Swimming in the Heat

Life in the Midwest has been blistering hot as of late. Sure, the official temperature may not have hit the century mark, but when you combine it with dew points in the 70's, you've got sticky, oppressive "feels-like" temperatures that soar to 115°! What do you do? You head to the lake! And "buoy" was it fun! We soaked in the sun at our favorite beach at Clinton Lake (about 45 minutes and a 40 cent toll each way on I-70). We picnicked, helped Tyson improve his swimming, partied with the college kids,... and did our best to keep sand out of our swimming suits. We failed.

The Scout Returns

It's amazing what ten days can do to a 12 year-old boy. Something about it ... goes out a young boy and comes back a young man. After spending 10 days in the Missouri wilderness, Tyson came back smarter, stronger, slimmer and completely exhausted. In fact, he slept most of the afternoon. That's what happens when you swim, shoot rifles, perform rope tricks, launch arrows, and achieve 2nd Class Scout status! We're proud of the kid ... er ... young man and we're glad that he survived some wild storms(slight damage to camp, one leader taken to the hospital), extreme heat (115°heat index) and terrible food (beef stroganoff). Truth be told, he probably just missed Paige's home cooking.

Anniversary in Nauvoo

While Tyson was off in the backwoods of Missouri at Scout Camp for 10 days, Paige & Cody conveniently celebrated their 15th Anniversary in historic Navuoo, IL. A more romantic trip couldn't have been scripted any better. We stayed at a cozy bed-and-breakfast built in 1840 called the Ellis Sanders House. The owners, Diane and Dave felt like old friends and treated us as such. The accommodations were beautiful. We were able to enjoyetime in the same parlor where Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball preached, we were treated to a special romantic dessert in another room, and we enjoyed a magnificent breakfast the next morning.

We were also able to spend some time at the Navuoo temple. It was absolutely beautiful on the inside with a special spirit that could be felt throughout. We were able to go back the next morning as well to do some sealings for some of Cody's ancestors. It was time well spent and a nice reprieve from some oppressive summer humidity!

We also enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the Mississippi River ... drove around the historic district of Nauvoo ... and met some neat people, including a couple of far-distant relatives of Cody. All in all it was a wonderful getaway and a romantic way to commemorate fifteen years of marriage.

PS: We ate at Subway for lunch (and again on Saturday to make up for last year when we chose BBQ over Subway.) Some traditions never die.

Scout Camp in Missouri

This should be interesting. Tyson was shipped off this morning to Scout Camp for 10 days. Yes, 10 days.

• 10 days of merit badges
• 10 days of severe thunderstorms and humid temperatures
• 10 days without his laptop or any electronics
• 10 days without cats, 10 days with ticks and chiggers
• 10 days with other scouts from all over Kansas and Missouri at Camp Bartle in the Lake of the Ozarks (south-central Missouri).

It will certainly be quiet around the Edwards house hold. Even his new scooter that he traded for (see picture) will sit silent for a week and a half. Life will never be the same.

Meetings in the South

Not every business trip gets its own blog post, but Cody traveled down to Montgomery, AL last week for his annual week-long meeting with his fellow cohorts that work in technical support. Good times, good meetings, and definitely a lot of good Southern cuisine. They toured and dined in an Antebellum home, floated down the Alabama River on a dinner cruise, ate at Cody's 2nd favorite BBQ restaurant ("Dreamland"), and oh yeah - had good, productive meetings as well.