Like I mentioned before, summer is definitely here! I'm glad it's here to stay- no more 75 degrees one day and 50 the next! Of course, sometimes I get really hot and wonder why every winter and spring I "can't wait for summer." I'm sorry, but I have to say that I am SO glad not to be in the south this summer. All I hear are terrible things... over 100 degrees, thunderstorms, air conditioners breaking... Sounds awful! I am plenty hot here with it being around 80-85 degrees, and I'm not the only one. Check out what Sammie does almost every time I try to take her out after getting home from work:

Please note this is after she has been sleeping in a cool apartment for at least 7 hours. (And no, we don't have air conditioning. Luckily it cools down enough every night that we don't need it.) She can't even make it out of the apartment area without plopping down on the grass to sunbathe! She acts like it is so hot, she just can't go any further... she walks to this grassy area at about 1.0 mph. Very dramatic.


We have done some fun things recently- we went to Kelly Warm Springs in GTNP and William practiced flipping in his new kayak. The warm springs are a constant 81 degrees, which is perfect for the summer! On the way to the springs, we saw lots of bison. The novelty of seeing them hasn't worn off yet. It's exciting every time, especially when there are babies.



We also went tubing down Fall Creek. Let me put it this way- I was not mentally prepared for how cold the water was going to be! It didn't even really occur to me until right when I was about to get in. We also went on a cooler day when it was about 75 degrees and pretty windy. Even with the cold water, it was definitely a fun experience. I wasn't really prepared to have to paddle with my arms so much, and I definitely could have used some little hand paddles or something! I ended up getting out a little earlier than planned because I was so cold, and I'm glad I did because William said he went down a 3-foot drop in the last little part! Not exactly my idea of fun. The smaller drops were plenty for me. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from this... Obviously, we got really wet the whole time and a camera or phone would have been a bad idea.

The other night, we took Sammie to Snow King to play. There are always lots of dogs out there and before the hiking trails begin, there is a big, open grassy area. She loves it!