Summer Kick-off

It's been a wonderful Memorial day weekend and start to our summer... but before I get into that, I'll back up to the start of the week.

Monday was Maybrie's awards day at school. I dragged the boys and myself out of the house to support her, but honestly felt it was a total joke! I didn't know what to expect and was definitely disappointed. The kids sang one song and then they gave out only four awards per class- student of the month, most improved, outstanding, attendance, and student of the year. At least it was short. I am glad we went though because Maybrie was excited to see us and I let her carry Henry to her classroom and had her teacher and the principal hold him. She was one proud big sister! Glad it made her feel special. That night I took all of the kids to swim lessons by myself so Brian could stay late at school getting lab work done. It was one of those nights where everything was going wrong and I just felt totally flustered and embarrassed about the whole thing. When Ezra stood up on the back seat as we were driving home on the freeway I think I broke a vocal chord! I forgot to buckle him completely in all the chaos. All I could do was pray the other drivers would be safe and we could get home in one piece! I practically ran into the house with him and put him straight to bed! I really just couldn't take any more and I didn't want to lose my temper again.

Tuesday I was really ready for a better day... but it didn't really happen. As most days go, there were high and low points. The high was a successful and fun trip to Costco with the boys. I just love that place. The low was that Ezra continued to push me to my limit and with Brian being gone to mutual, I got to tackle the bedtime routine exhausted and alone once again. Sigh!

Wednesday went better with a good speech session for Ezra in the morning and finally a much needed afternoon nap. Plus, Brian tackled swim lessons while Henry and I went to Anna Kenney's baby shower. It was a timely girl's night for me. I'm excited for the Kenney's to have their first boy and happy that they bought a house they love, just sad that we're losing great neighbors when they move in two weeks.

Thursday was Maybrie's last day of school. I can't believe first grade is already over! What a crazy blur of a year. She has grown so much. Maybrie is such a good student. I love that I never have to worry about her doing well in school, either academically or behaviorally. Her reading and writing has improved so much this year, it's awesome! She got straight A's... surprise surprise! I had fun doing her hair extra cute and surprising her with a fun card and snack when she got home. During the day I took the boys to Carson Park and enjoyed my last day with Thomas home before summer break and his school days start. I'm going to miss his enthusiasm. He is constantly exclaiming how awesome and cool everything is! I love it! That night we had her requested dinner of Hawaiian Haystacks and went to the Schroering's for Thomas' first soccer practice and game. He is playing a little 4 week soccer with some of the kids his age from church. Thomas did so much better than last year! He didn't ask for snacks or run to the playground every other minute! It is always such an entertaining time. Thomas needs to watch his arms though... it looks like football may be a better sport for him, he's already going in for the tackle! haha

On Friday I took the kids to Southwestway park for a short hike and playing on the playground. Ezra is obsessed with the swings right now! It was a good start to my goal of being more active with the kids this summer. That night we watched Star Wars A New Hope with the kids for movie night. They loved it! It is fun to relive the excitement of Star Wars through them.

On Saturday we went and cleaned the church in the morning. It was a good thing we went because it was a poor turnout and they needed the help badly. I definitely worked up a sweat washing windows and sweeping. It has gotten really hot in a hurry here and the humidity is killing me! I feel like I'm melting all the time! After cleaning we stopped and grabbed donuts and then headed to the outlets in Edinburgh. I am really proud of how well we did tag teaming so much shopping with the kids. We hit some great deals and the kids had fun and were good sports most of the time. Maybrie and me had an awful allergy attack... whatever pollen is in the air is not our friend! We picked up a $4 pizza from Dominos for dinner and bathed the kids.

Sunday was uplifting with a nice testimony meeting and I was thrilled to have a successful singing time. I am teaching Praise to the Man and it is really tricky for the kids. I found an awesome BIG Words game online and took the entire time in primary to do it. It went well and I think all of the kids learned and are excited about the song now. We needed to play catch up since we interrupted our schedule to learn Mother's Day songs. That night we went to dinner at the Maxwells. The food was so good, the kids played great, and we had a great time chatting. We love them! Then we headed to the Bunkers' house for their first annual Memorial Day campout in their backyard. We stayed and played and visited and ate s'mores until ten, and then headed home and slept in our own beds. We didn't want to camp on Sunday and we knew the kids wouldn't sleep well either. We went back this morning for a delicious breakfast and more visiting. We have so many awesome friends here!

Today after breakfast we took the kids to Stout Field Park where they have a new splash pad and playground. They had a lot of fun and I got my first sunburn of the season. Hopefully it's not too bad and fades quickly. We came home, ate lunch, vacuumed and cleaned out the van with our new super awesome Shark Rocket vacuum (I forgot to mention this! I bought us a new vacuum at Costco this week and it totally rocks our socks! We love it!) and it's never been this clean. It will be great for our upcoming road trip. This afternoon we watched The Empire Strikes Back, though I was too sleepy and went and took a nap about 30 minutes into it. The nap was great! The kids loved that movie too and are excited to watch Return of the Jedi. We ate our yummy leftovers, had a family meeting about our summer plans, and I watched the Bachelorette... very entertaining! It's going to be a good week and a fun summer!