These days, summer is anything but lazy.....but it has been amazing nonetheless. I do think I've learned my lesson and maybe won't schedule our weeks quite so full next year. The summer is flying by and we need to enjoy at least one lazy day by the pool before school starts again- ha!
But so much to report on. It's been an incredible month in so many ways-- the highlight being our trip to visit my family in WA and celebrate Noah's homecoming from West Virginia! But also Evelyn's week at Girls Camp up in Big Bear with the young women of our ward. She had such a great time and I was so proud of her for being an awesome YCL for the younger girls and for loving her leaders and making new friends. For someone who had to be bribed to attend, I'm sure grateful she enjoyed it as much as she did! And grateful for her willingness to serve. Aside from girls camp- Evelyn also enjoyed a week at Mission Beach with Emma and Caylie to celebrate Emma's 16th birthday! The girls had the time of their lives and Brooke even invited Anna and I down one evening for dinner and strolling along the beach. Fun week for sure. Evelyn worked at a theater camp last week-- she dressed up like Ariel from the Little Mermaid and led the kids in games, songs and stories. Our friends from church ran the camp and had asked Evelyn to be a part of it. She loved it! And the kids did too! SO happy to see Evelyn putting herself out there a little more! Not always easy to do as a teen.
We enjoyed a visit from the Darger family this month- all the way from Texas!!!! We knew the Dargers in Brooklyn and loved their family so very much. It was a thrill to have them over the day and to watch our kids intermingle and have such an incredible time together. We've missed them and it's just always so awesome to catch up with old friends.
Beach camping was really something else this year. Notice how I worded the experience- ha! I don't love camping.... but I tolerate it for the kids . And if you have to camp, beach camping is definitely the best scenario. But this year was not as enjoyable as years past because 3 of the 5 of us caught a cold after the first night--- and with three nights to go, it was less than enjoyable to put it nicely. Anna, Evelyn and I were up ALL night with stuffy noses and that created low energy during the day. It was just such a pain! But Dane had his buddy Jack and they had a great time. Grant had his little crew of Carson, Elizabeth and Fox-- the four of them were always somewhere having fun- skim boarding, surfing, boogie boarding, sand fighting, sand castle building scootering, skating to the camp store for food! Of course Anna had Nora and Millie so she enjoyed herself despite the sniffles. And Evelyn had a blast with Emma and Amaya- but kind of gave up on that last day after sleeping so little. Camping is a lot of work. Not sure how I feel about next year! We'll have to see if my attitude changes once I recover -- I'm still in the process of trying to recover some of that lost sleep!
For the one week we enjoyed at home this month, the kids and I headed down to Seaworld with the Douds and loved riding rollercoasters, watching shows and eating treats. Dane and his buddies spent a day at Belmont and Mission Beach, along with many a movie nights at the Kuebitz and dinner/swim parties at our house. He is really into his friends and I love how much fun they have together. So glad they have each other as they enter the crazy world of high school in two weeks!
Dane and Grant enjoyed an amazing day with Grandma and Grandpa and Dutch their new puppy! They loved spending time with her, petting her, swimming with her and getting away for the day to swim, eat out and relax at Grandma's.
Aside from soccer tournaments, playing with Dutch and making brownies weekly, Grant spent most of his time this month at the skate park practicing for his big scooter competition in Escondido. So bummed that he didn't land a couple of the tricks he had worked so hard to prepare! BOO! But so proud of the incredible effort he put into this competition and the passion he has for the sport. He signed up himself, paid the entrance fee and practiced every day for 4 hours for this competition. I think Grant is an amazing kid and I admire his determination and zeal for life. I'm sure this won't be his last competition-- plus he got to meet famous you-tubers and pro scooters in the process. One last cute little story about Grant.... he got his first official babysitting job this month! For Zachary and Sophie Judd. Sophie was sleeping so it was mostly babysitting Zach (age 7). LOVED how responsible Grant was. Of course I was home and just across the street in case of any problems- but he did an amazing job and loved every minute of it.
Anna had a pretty sweet time celebrating Nora's birthday at the mall and then a sleepover at our house. They had written a note the week prior asking for a sleepover- but it just wasn't the perfect timing. So glad I was able to make all their dreams come true later in the month with the extended playdate and sleepover combination. Loved teaching a class at Activity Day camp with Anna in attendance. She is always my biggest fan and cheerleader. Couldn't dream of a sweeter kid.
As for me, I've enjoyed waking up early every day to walk various places in our beautiful community. It's my favorite thing to do. Meditate, think, listen to a podcast, pray. I am so grateful for that morning hour and sometimes I snap a picture because it always seems so beautiful to me! I've loved celebrating Sara and Michelle's birthdays this month with a big sushi boat dinner and chocolate cake and a trip to the roller skating rink! I feel lucky to have such awesome friends and family to share my life with. So despite the business of our summer schedule and the fact that I haven't slept in past 7 any days this month.... I feel blessed beyond measure in every way. Here's to 2 more weeks of freedom before school starts! I have kids in FOUR different schools..... help me! I hope I can keep on top of all the paperwork and computer systems!
