Today, I got my brief taste of Real Summer.

 After a delightful Mi Ranchito lunch with my sisters, we congregated at my parents' house with the kids to do what we do best--sit on the porch, drink cold beverages, and solve the world's problems.

Lukie thought the best part of the day was that he perfected his trampoline flip.  I thought the best part of the day was the whole day.

Just for fun, Lois got a bunch of coins at the bank and had the kids do a Money Dive in the pool.

Today, nearly everyone headed home, but our family and Becky's family stuck around Bear Lake.  

 How cute is baby James??

We decided it would be a good day to check out Minnetonka Cave.

It was very educational.

 Because it is simply impossible for me to see too many shows, Jess, Gyllian, and I went to see Beauty and the Beast at Pickleville.  It was cute, but no Juanito.

 Personally, I felt the high point of the show was at the end when the Beast magically turned into the Prince.  Much fancy lighting and special effects happened, during which the actor shed his beast costume and reappeared as a dreamy prince--with his zipper down and reflecting the stage lights like a beacon.  The whole audience erupted in laughter as the suave prince did a quick zip-up.  Too bad he didn't think it was as funny as the rest of us did.

Daddy-Daughter Love.

Moments like this are the reason I love Bear Lake.

In my opinion, no Bear Lake trip is complete without an evening with Juanito Bandito.

 We were SO not disappointed!  Juanito and all his Bitner groupies.

Every year at Bitner Bear Lake, Becky comes up with some game we all play.  This year, she dreamed up "A Minute to Win It--Bitner Style".  As usual, it was awesome!

We were divided into six teams, and for each event, each team had a member compete.  This was the first event--the player put a tennis ball into a pair of panty hose, placed said panty hose over their head, and tried to knock as many cans off the table as they could in one minute.  Not for the easily humiliated.

 Another event: smear your nose with Vaseline and move as many cotton balls as you can from one bowl into another in a minute.  I hate to brag, but I was super good at this.

 

Adam wasn't too shabby either.

Then there was the Toss the Ping-Pong balls Onto The Peanut Butter Sandwich...

...and the Move the Oreo From Your Forehead To Your Mouth Without Using Your Hands (you can see that both Brad and Pepper exhibited extraordinary skill).

 And the controversial Bubble Blowing contest (everyone had their own opinion about what constitutes a countable bubble).  Luckily, the refs stepped in and we all parted friends.

Another great Game Night.  Thanks Becky!!

Luke was baptized tonight!

We took advantage of our visit to Utah to have his baptism among our family.  It was awesome.  Since Uncle John is a bishop, we held the service in his ward and lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Grandpa and Grandma Larson were there in spirit, cheering him on from their mission in Nauvoo, and Grandpa and Grandma Bitner came despite Aunt Kate going into labor that afternoon.  Grandpa had to go deliver baby Zoey at 4:00, but he still made it in plenty of time for the 6:30 baptism.  It was a banner day for Bitners!

(Because of all the excitement, I was so dumb and didn't get a big picture of all the family--both from the Larson and Bitner sides--that came to support us.  I'm just sick about it.   It was a truly great occasion and I loved being supported by our families.)

Our last child to be baptized.  What would we ever do without this boy?

We got a special treat when it turned out Michelle and Jeremy Wharton were in town and able to join us.  These are great friends and our best neighbors from Michigan.

I should also give a shout-out to Lois for all the cute decorations and the amazing cakes for the gathering afterward.  I just love my friends and family!

 After the baptism, we headed to the hospital to see Kate and meet the newest member of the family.  Zoey was unbelievably small and sooooooo cute.  And, wonder of wonders, she didn't sport a single red hair. 

 

Everyone fell in love immediately.

Now that he's eight, Lukie's leisurely Saturdays are over.  We take "Age of Accountability" seriously around here.

Lukie turns 8!

Jessica's cute friends Gyll, Robo, Abby, and Kaylynne all helped us celebrate.

The. Best. Gift. Ever.

He also had some friends over for a pool party.  The fun never ends when you're Lukie!

If yesterday was our Chinese Night, today was All-American.  Which is just as it should be.

Brad took the boys to play Laser-tag, and then we went to a comedy show.

Dr. Phil, Paula Deen, and some scary woman named Miranda counsel a hapless audience member.

This folk trio was my absolute favorite.  I was cracking up!

And where should one go to dinner on All-American Day?  Why, here of course! 

 All-you-can-eat crab and lobster?  Yes, please!

We finished our American celebration at a traditional Branson show.  This quartet, New South, was seriously great.  I just love talented people.

It did, however, veer into cheesy territory.  Slick in the red boots was the MC.  And the fiddle-player did a number involving some hip wiggling I won't soon forget.

They kept trying to tell me this female singer was a big deal.  I didn't see it.  This is what I did see.

You're welcome.  And Merry Christmas...er, July 4th.

Yesterday, we said good-bye to my parents and drove down to Branson, MO to spend a couple of days.  It's a little different from Nauvoo.

We spent the day at the Titanic Museum.

 With your ticket, they'd give you the name of an actual Titanic passenger.  At the end of the museum, you'd find out if you survived or not.  I'm happy to report that 4 out of the 5 five of us survived.  Poor Brad went down with the ship.