Back when Lelu and I went to Mexico, she and my friends had a lot of fun on some paddleboards. When we got home, my friend Sara bought some for her family and was creating a new summer favorite activity. I thought about it, Ari begged for some and so we pulled the trigger and bought them. We took them to a little reservoir called Tibblefork up in American Fork Canyon. I believe they are much easier to use on calm waters than in the ocean. I tried to get photos of all four of the kids but the ones I snapped of Lelu and Master D are so far away that they are really pretty useless. I did however catch a couple, plus TT’s super dope braid that I managed to create in his mass of locks.
Just thought I’d throw in a shot from the CC cheer photo shoot. This one was my favorite. 
August 15-19 Lelu’s friend she met in New Zealand on her study abroad, Carrick, invited her to come out and visit her in Indianapolis and go to see Coldplay in Chicago. Her friend just graduated from Purdue, is studying for the GRE and lives on campus. We used up some flight miles and sent her on another short adventure. As I was taking Lelu to the airport, she was in a bit of a dark place, trying to decide whether to switch back to Utah State and not go to the U after all (with two weeks to spare – long story that I’m not going to write up here). We drove up to Logan to check out her apartment and to make sure she was in and then went straight to the airport. Remember Lelu’s story about the dolphins and the sunset after her worst possible day kayaking? Well – it just happened that right as we arrived at the airport I remembered that Chandler (Cherie’s son that has been Lelu’s friend as long as she can remember) was arriving home from a mission. And it just so happened he landed an hour before Lelu took off for Indiana. She went through security and waited for him at his gate. She watched him get off the plane, snapped a couple photos for Cherie and then said “Hey Chandler!” Missionary homecomings have the most intense collective joy and she was blessed that day! (So was I, as I got to hang out and see the reunion with his family). I sent her a text as I left and said “Just when you think you’ve had the hardest day and can’t take anymore, Heavenly Father sends you dolphins…or return missionaries”. It completely changed her mood and she went off to have fun with her friend in a much better spirit of feeling loved and watched out for, especially when the going gets tough. 
When Lelu got to Indiana, Carrick thought it’d be really cool to show her the “LDS temple” in Indianapolis – and with so many new temples being built, Lelu wasn’t sure she’d ever seen it. They talked while driving over about whether or not they could go in, and Lelu did some explaining. When they pulled up, it was very difficult for her not to laugh too hard. It was a chapel and a rather old one too. The thought was so very kind. 
Apparently Carrick is quite the makeup artist. I tried to zoom in and crop one of the photos of them from New Zealand but they are such small files and bad quality (the cons of being off the grid) it’s not a great photo . Take my word for it – you would not recognize them! 
Not only did Lelu have good quality time with her friend, get to experience Purdue’s campus as school was getting started (50,000 students on that campus), ate the best meal she’s ever had in Chicago, get a makeup tutorial from an expert, but CHRIS MARTIN BLEW HER A KISS! She made a poster and he looked down at her and the poster and blew her a kiss – everyone around her freaked out with her. There was a guy sitting near her who had been to eighty-three Coldplay concerts. Ok compared to me that guy is a SUPER FAN. She experienced all kinds of amazing collective joy in a few days and man, are we grateful!
