Looking back over the summer, I feel like it was a success. I always spend a significant amount of time planning in the spring, hoping to find a good balance between work, boredom, fun, and relaxation. There was all of those things, so I think it was a pretty good summer.
We threw a birthday party for my Afghan friend, Sana along with some others who have done much for her as she's adjusted to life here (Lori Herrick pictured). She dressed up in her traditional dress for the occasion and looked so beautiful. We ate fish tacos and she requested chocolate cake :-).
Hyrum came in for a visit, so we enjoyed hanging out with him.
And of course the kids loved having him around.
There was lots of pool time. Clayton ended the summer feeling pretty confident puttering around in his puddle jumpers.
Summers are big birthday months at our house. We celebrated Henry's in July, and then Robbie's was next. Eleven years old!
He had a big group of boys over for a Star Wars party. The weather didn't cooperate so we took the party inside, and they had a great time hitting the pinata that Michael hung over the banister. Here they played the game "assassin"--didn't last long, but that was okay.
So many fun and generous gifts!
We enjoyed lots of outdoor time--we took the kids to Riven Rock Park, which was fun as always.
Clayton spent his days begging to ride on his scooter outside, trying to sit in our laps because food apparently tastes better sitting in our laps, and in general being busy and cute. And busy. Very busy.
Henry was a super strong swimmer for his age group in his first full season of swim team this year and got lots of first place ribbons, which was fun to see.
Robbie had another great season and several people came up to me trying to convince me to have Robbie do year-round swim team.
Benjy also participated in the Junior Barracudas team. Despite a relatively freezing June (the weather was so weird) and having lots of "dry land" practices where they played games like Red Light Green Light on the grass, he also improved in his swimming confidence.
The garden grew well this year--lots of green beans and wonderful tomatoes this season, although the zucchini and cucumbers succumbed to cucumber beetles and died after producing only a little.
We went to Smith Mountain Lake and enjoyed hosting friends.
Super proud of Clara for getting in the water.
My new cell phone wall paper, courtesy of a great book I finished reading, "How to Break up with Your Phone."
Next up was Benjy's fifth birthday!
Michael made a train with the other kids on the slip 'n slide.
Seeing things grow in the garden brings me great joy and satisfaction. Everybody helped harvest.
Benjy got some cooking supplies for his birthday, and we made some yummy M&M cookies.
Michael took Robbie and Henry on their annual WV camping/rafting trip.
And last but not least was Clayton's birthday! Two!
Somebody enjoyed his cake.
One of Clayton's favorite things these days is connecting latches and seatbelts, so I thought he'd enjoy this puzzle. He also got his own scooter because he kept using Benjy (who often kindly shared with him).
The week before school began, I initiated a screen-free week with the kids, where we didn't use devices and I personally tried not to use my devices as much. Each day was a different theme (glad my parents did this with my kids years ago), so on Disney day we made candy apples in honor of Snow White's apple. It was my first time making candy and the taste reminded me of the candy I remember my mom making years ago. We also enjoyed Space day and ate Star Crunches haha, Pirate Day, and Ocean Day. It really wasn't a big deal (mostly just a special treat, some books from the library on the topic (only a few of which we actually read), and an activity.
Making beach scenes for ocean day with pudding, graham crackers, and gummy sharks. Fairly gross but fun. Sounds small but I was very proud of the kids for surviving the trip to Lake Gaston that weekend (about a 4 hour drive) without the devices they usually use. And Clara only listened to music instead of watching YouTube. I definitely want to do this every year, even if my kids hate me for it. It's good for all of us to separate ourselves from tech and realize we can survive.
One morning before school started we drove to Wildwood Park. I hadn't been there in a few years and it was lovely not feeling so worried about the boys falling into the water (although I still had to watch Clayton all the time, of course). I look forward to the day when I am not constantly worried about someone being physically in danger, but I am also trying to just enjoy this beautiful season of my life.
We hiked up Blackrock Summit with our friends, the Hiatts, the first hike I'd done without Michael. Robbie was a big help with Clayton.
And then school began again! Clara started her Gradclass program, which is held at Broadway High School for the first year (it is a three-year program which follows the school calendar) and she is picked up by a van each morning at 7:15 in front of our house and dropped off around 2:15. They do field trips, learn about different jobs, and seem to have a good time. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity she has and hope that it will result in a job some day.
We got most of our bucket list activities done and the kids were pretty good about their daily jobs, too. It is good to be back in school but also good to look back and realize that despite the daily sibling fighting, there were also lots of good times happening.
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