For the past 4 summers, our family has gone camping at Topaz Mountain. This is the second time that we have deliberately gone on the Summer Solstice, to celebrate Midsummer and the longest day of the year.
For me, Midsummer is a time to glory in God's goodness, as represented by the light of the sun. When we go camping on Midsummer's Eve, the earth is enjoying more light that it has experienced all year! Similarly, I like to remember that mankind is now experiencing more light than ever before. The light of truth and knowledge shines bright in the world, available to more people than ever before. In my own life, I am also enjoying more light than ever before. My testimony has grown, my capacities have grown, and my family has grown. Midsummer is a time to celebrate all this!
The Summer Solstice is not only the day when we enjoy the most sunlight; it is also the day when that pattern of increasing light turns around, heading back towards balance. This reminds me that I must also try to find balance in my life, which is a good reminder during the hay-days of summer. I have tried these past 2 years to use Midsummer as a time to re-evaluate my priorities and bring my life back into balance. Rather than focusing on things I want to add (something I traditionally do closer to the Winter Solstice or New Year's Eve), I have tried to think about things I want to cut back on. This year, I planned to burn something as a symbol for such a change that I wanted to make in my life.
* I figured out how to nurse Sven while he rode in my ring sling for the hike. That was pretty cool. Look, Ma! No hands!
For me, Midsummer is a time to glory in God's goodness, as represented by the light of the sun. When we go camping on Midsummer's Eve, the earth is enjoying more light that it has experienced all year! Similarly, I like to remember that mankind is now experiencing more light than ever before. The light of truth and knowledge shines bright in the world, available to more people than ever before. In my own life, I am also enjoying more light than ever before. My testimony has grown, my capacities have grown, and my family has grown. Midsummer is a time to celebrate all this!The Summer Solstice is not only the day when we enjoy the most sunlight; it is also the day when that pattern of increasing light turns around, heading back towards balance. This reminds me that I must also try to find balance in my life, which is a good reminder during the hay-days of summer. I have tried these past 2 years to use Midsummer as a time to re-evaluate my priorities and bring my life back into balance. Rather than focusing on things I want to add (something I traditionally do closer to the Winter Solstice or New Year's Eve), I have tried to think about things I want to cut back on. This year, I planned to burn something as a symbol for such a change that I wanted to make in my life.
* For Family Home Evening the Monday before Midsummer, we talked about how Jesus Christ is the light of the world. We sang all the songs about light from the Children's Songbook and Hymnbook. After the kids went to bed, Scott and I stayed up talking about how we live in the most light-filled days of the earth's history, when the restored gospel is on the earth. That is certainly something to celebrate and be grateful for.
* This year we finally bought our own tent instead of borrowing one from the neighbors. We got a huge 6-person tent that is super-easy to set up. Hooray for owning our own camping equipment!
* On the drive out to Topaz Mountain, we listened to a dramatized recording of Tolkien's The Hobbit, which Soren especially enjoyed because he has recently finished reading it for the second time with his dad. I enjoy the part when Bilbo and the dwarves visit Elrond's house because they do it on Midsummer's Eve! The discussion of their fantastic celebration was a fun way to kick off our own celebration.
* The first thing Scott did was pull out a giant lens he took from a TV to focus the sun's light and make fire. While he didn't actually get a fire going with the lens (because the kids kept walking in front of his sunlight), he did manage to burn black marks in some of our tinder. Which gave him an idea ...
* Scott used his lens to burn the kid's names into little pieces of wood! Soren was very impressed and requested that he make a label for our water jug as well.
* After we got the campsite set up, we went on a little hike. Topaz Mountain is out in the middle of the desert and the closest civilization is a factory 45-minute's drive away. The silence out there is golden and it is surprising how much wildlife we see. There were antelope, lizards, rabbits, and lots of bugs.
* I figured out how to nurse Sven while he rode in my ring sling for the hike. That was pretty cool. Look, Ma! No hands!
* We also went shooting. Scott brought a cardboard homemade target and his rifle, which so far only Soren has seen used. He taught Carl all about shooting safety (not how to shoot but how to be safe around shooters) and Carl just blossomed under the attention. We all wore ear plugs but, as I later found out, really only the person using the gun needs them. Because I also fired the thing!
* Carl didn't hold up so well on the second half of the hike; he was exhausted. When we got back to the campsite, I tried to put him down for a nap but by then it was 5 pm and he had missed his sleepy window. Then, he soiled his pants, which was pretty gross. Still, I was proud of how well I managed the whole fiasco at our no-amenities campsite. I cleaned him off with water from the cooler, washed his undies, and put them out to dry on the roof of our car. The abundant sunlight meant they were done in about an hour.
* Scott found an animal skull. He showed it to the boys and then explained to them about vultures and other scavengers, who had probably picked it clean. Carl later re-gave the lecture to me almost word for word. Soren got so excited about the ideas that he made up a game where he wanted us all to pretend to be scavengers. We had to look for holes in the ground, pretend to pull out dead animals, and mix their skins into our trail mix. It sounded gross to me but he was really excited about it so we played along for awhile.
* Sven was really happy for the whole trip. There were no distractions out there, so we all gave him lots of attention. He rewarded us with some very happy sounds and smiles. Loving on him was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
* The hot dogs were delicious. Scott picked out some pre-cooked cheddar wursts that really hit the spot. We also had lots of berries, to celebrate the abundance gifts of the season. I think Carl ate too many, as became evident later that night.
* Midsummer is also near St. John's Tide, the day John the Baptist's birthday is traditionally celebrated. I told the boys the story of John the Baptist, ending with him crying repentance in the wilderness and preparing the people for the Savior's ministry. When I finished, Scott suggested that we catch locusts (grasshoppers) and eat them, just like John the Baptist. So he did! He caught quite a few and boiled them in a tin cup of water placed near the fire. He said they tasted crunchy and that he really liked them; I couldn't bring myself to try one. But Soren did!
* We all sat around the fire and watched the stars come out together, which was fun. The moon was full so the stars were not as brilliant as usual. Still, the boys were impressed. As it got cold, they climbed up into our laps and we held them close (Sven was already sleeping in the tent).
* Carl went to bed earlier than Soren, who stayed up talking with us. He really opened up about some of the things that worry him, like the new neighborhood boy Texas and how hard it is to ride his bike. It felt good to listen and he also seemed to really appreciate some of the things we said. That was really special.
* Carl threw up in the night but, fortunately, it didn't really get on anything but the plastic floor of the tent and I got it cleaned up really fast. Scott comforted him while I cleaned up; we were a great team. That also felt good.
* I enjoyed co-sleeping with Sven. It's not something I want to do every night but sometimes it is really nice to have him close to me. I enjoyed the brief points when we woke up in the night and I would nurse him (and I) back to sleep. I probably enjoyed it so much because he had slept through the night for the 3 previous nights and I was really well rested.
* Scott and I woke up early to watch the sun rise together. That was spectacular. Then he got up with Soren and I went back to sleep.
* In the morning, we did more of all the same things: more shooting, more hot dogs, more grasshoppers, more nursing, and more hiking. We finally packed up and left around noon. Just before we left, I made my Midsummer "offering to the flame" and then put out the fire.
* The trip home was nice. The boys were all beat so they slept (all three of them!) most of the way. Scott and I listened to They Might Be Giants and reminisced about our almost 7 years of marriage.
All in all, it was a lovely trip and a wonderful way to celebrate summertime.
* Carl didn't hold up so well on the second half of the hike; he was exhausted. When we got back to the campsite, I tried to put him down for a nap but by then it was 5 pm and he had missed his sleepy window. Then, he soiled his pants, which was pretty gross. Still, I was proud of how well I managed the whole fiasco at our no-amenities campsite. I cleaned him off with water from the cooler, washed his undies, and put them out to dry on the roof of our car. The abundant sunlight meant they were done in about an hour.
* Scott found an animal skull. He showed it to the boys and then explained to them about vultures and other scavengers, who had probably picked it clean. Carl later re-gave the lecture to me almost word for word. Soren got so excited about the ideas that he made up a game where he wanted us all to pretend to be scavengers. We had to look for holes in the ground, pretend to pull out dead animals, and mix their skins into our trail mix. It sounded gross to me but he was really excited about it so we played along for awhile.* Sven was really happy for the whole trip. There were no distractions out there, so we all gave him lots of attention. He rewarded us with some very happy sounds and smiles. Loving on him was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
* The hot dogs were delicious. Scott picked out some pre-cooked cheddar wursts that really hit the spot. We also had lots of berries, to celebrate the abundance gifts of the season. I think Carl ate too many, as became evident later that night.
* Midsummer is also near St. John's Tide, the day John the Baptist's birthday is traditionally celebrated. I told the boys the story of John the Baptist, ending with him crying repentance in the wilderness and preparing the people for the Savior's ministry. When I finished, Scott suggested that we catch locusts (grasshoppers) and eat them, just like John the Baptist. So he did! He caught quite a few and boiled them in a tin cup of water placed near the fire. He said they tasted crunchy and that he really liked them; I couldn't bring myself to try one. But Soren did!* We all sat around the fire and watched the stars come out together, which was fun. The moon was full so the stars were not as brilliant as usual. Still, the boys were impressed. As it got cold, they climbed up into our laps and we held them close (Sven was already sleeping in the tent).
* Carl went to bed earlier than Soren, who stayed up talking with us. He really opened up about some of the things that worry him, like the new neighborhood boy Texas and how hard it is to ride his bike. It felt good to listen and he also seemed to really appreciate some of the things we said. That was really special.
* Carl threw up in the night but, fortunately, it didn't really get on anything but the plastic floor of the tent and I got it cleaned up really fast. Scott comforted him while I cleaned up; we were a great team. That also felt good.* I enjoyed co-sleeping with Sven. It's not something I want to do every night but sometimes it is really nice to have him close to me. I enjoyed the brief points when we woke up in the night and I would nurse him (and I) back to sleep. I probably enjoyed it so much because he had slept through the night for the 3 previous nights and I was really well rested.
* Scott and I woke up early to watch the sun rise together. That was spectacular. Then he got up with Soren and I went back to sleep.
* In the morning, we did more of all the same things: more shooting, more hot dogs, more grasshoppers, more nursing, and more hiking. We finally packed up and left around noon. Just before we left, I made my Midsummer "offering to the flame" and then put out the fire.* The trip home was nice. The boys were all beat so they slept (all three of them!) most of the way. Scott and I listened to They Might Be Giants and reminisced about our almost 7 years of marriage.
All in all, it was a lovely trip and a wonderful way to celebrate summertime.
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