Autism Summer Fun ☺

I cannot believe the kids will be back in school in less than a month! (Yay! ☺I am just uttering out loud what everybody else is thinking…) I hope that you all are having a wonderful summer and enjoying the last bit as much as possible!

This coming school year will be interesting and busy for us, as Ben keeps reminding us that he will be a senior. Angelique will be a junior and, Camille, starting her second year at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, will already be a junior and has been admitted in the competitive Marriott School of Management.

After two months of “farniente”, I think everybody is actually chomping at the bit to get started and do “important stuff”, such as seminary and after-school activities. Plus, with Ben, it is also very important to have the routine which school affords us but goes out the window with summer.

So we are ready, morally, to get going on school and all! But before we do so, the day after Labor Day, I wanted to celebrate our summer 2013 and all the fun we’ve had, in pictures ☺ Always worth a thousand words...

This summer wasn’t filled with trips or exciting adventures, but will forever be remembered as “the summer of the dog”, I think! ☺

Koko, almost 4 months old

This little guy is definitely a ton of work, but a lot of fun too. Still house-training… Maybe one day he’ll get it completely. Ben loves him and it has been good for him to have an animal in the house. Hopefully as Koko grows up, he will be less unpredictable and Ben will trust him more.

We went to see lots of fun movies too!

                                           Monsters University,

                                           Despicable Me 2,

                                            ... and Planes!

 Ben loved all those movies!

Last week, we went to Valley Fair and had a good time. No huge roller coasters for Ben, after all he rides his own each and every day of his life, that’s sufficient excitement… But he enjoyed the smaller rides, he will always be a kid at heart and what more can I ask for? ☺

Last but not least, Ben, Angelique and Keith enjoyed a wonderful trip to Nauvoo, IL. They were able to attend the temple there and do the work for many of my ancestors.

They saw the Nauvoo pageant and visited Carthage jail where the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred.

Ben loved his Nauvoo trip! I know that despite Ben’s limitations, the spirit transcends his understanding and communicates to him all he needs to know and feel. I know Ben knows spiritual truths and understands much more than he can tell us and explain back to us. I know and feel Ben loves his Savior and knows the Church is true.

So we’ve had a good summer! Ben colored lots of pictures,

Ben loves to draw this sign. I think it really shows he know the Word of Wisdom is true, and this is his way to communicate his understanding to us.

Angelique enjoyed Girls Camp with the church young women, 

Angelique and Amanda, best buds!

and also passed her driver's license so we now have lots of drivers, yes!

I lost 16 lbs and counting, Keith worked hard (“why!?” Ben kept asking… "Well, because one of us must, so that the rest of us can keep living in this house and have food to eat!") and Camille is physically and emotionally getting ready for another great year at BYU…

Camille Mariah, 19 1/2 ;) --picture by Katie Leighton.

What about you!? What did you do this summer? ☺