Saturday, June 30, 2018

Oh, what do you do in the Summertime?

Well, many of our Summer days look like this so far;
Sara makes a berry cream cheese with parmesan cheese wrap in her swimsuit when she's hungry.
 Sara eats almost an entire box of dots on our way home from the store.
 Mary bakes her amazing creations.
 Sara has a friend over and they eat popsicles on the swings.
 Luke lays with his sister so she isn't nervous at the dentist. I love how they both fit in the dental chair. I'm sure it won't be that way much longer.
 Building reading forts in the family room.
 Saying good-bye to our dear friends the Judd's who are leaving for 3 years to serve as mission presidents in Japan.
 We enjoyed a Summer hail storm.

 We spend lots of time at the pool.
 Mary and I went to the church and started to learn to play the organ. We're not too bad if one of us plays the keyboard and the other works the pedals.
 Luke spent two days at Webelos camp at Camp Tracy. It melted my heart when that dirty 10-year-old boy walked through the door at the end of camp with his wide-eyed stories and hand-crafted treasures! What a kid! I simply adore him!
 Ben sporting his mountain biking tan at the pool.
 Michael and Luke went to Wal-Mart to buy popsicle sticks so they could build bridges. They tested the strength of their bridges with forks and knives. It was clever and fun.
 Our girls enjoying a Summer evening at the pool.
 Admiring an amazing moon on our way home from the pool.
 My sister is teaching our girls how to crochet.
 We couldn't get enough of baby Nate while we were at her house.
 Mountain biking practice is happening 3 times a week. On this evening, I went with the boys while Michael drove Big Cottonwood canyon for the first time.
 I enjoyed the cooler mountain air for two hours while I read my book.
 Michael handled driving up and down the canyon nicely.
 Sara and I work on 2 pages of her "Summer homework" as often as possible.
That's some of what we do in the Summertime (so far).

Summer school

Michael and Ben are both taking Summer science classes.
Ben is in a Summer Earth Systems class. It's a long story, but basically he's taking this class to get ahead. He is going to take Biology in 9th grade instead of the usual Earth Systems curriculum. Summer Earth Systems counts for his Honors Biology Summer project. Also, he won't need to take another science his Junior year (although he probably will).
Ben's class starts at 9:00am and ends at 3:00, Monday thru Friday.
He does have a few days off, but his classes go until July 19.
 Saying good-bye to Nana before school.
 Off he goes! We miss them while they are in school. When we signed up for Summer school, I didn't realize the classes would be taught at schools so far away from each other and from home. Dropping off and picking up from Summer school takes almost 2 hours from my day.
 Michael is taking Summer Chemistry because he wants the extra space in his school schedule for his Junior year. Thankfully, a friend in our neighborhood takes the same class, so her mom drives in the morning and I pick up in the afternoon. It saves me some time.
Michael's Chemistry starts at 8:00am and ends at 3:30pm, Monday thru Thursday.
He will finish on July 6.
Nice work guys!

Father's Day 2018

It was so fun to celebrate Todd on Father's Day. Our two youngest gave him skittles bow ties from Primary.
 I made my homemade lasagna for his Father's Day dinner. Mary helped me make a Texas sheetcake for dessert.
We love you and we're so grateful for you Daddy!

Summer projects

We have a list of Summer projects that we're slowly getting done.
In January we discovered this crack in our dining room table glass.
It was great to get it replaced so we can use our table for Sunday dinners once again.
 We also had some mirrors installed in our exercise/craft/laundry room. I love them!
 Our power flusher broke on our toilet. Todd did the research on You Tube and fixed it himself. I'm so grateful that he's a handyman.
 My handyman also worked with Michael to fix the closet doors in our office. It's so nice to be able to close the closet doors again.

Holly's wedding

Wedding celebrations for Holly (my niece) and Jason started a couple of weeks before their wedding with a bridal shower at our house.

 Then on June 22, Holly and Jason were married in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a beautiful ceremony.
My oldest sisters family is growing.
Our kids were asked to help at the wedding reception.
Our girls helped at the book. Ben was asked to take Polaroid pictures of the guests.
Michael and Luke accepted gifts from the guests. 
I worked with two of Michelle's friends at the food table. It was truly a pleasure to work with them. We had a fun time chatting.
Holly and Jason wanted cereal and milk at their reception. It was a huge hit with everyone but especially our kids! I lost count at how many bowls Luke ate :)
Holly and Jason are a great couple. We are so happy for both of them.
Our girls love cousin Holly!
Holly and Jason were sent off with bubbles and Nerf guns. Our boys thought it was great!

Friday, June 29, 2018

Nana in summer

Nana loves having the kids home for the summer.
 Sporting sun glasses.
 She's great to cuddle with after mountain biking practice.
 She's a good sport about being dressed up.
 We wear her out! She frequently takes naps like this!

 Nana makes a good pillow when Sara needs a rest from playing outside.
 Being a good sport about being dressed up again.
 Nana also loves golf cart rides and sitting by the pool while the kids swim.
Nana has a birthday next month. She's going to be one year old! Wow!