The picture tells the story - almost

Summer adventures from this past week . . .

Once upon a time, in a far away land of the scorching desert sun, Princess Lacey and her royal cousins from the north spent their hot summer days pretending to be dancers, cowgirls, and Disney princesses. They were lost for hours in their pretend kingdom, sifting through dress up clothes to find just the perfect princess attire. Sometimes, the royal beauties would take a break from being Disney princesses, cowgirls, and dancers to prepare delicious playdough creations to serve to each other in their pretend restaurant.

And so I ask you, could such beauties really be capable of messes like this . . .

or this . . .

or this . . . YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!

Elsewhere in the land of the scorching desert sun, away from the messes of beautiful royal princesses, young master Benjamin found a little quiet time to begin his studies for the ministry at an early age.

So you be the judge - spiritual giant of curious toddler?

Though studious by nature, Master Benjamin is still required to attain the skills needed on the battle front. These skills must be attained in as little armor as possible. Master Benjamin attempted to conquer this miniature tricycle in quite an exciting battle. Unfortunately, the tricycle won. Maybe next time Master B.

And while princesses pretend & toddlers conquer, the leaves on the African sumac tree fall when temperatures heat up to more than 100 degrees in the land of the scorching desert sun. Finally the children in the land can play in some leaves - too bad they can't do it in sweatshirts!

Though all was well in the land, some of the King's strongest, smartest, & most loyal subjects were sent to Apple Camp - not to pick apples - but to sharpen their technological skills. Should the King need his computer to create a movie, web page, or quirky, fun photo, his royal subjects are prepared! They might even be able to take a picture of any enemies trying to destroy the kingdom with their mom's iPhone (that would be the mom of noble subjects Brinley, Tristan, & Addision).

Royal subjects Madi & Katie are joined by their noble friends Brinley, Tristan, & Addison

Yes, the land of the scorching desert sun was in good hands while His Highness, King Bradley, was out conquering the highest peak in the land. Through the trusted skills gained by his royal subjects at Apple Camp, and the battle skills attained by Sir Benjamin, all was well, and the princesses were safe to pretend in the land of the scorching desert sun.

And at the end of a hot summer day in this land, Royal Princess Lacey drifted off to sleep to dream of cowgirls & cousins & playdough & messes, with her faithful Princess Poodlekinz by her side.

Translation: 1-It is really hot around here! 2-My sister, Janae, has been visiting, and our girls have been spending lots of time together, making messes and having fun. 3-Ben has quite a fascination with any kind of reading material. 4-Our African sumac trees are sick of the heat, just like the rest of us! I do have to say, these trees do extremely well, with the exception of the extreme heat. They do not lose their leaves all winter long, but stay green & beautiful! 5-Madi & Katie went to Apple Camp at the mall this week & had fun playing on the computers & the iPhones. 6-Brad hiked to the peak of Mt. Charleston with the Young Men in the ward. It was a tough hike, but I know he enjoyed doing it. He even got to sleep under the stars & the temperature was nice! 7- Lacey loved the Webkins poodle that was a gift from Katie from her Woodland trip. 8-Me - I'm just the resident photographer & storyteller, trying to keep everyone cool. (By the way, Madi wanted to know why she wasn't in this post more. She has had a busy week, so I told her the next post was for her. She has been organizing a "creativity camp" for girls about 9 & younger that will be at our house tomorrow & Friday morning. I told her I would tell all about it in my blog. She & Katie have also been hanging out with their cousins & swimming & planning & thankfully, not creating too many messes. However, something tells me creativity camp will bring many more messes to this household! So until then . . . )