A highlight this month was certainly beach days! My kids have never been huge beach fans, but this summer, they have grown a little more fond of the sand and waves. It might have to do with the week the boys spent at Junior Lifeguarding camp down at Del Mar. It was hard work and it was every day. It was cold and early in the morning... but the boys gave it their all. Anna and I enjoyed watching the boys give it their all! We had fun on the beach with friends and as quiet observers. I think maybe because of this experience, the boys are more confident in the waves and feel more inclined to spend the day at the beach. We've managed to make it out so many times in just one month! More than maybe our entire summer last year. Evelyn is eager to learn to surf and the boys are awesome at body surfing and boogie boarding. They also love building marble runs and holes in the sand. It's pretty fun to meet up with friends and just enjoy the sounds and sights of the ocean. LOVE summer for this reason.
Another highlight was enjoying all of the end of year festivities for the kids as they finished school. Tierra Bonita hosts an adorable art walk at the school-- loved seeing all of the kids' art and "buying" it! Loved the last day of school High 5 for the 5th graders. Dane was embarrassed to run around the school and slap everyone's hands. He is so humble. Dane's 5th grade promotion was so sweet. Loved celebrating him and honoring all of his hard work. We've loved his teacher, Mrs. Dutcher and have loved Tierra Bonita Elementary! We threw a big party at our house after promotion with lunch and swimming for the kids. It worked nicely for me because I just kept all of our party supplies out and re-freshed for our NEXT day school is out/welcome to summer party! In fact, I think we've enjoyed maybe 2 to 3 more big parties here since then and I've kept out all of the tables and supplies. It makes it easier when all I have to do is buy a little more food but not fuss with tables or decor!
We sure love having a pool. It is everything we hoped it would be and more! We've had many a fun family basketball game in the pool- thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for our pool hoop! It's been so fun especially when we have company in town and this month we've enjoyed visits from the Rustands, the Calls and the Bradleys! Nothing makes us happier than having family or friends in town! Each of their visits was super short, but super fun! We loved going to the beach with the Rustands and especially biking down Mission Beach boardwalk and riding the rides at Belmont Park. We had high hopes of doing the fair, but sadly it was closed on the days they were in town... which of course we didn't figure out until we had driven all the way there! Luckily, when you're with good friends, you don't care so much about the little details of what you are doing.... you are just so happy to be together doing pretty much anything!
It sure was fun celebrating Father's Day for Blake this year. I FINALLY found the perfect gift! Blake never cares much for anything I pick out... but this year he loved the fold up beach chair WITH shade! He is always getting sun burned at the boys' games and so I felt it would be a nice gift. He loved it and that made me very happy. Hey, it only took me 20 years to find something he likes! But the kids and I are so extremely grateful to Blake for being the world's greatest Dad. Blake and I are so grateful to our own fathers for all of their sacrifices and support in our lives. We have been very blessed in the dad department!
This month I had the opportunity to teach at a Stake Primary event for the activity day girls. My class was titled: You are a Pearl and we discussed 4 tips to increase the girls' personal self esteem and confidence. I loved putting the class together and the craft was a necklace with a little glass container of sand and a fake pearl. They loved it! It was a fun day. I love serving with children. I continue to adore my music calling in the Primary. I think I say this every month but I've NEVER loved a calling more than this calling. It is truly right up my alley. This month we had fun lip-syncing with a few character printables from the scriptures. And I always have my trusty assistant Anna to help me color rainbows or whatever else needs to be created as a visual prop.
Blake asked for my help with Staff Appreciation this year and we came up with a cute idea to give the girls a beach towel, magazine and sunscreen along with a gift card. I did the same thing for our teachers. It turned out pretty cute!
We have started to cross off items from our summer bucket list! We went to a late night movie to see Jurassic World! We've invited friends over to swim, made a movie bucket and stayed up real late with our popcorn and treats to watch a movie with friends at home, had a few family volleyball games, crafted, baked, read. We have had many a sleep over at the house with Braxton, and have enjoyed riding the new Electric Eel and Manta at Seaworld. We were excited to go with the Brinkleys for the day because we don't have the chance to see them as much as we'd like!
A happy moment in each day for me is receiving texts from my sister and mom telling me about all that is happening in their world. Or sometimes it's just a funny meme or reminder that everything will be ok. I like talking teenage drama with Jamie because she's currently traveling through that rocky terrain with Adam and it's just fun to talk about how crazy it all is! I was excited to receive pics of my parents' latest trip to the midwest and to see June's baptism! Adam is officially in HIGHSCHOOL! Life moves quickly!
