I certainly did NOT do an adequate job this summer of capturing all the memories and fun times to be had by the kids this summer. We were busy packing up and moving out! Our move out date was July 29th and so we spent a good majority of the summer packing and unpacking and cleaning and organizing and home renovating. It was so busy and so full and so fast. Now we are settled and loving our new neighborhood and home. Here's a little update on the kids:
Evelyn continued to take more selfies than any human being on earth could possibly take. This is a hobby for her! She loves doing hair, make-up and putting together outfits and then of course documenting the whole thing through photography. I think she is quite creative and I love what she comes up with when she pulls out her camera and starts shooting. So many selfies, I could do without, but hey, what do I know? Ev has been baking up a storm all summer and tried cinnamon rolls, home-made Swig cookies (we got the real thing too when our friends went up to St. George for the week and brought a dozen home for us!), lots and lots of macaroons, chocolate brownie cookies and muddy buddies. She is quite the baker and loves it. Ev continues to enjoy babysitting and is always cuddling up to our friends' kids- Teddy, Millie, Ellie, etc. She is great with kids and babies and has a talent with children. I love how much she loves babies. Ev has been spending a lot of time with a new friend from school- Emma. They went to the fair together, she comes over and hangs out and vice versa. Love seeing her make new friends and spend time with kids from school. She is not the most social, so when she is excited to spend time with others, I'm excited! Musical Theatre is still a big part of Ev's life. She put together this darling poster of her experience in the Lion King. She tried out for the fall play- Seussical the Musical and hoped for the lead (Gertrude). Unfortunately, she did not get cast as the lead, but a Bird Girl which was upsetting for her. I've been very proud of how she's handled herself from start to finish. She worked SO hard to learn that very difficult part and now she is gracefully doing her best to have fun and enjoy the show despite not getting the part she wants. This summer Ev helped me with the kids quite a bit, especially while I needed to pack and unpack. She even packed and organized her entire room. As school has started now, Ev helps me every morning to do Anna's hair. It is SO helpful. Anna and Ev are best friends and I'm so grateful they have one another. Ev went off to theatre camp at Grandma's house and had a wonderful time with her friend Rebecca doing the play "Moana". She was cast as the Grandma instead of Moana which was again, a heartbreak! But I loved watching her steal the show as the Grandma and do such a fabulous job. Of course, Grandma spoiled the girls rotten with trips shopping and yummy treats, poolside dinners, and all sorts of fun activities every day. This has been such a wonderful tradition and Ev loves going to Grandma's every summer.
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Dane spent a good majority of the summer playing soccer and more soccer! I think we had a tournament every weekend we were in town. He worried quite a bit about the fact that he would be joining a new ward at church, new school, new house, new cub scout group. It was quite a worry! But he survived it all and he's feeling pretty good these days. On Dane's bucket list was only one item: play with Braxton! He LOVES his buddy and they have such a good time together. Braxton spent many a night over here and the two were inseparable this summer. Dane is such a great big brother and always includes Grant in his plans and helps him to feel a part of the group despite the age gap. Dane continues to enjoy racing hotwheels, playing with Anna and Grant, swimming, sports, puzzles and has started to read a little more. Can't say it's a favorite activity of his, but I am glad to see him open books a little more. Last month we started working on Dane's faith in god booklet. I laughed when I opened the testimony portion and found one sentence. It was cute. Dane has so much faith and is such a good person with a heart of gold. He is always asking if he can do anything to help me. He asks me this many times a day. He is by far the most hard-working child I know and I can count on him to do anything and I DO! He is my little buddy and I adore him. Feel sad that he experiences so much nervousness and anxiety. He has trouble sleeping and every night comes in and sleeps in my room on the floor in a little bed we've made for him. I sure wish he didn't have to deal with so many scary thoughts. We are working on this, but it seems to plague him. I'm thrilled that he is making new friends at school and is so smart and good and responsible in the academic arena of his life.
Laughed so much when I read Grant's description of life as he knows it. The answer to almost every question was "soccer". So cute. Grant has matured LEAPS and bounds this year. The kid is such a good kid and I adore him in every way. Love how kind he is and how much he loves his family and siblings. The other day, Anna and Grant were ganging up on Dane; when Grant realized he had hurt Dane, he quickly wrote him this adorable letter- Sorry we were naughty. Grant is not always one to think before acting. The other day at Ev's voice lesson, I asked the boys to stay in the car while I dropped her off... Grant instantly disobeyed, hoped out of the car and started to swing VERY high on a make shift rope swing hanging from a tree. He came out with the biggest scrape EVER! This is just very typical of my sweet little crazy man. He is always broken or bruised in some way because he never stops. But I am so proud of how he is able to channel his energy these days. He knows when his "battery" is super charged and might explode. He knows to go outside and burn off a little bit of the excess energy and he's good to do it. He's been better about doing his chores and working around the house, better about his reading homework and going to bed, better about being kind to Anna. I'm very grateful for his positive attitude and his joyful spirit. He is one of a kind and I love him to pieces.
Speaking of maturing! Anna has grown leaps and bounds as well this summer. No girl was ever more ready to start kindergarten then little Anna Paige. She was thrilled! Anna is a go-along girl for the most part and entertains herself all day long. She loves to read to herself or with me, she loves to play with her toys, she loves painting her OWN nails and putting on lipstick (much to my chagrin) and loves to put together puzzles and play with friends. This summer we had so many playdates with all sorts of friends, but her favorite friend of all is for sure, Nora and Millie Doud. Those three have a great time together to say the least. This summer Anna took swim lessons whilst the other kids did swim team. Anna did SUCH an amazing job learning to swim and it came in quite handy now that we have a pool. Anna will go down the slide, jump off the deep end and swim around all afternoon if left to her own devices. Anna got her first haircut this summer along with her other siblings and she felt like a million bucks. Anna knows every word to the songs in Descendents 2. She loves to belt out these songs and sing and dance. Anna is going to start gymnastics as soon as her mama gets the energy to sign her up! HA!! Life is so crazy busy, but she deserves to be in an after school activity and I need to get my act together to make it happen. Love my little Anna. She is such a hoot and makes my life so very happy.
