Here are some more of our everyday summer adventures. I can't say summer has felt less stressful for me, but I'm doing my best. One day at a time. Matthew had a two week P.E. class for junior high that he just completed. I think he had fun but is glad to be done with it.
We went to the craft store one day to stock up on summer fun supplies. We got some tiny wooden treasure chests to paint, some shirts to tie dye and some supplies to make slime. John and Emma model some silly masks that we didn't buy.
We got frozen yogurt as one of our reading program treats
Eating frozen yogurt one afternoon
Anna and Emma looking so grown up
Grant made a Lego fishing pole and Lego fish
Dinner one summer night - cheese tray things
Last weekend Scott and I were thinking of picking the hundreds of cherries off our cherry tree, but some of them didn't look quite ripe. So we waited. By the next weekend every cherry had been eaten by birds. Every single cherry. It was a very sad a depressing moment for me. I had seen a few birds taking cherries but I didn't think they would be able to eat all of them. There were so many. So no cherries for us this year. (gentle sobbing)
Some of the cherries before the birds got to them. Dumb birds.
One weekend I had a weird intestinal problem. I thought it was food poisoning at first but now think maybe it was a gallbladder thing. It hasn't come back. Anna left me a nice note to cheer me up when I was having tummy troubles.
I'm trying to do fun things with the kids when I can. One afternoon we made slime.
Watering our ever growing pumpkin patch
Family night treat at Arctic Circle
So many chocolate faces
Anna wanted to have a fairy garden so we tried to make a little space for her to have a fairy garden
We planted a few flowers and plants and added some fairy garden accessories
Can you spot a little gnome and bridge and a few fairy houses
We filled up our mini pool one afternoon. It attracts neighborhood friends. :)
I didn't want to have it up for too long
John is working hard to read more books for his summer reading programs.
Another day doing the slip and slide
At the book store one afternoon
The kids picked a book to buy (another reading program prize)
John reading one of our new books
At the swimming pool one afternoon
The girls got new hats in the mail from Grandma Keeler
Thank you Grandma! Everyone is excited for them to get back from their mission in Indiana
Matthew has been taking a P.E. class over the past week for school. One afternoon he had class at a ninja warrior warehouse - where you get to play and practice on obstacles like on the show American Ninja Warrior. Matthew ended up hurting his wrist at the ninja warehouse, but he felt better after a day or two of resting it. While Matthew was at his class the rest of us went to the air museum at Hill Air Force Base.
Trying out the ejection seat
Walking through an aircraft at Hill
Cargo seating
I tried to make orange sweet rolls one morning but didn't get them done until long after church.
They still turned out good.
Our pumpkin patch is growing and growing.
We're hoping we have some pumpkins to show for it by fall. The plants have grown so much bigger even from when this picture was taken.
I'm so happy when the kids play nicely together. Anna and Grant spent several hours one morning collaborating on a Lego house.
Anna also made this knot quilt from a kit
Playing outside in the kiddie pool another afternoon
It's gotten hot and some days are hot and windy.
It still feels a little cool in the evening most of the time.
Emma and Anna matching
At the pool on another afternoon. I like it there a lot more when its not crowded.
We stopped for Sonic slushes after swimming one day (a reading treat)
Emma got a milkshake!
So summer rolls on. Scott is feeling the stress at work and I'm feeling the stress at home. My visiting teacher brought us a bunch of homegrown cherries which made me feel better about all the ones we lost. We got a smart door bell so we can see if we want to answer the door or just pretend we aren't home. We don't have a peep hole or anything so its nice to know who's there. Scott gets to take a few days off for the holiday this next week so maybe things will get better.
