I keep saying the summer has gone too quickly. And truly, it has. But also, holy moly, did all of this really happen in July?! It feels like the 4th of July was absolutely ages ago, not a mere few weeks. So I guess you could say we're maximizing these weeks. Maximizing them with things like . . .
Marking . . . the end of an era. I have taught piano lessons to my niece, Addie, since she was six years old. One of my proudest moments was when she performed a piano concerto with the high school orchestra in the spring, and this month, she performed a solo recital. It was a beautiful program with a lot of variety. She performed a few clarinet solos as well, and I accompanied for her on those (definitely had to practice--they were not sight readable for me). It has been such a joy to teach her over the years. She has always been so eager, hardworking, and willing to try anything. Weekly lessons don't feel the same now that she's no longer in the lineup.
Learning . . . new skills. Silas and Ian both took two weeks of swimming lessons. I actually completely forgot about lessons on the first day (I thought they were starting the next week) until my friend, Sarah, texted me to ask where we were. We rushed out the door but didn't get there until the final seven minutes. Silas had never done swimming lessons before and I hadn't prepped him with the idea of it since I thought we still had a few days. Without this heads up, I thought it unlikely he would jump in the water, ready to learn from his teacher. But that's exactly what he did! Kids are so surprising sometimes. He continued to do well for the whole session, and Ian did too! (And why is it so cute to watch three-year-olds crab walk along the wall of the pool?) Ian also did three weeks of tennis lessons with his best buddy, George. We have done tennis through the rec center in the past and been quite happy with it, but this year, it was run by too many unenthused teenagers, and the result was that they spent a large portion of the time playing games (some of which had no obvious benefit) and very little time on actual instruction and technique. Luckily, Ian and George still had fun even if they didn't learn much. (And one other new skill, unrelated to sports: Silas finally learned how to dress himself! It's taken a lot of conscious practicing to get to this point, so he and I are both very proud.)
Passing . . . a much anticipated test. Max got his learner's permit! He had been slowly reading the driver's manual on and off throughout the spring and summer and finally got his test scheduled. He passed with flying colors. He has yet to drive on an actual road, but he and Mike have gone to the high school parking lot several times to practice.
Stealing . . . a worm. One evening, we were all out in the front yard when Silas came running over with a big, fat worm. "Where did you get that?" I exclaimed. "That robin dropped it," he replied. Turns out, a robin (it might have been good ol' James--remember him?) had just pulled a nice, tasty worm out of the ground when Silas ran over to chase him. He dropped the worm in order to fly away, and Silas took it. This had me cracking up.
Celebrating . . . Independence Day with a water fight, slip n slide, Boomerang Fu tournament, and birria tacos. My brother, Gordy, invited everyone over to his house for the day. We had planned to split the day between Gordy's house and Mike's brother-in-law's, but we ended up having too much fun at Gordy's, and we couldn't pull ourselves away: my aunt (who was visiting with my uncle from Illinois) got roped into the intense water fight; the slip n slide accidentally got popped when Clark slipped right onto the water-filled side of it; I participated in the video game tournament under protest; and the birria tacos were super labor intensive for Gordy and Brooke but thoroughly enjoyed by all of us. By the time we finally got home, everyone was beat, but I still managed a walk around the neighborhood where nature was putting on its own fireworks show. And afterwards, Mike convinced Clark, Ian, and Aaron to go to the city fireworks show with him.
Falling . . . in love with Dr. Pepper. Back when we were in Hawaii, we went out to lunch one day. Clark asked if he could get just a little bit of Dr. Pepper to see what it tasted like. I agreed, and that tiny taste set off an obsession for him. We don't drink a lot of soda at our house, but you'd be surprised how many opportunities for Dr. Pepper present themselves once you're looking for them: family parties, a birthday lunch, summer reading prizes, travel. Clark has basically stopped caring about any other kind of soda; he only has eyes for Dr. Pepper.
Freeing . . . myself from braces. After 26 months (when it was only supposed to be 18), I finally got my braces off. It was two years of wondering if I'd made a mistake in having them put on in the first place; two years of not getting much enjoyment out of eating food; two years of threading the flosser between every tooth; two years of canker sores (I had a canker in some form at least eighty percent of the time, and that is not an exaggeration); I was just so done. The morning they were scheduled to come off, I admitted to myself that they might not have been worth all the discomfort and pain and annoyance. And then, they were off and I looked in the mirror for the first time, and I instantly changed my mind: they were worth it a thousand times over! I'll show a little side-by-side so you can see the difference. (If I'm honest, there are still a couple of things I'm not totally happy with, but I just needed them off).
Going . . . to summer seminary. This was less Aaron and Max saying, "We should go to summer seminary for our spiritual edification!" and more me saying, "It's only once a week. You're going to summer seminary." But they did it and had a fine time. (And just a fun little side note: one of Mike's and my old acquaintances from our married student ward days is now the principal at the boys' seminary!)
Hitting . . . up the park in the early morning. Silas has been begging to go to the park, but it's just been too hot. However, the mornings are still nice, so Ian, Silas, and I went to the park as soon as they woke up one morning, and it was perfect. We had the place to ourselves (except for people walking their dogs), and the temperature was very pleasant and comfortable. The boys played for a solid hour before we decided to go home. We did it again a couple of weeks later on another unscheduled morning. Different park, same results.
Making . . . six beach towels out of three. This is random, but kind of funny. Mike bought three new beach towels at Costco. Imagine my surprise when I opened them up and found them to be the size of a picnic blanket! We tried to use them at that size, and it was just laughable and not practical at all. So I took each one, cut it down the middle, hemmed up the side, and it is still a good-sized towel. Doubled the towels just like that--what a deal!
Competing . . . in an egg drop competition. As part of a team building experience, Mike's company hosted an egg drop competition. Teams were formed; supplies were given; research was done; the vehicle was prepared. Over the course of a couple of weeks, Mike and the other engineers on his team thought through all the potential trauma to an egg dropped from a great height. For Mike's contribution, he fashioned a parachute out of cotton balls and Elmer's glue. And when the day of competition came, their egg survived the highest drop! When you're competing against other engineers, that's quite an accomplishment.
Attending . . . two reunions back-to-back. My family's reunion was the second week of July in Bear Lake, and Mike's family's was the third week in Morgan.
Mike planned most of my reunion. We stayed in a house with the most gorgeous view of Bear Lake. The kids roamed around the yard and loved playing together. We spent time relaxing on the large deck, chatting, playing games, doing a craft, playing ukuleles, and eating. We went to the lake on Saturday, and Mike rented a jet ski, which he had never done before. He and my brother-in-law kept it racing across the water for the full time we had it. The water was clear and shallow for a good long stretch which made it perfect for the kids to play in. We got raspberry shakes afterwards, and I am convinced you have to spend the day at the lake first in order for raspberry shakes to taste their best.
The very next weekend we went to Pine View Reservoir with Mike's family. We had the most perfect lake day we've ever had: overcast but warm, our own beach away from crowds, plenty of shade, two jet skis, a few paddle boards and inflatable canoe, a reserved pavilion for lunch, and so many cousins to play with. We stayed at a large lodge just outside Morgan where the kids could roam and explore with plenty of room inside for games and crafts and chatting. Mike's dad rented a movie theater to watch this year's film festival entries, and that felt pretty special (it has been twenty years since we started this fun tradition). There was lots of downtime, good food, and beautiful weather.
Being . . . spoiled by our neighbors. We are surrounded by good neighbors, many of them from the older generation. One day I got a phone call from our neighbor across the street. He is quite the character and when I answered, he said, "Hello! We'd like to invite your family to a spectacularly fun pioneer extravanza!" Or something like that. We really had no idea what to expect. But when we got to their house, he was sitting in his chair with a mustache and a top hat. "I'm the Ticket Master!" he said. He gave everyone a couple of raffle tickets. They invited us to eat dinner on the patio, and then we came back inside for games of Pictionary and Bingo, which earned people more tickets. The night ended with a drawing for three prizes. Everyone had such a good time, and Silas especially was very invested in every activity and game, and he and Ian have continued to call this neighbor the Ticket Master whenever they see him.
Hiking . . . Mt. Olympus. Aaron did something I have wanted to do for years: hike to the top of Mt. Olympus. Every summer, I think maybe this is the year, but I feel like I need to do a bunch of preliminary smaller hikes to help condition myself. But I guess that's the difference between being 40 and 17. A 40-year-old acknowledges how hard it might be and wants to prepare. A 17-year-old just does it. Aaron and four of his friends woke up very early (impressive in and of itself) to make it to the trailhead. Aaron said it was harder than he expected, especially the last little bit to the summit. But they did it! He said it was amazing to be at the top of it.
Performing . . . more magic. Clark got hired to do another magic show--this one at the elementary school as part of a summer library program. Now that he's done his show a few times, he's getting more comfortable with it (although he says he still gets pretty nervous about having a trick fail). A couple of weeks later, he saw one of the kids who had been at the magic show. The kid immediately recognized Clark and stayed glued to him for the duration of the party they were at. Apparently, Clark made quite the favorable impression on him!
Cranking . . . out summer classes. Aaron and Max both took a class over the summer. Aaron: financial lit; Max: fitness for life. As usual, there was a lot of procrastinating on their part and nagging on my part. As the month progressed and the days were filled up with youth conference, reunions, and FSY, I stressed the importance of getting all the coursework done before the deadline. "Don't worry, Mom," Aaron assured me. "I can lock in at any moment." And that's exactly what happened: he did the last 30% of the class in one day and then very smugly told me that he was finished.
Purchasing . . . ukuleles. Max loves to play the ukulele. He might love it as much as my dad, which would be saying something. Last year, my parents gave him a ukulele for his birthday, but this year, he decided he needed a sturdy travel ukulele and, most recently, a banjolele. He bought both with his own money along with wall mounts so he can have all three proudly displayed above his bed.
Committing . . . to teaching a class at Handwork. I was at my local yarn store before our PEI trip, and I was chatting with the owner. During the course of our conversation, she said, "If you would ever like to teach a class here, we would love to have you." This has been a dream of mine, so to have it practically fall into my lap, I had to jump on it. I met with Tayler this month, who oversees all the classess, and we worked out the details of what I would teach (a fairly basic hat) and when I would do it (two Fridays in September). I'm pretty excited. Hope enough people sign up that I actually get to teach it!
Pacing . . . myself through a knitting project. One of the projects I'm making right now is challenging: it's not my favorite weight of yarn or my favorite type of stitch pattern. (I'm being vague because it's the secret project I'm making for someone in my knitting group for our October knit night.) Because of that, I've just been knitting two rows a day on it. Progress is slow but also steady, so as long as I maintain that pace, I should be done by the deadline, no problem. This month, I also made a pair of socks, made progress on a hat, and started another hat. My proudest accomplishment though was when I fixed a mistake in lace eight rows down and across seven stitches. Kind of impressed with myself, actually.
Thrifting . . . a lot of clothes. Inspired by his cousin, Truman, Aaron has jumped aboard the thrifting train. He stops at a thrift store any chance he gets (but at a minimum, our nearby Saver's and DI at least once a week). He especially loves to find vintage (you know, like early 2000's!!) in some of his favorite brands. He has come away with a lot of good things, but all this thrifting resulted in his room completely taken over by piles of clothing. We actually got him a second dresser for his birthday, and this prompted him to actually go through his clothes and get rid of a bunch of stuff, so he's good again . . . for now. Speaking of his birthday, the priests in our ward went to Saver's as part of their activity on Aaron's birthday. They were each tasked with finding something Aaron would like. Mike said he would spend a maximum of $25 and Aaron could choose what he wanted from the items people selected. The thing he loved the most was a wall clock that looked like it was straight out of a dentist's office in 1998. I would have never, never thought he wanted something like that, but he hung it proudly in his room as soon as he got home.
Resuming . . . our Thursday visits to my parents' house. During the school year, Silas and I go to my parents' house on most Thursdays. It hasn't worked out to go for most of the summer, but we finally had a couple of open weeks, and these were even better than usual since the big kids came with us too, and Gordy and Brooke's kids also came over for some cousin time. It's berry season, so there was a lot of foraging in the backyard as well as harvesting the corn my dad and Silas planted in the spring. We also went to a pioneer homestead (it was Pioneer Day one of the days), out for ice cream, had a water fight, and ate mac and cheese (tradition).
Finding . . . an unwelcome surprise. After one of our Thursday visits at my parents', we got home to find a thin stream of water flowing out of the basement ceiling. I called Mike in a panic (what would I have done if he'd been out of town?!). We got the water turned off, and he came home right away to assess the situation. We could see water bulging from both the basement and main floor ceilings. I'll not deny that I had visions of the entire ceiling collapsing and water pouring out. Luckily, Mike was able to find the leak really quickly. Pre-dating our ownership of this house, it looked like someone had accidentally punched a nail through the pipe while putting up some molding. Instead of actually replacing the pipe, they had just plugged the hole and the plug had finally worked its way loose. Mike was able to fix the plumbing relatively quickly but now we still have three patches of drywall on all three levels of our home that are midway through the process of being repaired (and hopefully they won't stay that way forever now that the crisis has passed).
Listening . . . to beautiful music at the institute choir concert. Mike's brother, Matt, is the institute choir director at UVU. During the school year, it's hard to make it down to Orem for the concerts because of school the next day. But it worked out for us to attend this time, and it was so fantastic. Really beautiful music, especially by my sister-in-law, Brittany, and two of her sisters who sang an a cappella arrangement of "Praise to the Man." Their voices blended perfectly on crystal clear notes, and it felt so sacred. It was also so fun to watch Matt in his element.
Spending . . . a week at FSY. Aaron, Max, and Bradley all went to BYU for the week. Max and Bradley were in the same group (although not roommates--Max roomed with one of his friends, and Bradley got luck of the draw). They saw Aaron pretty frequently, who was roommates with one of his good friends. They all had good groups, made new friends, listened to some really great talks, and participated in fun activities (but took very few photos). Max even pushed through his intense dislike of dances and stayed for all of the second one (in contrast to the first one that he only stayed for five minutes of).
Finishing . . . the first Suzuki book. A few months ago, Ian's violin teacher told him that if he could finish the first Suzuki book by the end of the summer, she would give him a fancy toy sports car. (This type of prize is not typical of her, but she had been given the car by her brother-in-law and didn't really know what to do with it, so she used it as a bribe for Ian, ha!) He set his eye on the prize and worked so hard to learn and review all the pieces. He passed off the book this month and was thrilled to get to take the car home.
Denying . . . that Aaron turned 17 this month. I cried the night before his birthday. Anticipating this last year at home with him is making me so sad--not that we have a year left, but that we only have a year left. If I could go back for just a day and see him again at 3 or 5 or 9, I would do it in a heartbeat. I miss that little guy. But also, I quite enjoy hanging out with Aaron at 17: he's funny and nice and smart and pleasant. And as far as his birthday, he had a good day. He got a lot of IOU's because he's hard to shop for (as noted in the thrifting segment). He and Max and Bradley spent the afternoon together, going out for lunch at Raising Canes and then to the new Marvel movie. Mike made him a rich, dense chocolate cake with raspberries on the top, and it was to die for. So happy to get to celebrate him, even if it did mean he's now 17.
Catching . . . up on blog posts. You might have noticed, but I've had a lot of output on this blog over the last few weeks. I was so behind on monthly updates and travel recaps, and that memory keeping is really important to me. So I decided to put in the effort and devote time each day to writing and editing photos (instead of just on Sundays like I normally do), and I was able to check off May and June recaps as well as four posts about Prince Edward Island. So I felt really good about that. I still have Hawaii and Nauvoo recaps to write up, but I'm getting there. (This photo is very meta, right?)
Whew, that was such a photo-heavy month (and I didn't even share all the ones I wanted to!). It was busy, but I wouldn't have cut out a single thing except for the water damage from the leaking pipe, ha! I'm always happy to get to spend my days with these people I love.
No comments:
Post a Comment