The 43

That grand plan I had to squeeze as much out of the last weeks of summer as possible? Yeah, it didn't get too far. I've been so swamped with freelance work that I was apprehensive to set off on any amazing adventures. Hurray for being swamped, but it comes with a a more restrained schedule. For example, I have probably put in at least 15 hours of work these past three weekend days. That's good in that I got much done, but it's indicative that I have to be a little more cautious of how I'm budgeting my time. I don't think the boys have minded too much. They have been playing with friends -- those last days of desperate summer fun before school begins. We had some ornery weather over the past two weeks -- Utah's monsoon season in which we get a rain and some thunderstorms. Still, the last two weeks had their moments: -- Ben finally learned how to ride his bike, on Aug. 4 (Day 72). After he struggled to get any balance every time we tried, on this day -- ...

The boys slept late today after their impressive yet tiring season-ending swim meet Friday. Around 10:30, Lori suggested we go to the Farmer's Market in downtown SLC. We loaded into the car (even the dog) and headed to the market. The trip was enjoyable. Ben got to try a trapeze swing, we ate lunch, and Popcorn did well amid the crowd. Spending a few hours at the market on our anniversary was the highlight of our day. The day wasn't too eventful after that. The boys were still tired and were content to stay inside the rest of the afternoon. Lori and I felt the same way. We watched "Wayne's World' during dinner, then the boys and I howled at the silliness of "Sharknado 2."

The boys swam their final meet of the season tonight. Neither was going to the conference meet next week, so this was their last chance to turn in some good times this summer. Their team tracks "pops" -- personal bests over the course of the season. Ben had seven coming in and Michael had four. They lost some of their fitness over vacation but had managed to get themselves back into shape over the past few days. This meet was for kids not swimming at conference, and because both Ben and Michael just missed being included for next week, we felt they could do really well tonight. They did great! Each kid swam five events, and Ben finished with pops in all five and Michael in three. I was quite proud. Michael's summer has been weird -- he swam great the first meet, then leveled off once basketball really kicked in. This happened last summer when he played All-Stars for baseball, and he recovered once we got back from vacation. That was much the same this year, as he look...