The Last Week of Summer

When I asked the kids what they wanted to do the last week of summer these were their answers:

School Supply shopping (Cat)
Puppy Store (Jack)
Nickel City (I think all 3 younger kids)
Pool (me)

We were able to do those, and more.  Because the only way to recover from a busy summer and prepare for a busy school year is to jam-pack your last week of freedom, right?


Monday:School supply shopping.  Cat was so happy.  She'd been checking for the school supply list for weeks and finally found it the weekend before, and asked at about 9:00 Saturday night if could go school supply shopping.  Alas, Staples was closed.  So we went Monday morning.  And by that night, Cat's backpack was packed and organized and she just had to wait another week to use it.


Tuesday:We spent a joy-filled 20 minutes at The Puppy Store, where the kids loved on just about every puppy in the place.  They were all adorable and the kids would have been happy to bring any, or all, of them home.

Cat had a far-away soccer game that afternoon but I took the other kids to the pool to use up the passes they received from swim lessons.  I'm going to miss summer weather and spending a couple hours at the pool!

Wednesday:Meeting up with an I-knew-you-before-I-had-kids friend in downtown Salt Lake, talking as we walked around the mall, and having lunch together.  When we spotted berets in H&M, all we could think was "Caps for sale!  50 cents a cap!"

That night we had a cousin campfire dinner in American Fork Canyon.  The mosquitos wer attacking us but as always we loved spending time with family and being outside.

Thursday:
A fun playdate in the morning, gymnastics in the afternoon, then Ben took the kids to Back to School Night and Nickel City (nickel arcade) while I was at choir in the evening.

Friday:
Hanging out at home, eating candy while watching "Zootopia," then when Ben got home from work we went out and played mini golf and ate shave ice.

I had good reason for letting them pull each other down the stairs by Dollar Store jump rope while
sitting on a pool inner tube atop my bench cushion, onto an enormous pile of  pillows, blankets,
and stuffed animals.  My good reason?  I was reading a book.  Bonus: no injuries were reported.

I love that I accidentally caught Jack celebrating a hole in one.

Luke is working on reinventing golf.

Saturday:
Cat went to the temple with some friends early in the morning, Luke and Eliza helped me make cinnamon rolls (which we ate for lunch), then in the afternoon we took the kayaks and paddleboard to Payson Lakes.  It's about an hour away but we loved the lake - small enough and secluded enough that it wasn't crowded, but big enough that you could have fun exploring.  And the icing on the cake: it wasn't freezing cold, unlike many lakes in our area.  We picked up pizza on our way home and had a movie night watching "The Missing Link."

Not pictured: Cat and me racing in the small kayaks, Luke trying to paddle around on a raft.

Sunday:
A relaxed family day, just hanging out at home after church, and Ben giving all of us Priesthood Blessings in the evening.  Blessed, indeed.