More Scenes of Summer

Summer is WELL over, but I still have so much to document.  This is a hodgepodge post of highlights and low lights.

* For me, this summer's weather was a fantastic mix of warm and cool, rainy and dry.  On warm days, the kids were happy to play in our (small) backyard and sometimes got creative with their limited play options.  I thought they'd really like playing under this big pop-up train.  They much preferred to flip it over and play inside. 

* We had some very "cool guys."

* Graham learned an important lesson - it's not a good idea to stick your finger in your baby sister's mouth.

*Aubree attended her fourth summer of Orchestra Camp.  This year she moved up to the main orchestra, which resulted in some growing pains, but she still loved the experience.  The dress-up days remain a beloved component.

Mary Poppins

* Nellie reached one of my least favorite baby milestones - learning to stand up in her crib.

* We had so much fun at our city's KidsFest, we decided to visit our neighboring city's Kid's Day as well.  It was a super hot day, which diminished our enjoyment, but there were some neat elements like getting to climb in a helicopter and a trash truck.

* Last year I declared I wasn't growing a garden because I was too busy growing a person.  This year, we tried a garden again.  Unfortunately, it was probably more ornamental that productive.  There's always next year.

* Thane decided this summer that he is an artist.  He spent countless hours drawing and went through reams of paper.  He especially likes to draw animals.  Our little parrot (Graham), sat right next to him most days, and Thane proved himself (once again) a patient teacher.

"Super Apple" - an original idea

Thane's flamingo

Graham's flamingo

* Bryce and Graham both got a lovely case of swimmer's itch.

* Nellie decided she wants to follow in the footsteps of her older siblings and learn to play the piano.

*Coming home from a Relief Society activity one evening, I hit a deer.  Thankfully, the kids weren't with me and I was going very slow.  The deer went flying, but hopped back up and limped away.  Originally, the mechanics estimated $1200 in repairs to my hood.  Ultimately, they had the van for three weeks and racked up over $4300 in repairs.  Yikes! Thank goodness for insurance.

*We had many days with friends at the park and on other outings.

*One day we were scheduled to meet our cousins at the zoo for an extra fun adventure.  The boys were acting so naughty the night before and the morning of, that I just couldn't reward their behavior with a special trip.  I cancelled our plans and made the WORK.  We worked for hours.  My house hadn't been that clean all summer.  

In the end, my punishment might have backfired.

Every night, we ask the kids three questions: What was the worst part of your day? What was the best part of your day? What have you been thinking about?

On this particular night, Thane insisted that the best part of his day was "staying home and working."  He further explained, "for some reason, I like work better when we have to do it because we're in trouble, rather than just regular chores."

Go figure.