The First Few Weeks of Summer

Well, it was a(nother) crazy summer for us.  Soon after Ben and Suz moved away, I had laser eye surgery.  Then it was Ben's birthday.  Then Grammy arrived and we had a couple of days with her before Cat and I both went out of town.  Cat's soccer team was invited to participate in a regional tournament in Hawaii and I took her to the airport the day before I left to go on tour with MoTab (back when we were still MoTab) for two weeks.  Grammy helped Ben with the kids while I was gone so that he could still go to work, and as soon as I got back from tour, Andy and his family came in town for the Fourth of July and Cat's birthday.  Then Grammy went home, and the following week we found out we'd be moving out of our home of nearly 5 years.  The rest of the summer is a blur of moving.  We were not even unpacked enough in the new house to know where the kids' backpacks were when school started.  (Mom fail on that one.  Oops.)  But now it's October and we're feeling settled.  So there you go.

Now that I gave you the overview, I'll start sharing pics from the various big and small adventure that we squeezed in during that crazy time.

Splash Pad Time

Shakespeare and Other Fun at the Library

Jack enjoyed being the villain Don John in Much Ado About Nothing

Eliza in Hamlet

Sleeping in and making giant chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast....

I think it only happened once this summer but we enjoyed it.

Ben's Birthday

The kids helped me choose and plant vegetables and flowers for our garden/yard
to surprise Ben for his birthday.

Traditional pound cake with whipped cream and strawberries for dessert.

Misc.

Swim lessons for J and E

Luke entered the daily workforce with the task
of putting away the silverware in the dishwasher.

Feeding the goats behind our neighborhood.

Writing, writing.  Always writing.

Suz's Family Moved Away

Suz and her family moved away the day after Memorial Day.  It ended up being a rather normal weekend with last-minute moving tasks, favorite family activities, and a failed adventure.  It worked out great.

Suz and Ben stayed with us for a few days before they left, which meant plenty of time
Sunday morning to make a batch of macarons before 1:00 Church.  Suz is a master!

The trick was to get the sandwiches assembled as quickly as the kids were eating them.

Also, cousins walking to church hand-in-hand.

One last sister picture (with me wearing a dress Suz handed-down)

And, finally, Suz's chocolate cake!  With crazy decorations by the rest of us.
The cake was better than the decorations.

We hoped for a fun adventure on Monday.  We started out with lunch at In-N-Out Burger

then drove up Provo Canyon to do a little hike above South Fork Park but when we arrived, it was raining pretty hard and didn't look like it was going to stop.  So we turned around and headed back down the mountain, along with everyone else who had been at one of the parks up there, so getting down the narrow mountain road took forever.  Eventually, most of the people in our two cars ended up walking down the road to the bathrooms at the intersection.  Well, at least we tried!

We managed to have some fun at home that evening, though.

Then one final game of Sleeping Queens before Ben, Suz, and Whit headed out on Tuesday morning.

I managed to keep it together when we were saying goodbye - mostly because I knew I'd see them again in a few weeks - but once they'd driven off, I told the kids I was going inside to cry.  And I did.  We loved having them to close for 9 months.  What a treat!  It was the first time we've had family in the same city (or even state) since the second year of our marriage and it was wonderful.

Last Day of School!

We were all happy about the end of the school year.  The kids were ready for a break.  I was ready for a break.  And the only things that made us sad about the beginning of summer were that (1) Suz and her family would be moving soon and (2) we were fairly sure that the kids would be changing schools, and we were sad to say goodbye to friends and teachers we'd known for years.

I didn't quite understand Eliza when she exclaimed through my open window as I waited in the van, "I got a pool!" but, indeed, she did.  She had one entry in the Reading Minutes Raffle (due to the single month we recorded her minutes totaling over 1000) and her name was drawn, and she chose this inflatable pool as her prize.

Jack had trouble containing his excitement.
This picture was not posed; I was simply lucky that I caught it.
(And I just noticed that the sign in the background says "End School Zone."
How appropriate.)

Here, Cat showing off the tiny writing she used on the index card she was allowed
to prepare to assist her in her Latin exam.  Ahhhh, middle school.

It was warm and sunny that afternoon. so we went in search of shave ice.
After going to a few places that were closed, we settled for Frazils at a gas station
and enjoyed them while we hung out at the pool at Suz's complex.

This is the way to kick off summer break.

Luke's Preschool Graduation

Let the catch-up begin!

Luke was excited about his final preschool program, not as much a graduation as a demonstration of songs and poems the kids had learned and other things they'd done during the year.  He was so hyped when we walked into school that he and his friends decided to go down the hall and enter the classroom walking backward.  (And wasn't the shirt Suz made perfect?  Thanks for sharing, Whit!)

Here are some highlights from the program.  He seemed to be enjoying himself!

Here are Luke's appearances during the slideshow:

We sure loved Luke's teacher!  I was a tiny bit hesitant to switch teachers - all three Utah-preschooled kids have attended the same school but Jack and Eliza were in the afternoon class with a different teacher.  I loved the other teacher and wasn't sure I'd love this one as much, but she was wonderful too.  I love that this preschool focuses on fun, creativity, and learning more than just academics (social skills, appropriate school behavior, and more).  All three of the kids have had a great time there.

 And what preschool graudation would be complete without a pizza party and Class of 2018 paper plates?