.
And in the mean time, the USA swim team is AWESOME and they made this video, which is REALLY... fantabulous of them!
Go TeamUSA !!!
So, we decided to go to Lake Tahoe. After living 3.5 hours away for 11 years, we finally spent some time around the vacation destination of the state.
We usually eat very well while staying in the woods, and this camping trip was no different. We had pancakes, fruit, plum cobbler, fruit, Mama Oldani's pasta, fruit, bean stuff, fruit, biscuits and gravy, fruit, and again, more fruit.
After much debate about who was sleeping in which tent, the 5 kids stayed in the "Horrendous Tent" while Mom and Dad occupied the "Great and Spacious... tent" (aka the Hobbitat). Above, from left to right are Eliza, Tess, and Luke (Marta and Levi had already risen, and were shining at the time this picture was taken.)
We arrived in Tahoe on Sunday, and after going to church, we spent the day around the campground exploring and napping. On Monday the real fun began with a short walk down the Rainbow Trail.
Levi couldn't keep his hands to himself, so he got to hold Mom's.
Marta, Dad, Luke, and Levi biked to our various destinations while Mom, Eliza, and Tess took Babe (our 15 passenger blue van aka Babe the Big Blue Ox)
On the shores of Lake Tahoe
After going down the Rainbow Trail, we investigated the Tallac Historic Site, a collection of old vacation homes that belonged to some very wealthy people a century or so ago. When we could take the heat no longer, we jumped into the lake.
We had a grand time in the crystal clear lake, even if some of us (cough Marta) got very badly sun burnt...
Levi basked on the shore.
Camp dishes are a lot more entertaining than dishes at home. Maybe because there are fewer...
Our young boy scout attended to the campfire.
We like practicing good hygiene while camping, which means brushing teeth!
Again with the biking everywhere we went.
And with the whole Mom-Tess-and-Eliza-sit-in-the-car.
(Mom did bike, but discovered she has a limited capacity for bike seats)
On Tuesday we spent the day biking, and playing in the lake- Marta and Eliza went Parasailing in a parasail much like this one, while Mom, Dad, Luke, Tess, and Levi took some jetskis out on the waves! Sorry we don't have any pictures- our camera is not water-friendly...
And with the car full of camping gear and tired kids, we headed home.
EEEAAARRCCCHHH!! Back up a few days.
Over the weekend Marta, Tess, and Levi participated in the annual TCA swim invitational. Everyone swam well: Tess whupped at the 500 freestyle, Marta got 2nd in her age group for her 200 backstroke, and Levi improved in every one of his events!
Below, Levi is diving off the blocks (he's in the black and orange swimsuit with the TCA cap)
One of the benefits of living in a small town with a small town paper is that we get
some good coverage. Here's the quote from our local "Union Democrat."
The Houghton siblings proved that swimming fast is in their blood, dropping a combined six minutes over the course of two days. Levi, 12, led the group, taking 58 seconds off his 200 freestyle (2:44.30). Tess wasn’t far behind, with a 50-second personal record in her 500 freestyle (6:11.73). Marta also impressed in her 200 IM (2:40.24) and 200 backstroke (2:25.40)
Lots of things have been happening!
Other Notes:
Luke leaves for college in about 2 weeks
Marta and Tess are beginning to feel the pressure for summer homework
Summer Water Polo has finished up, but Fall water polo starts in a couple of weeks!
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