Unfortunately this post will have no pictures as my computer is not cooperating, but here is our report.
Summer for us didn't get busy until July. For the first few weeks of summer we did nothing but watch movies and play outside. When July came, so did our vacations.
First we celebrated the 4th with Trent's side of the family, having our annual bar-b-que, swimming, homemade ice cream and fireworks. The kids all loved it!!
Next I catered a reception for a new pediatric dentist in our area that my mom works for. With lots of gourmet food and work, it was pulled off!! The next day was the beginning of our annual Stokes Family Vacation. We went to Bass Lake for 4 days and 3 nights. That consisted of lots of swimming, jet skis and fire side singing and skits. It was all very exciting and fun. We got home on a Saturday and Monday night, Trent, Connor, my dad and I left for Guatemala.
My sister, Heather, and her in-laws planned a trip to Guatemala and invited the Devlin side of the family to join them. The adventurous ones took the "challenge" and took off Tuesday the 19th at 2 a.m. for Guatemala. Lots of pictures were taken, thanks to Jordan and some by me. We were able to enjoy many sites and were taken all around the country, from the lowlands to the highlands. It was very interesting visiting the Tikal area (Myan ruins) and solidified my testimony in the Book of Mormon even more. The country was very green and beautiful. Our first day in Guatemala was a bit overwelming for Connor, he had only 2 hours of sleep in the 24 hours and I'd say he definately experienced culture shock. It's not every day you see barbed wire fenced in stores with security guards holding big guns... Guatemala was an experience and we are all glad we were able to go.
Then after a week of being home I was off to Boston with my friend Julie Rowley. It was girl time, no husbands, no children. We had a lot of fun and never went to bed before 11:30 even though we had been going ALL day!! It was great to see where the beginning of our countries history was formed. The land was beautiful and we were blessed with great weather, not to humid!! Ever city we visited felt very different. In downtown Boston you could feel the busyness and strength of the people. Lexington/Concord was very proud of their history and a feeling of patriatism was strong. Plymouth was relaxing, easy going. I think being by the ocean was helpful. We were also able to see how the pilgrams lived in the 1600's at the Plymouth Plantation. Salem, well lets just say they are very big into celebrating Halloween all year long. The people were a little more rough looking, witches were big. The best way to describe it would be how the atmosphere is when Halloween comes, but there it's all year! I was then able to visit my 4th Cousin 1 removed in Brighton, a subhurb of Boston. It was very exciting. I was a bit nervous at first, but they made me and Julie feel at ease. The great thing was they were as excited as I. I wasn't sure if we were going to see each other because they were on vacation in Ireland while I was there, but they returned two days before I left and we were able to meet each other at his resturant, Devlins. It was so fun to see and hear them (I love Irish and British accents) and their boys were so terribly cute!!
A week after I got home school started and that was the end of our summer, although the weather thought differently. Oh and the one big announcement we had for everyone after our Guatemala trip is that we are expecting our 5th! Yes, number 5 is on it's way and will be here in Jan. We are all very excited to have another little one in our home. When I say the number it sounds like a lot and it's hard to believe I will have that many. I guess it helps to have them all spaced out so as not to be so overwhelmed.
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