This Week: Summer in full swing

What we've been up to . . .

Listening to books, reading books, books, books.  This was a great one.

Last summer the kids decorated simple library bags out of tote bags from JoAnn.  I added a small pocket for their library cards (they think it is so cool to have their own, even though it's a headache sometimes).  I am able to link all their accounts to mine so I can see what is due on all the accounts.

Going to the library with all six of them in tow usually does give me a headache, come to think of it!  I think I solved that problem today though: instead of all of us trying to check out together, I assigned little kids to big helpers, and let them check out whenever they were ready.  It saved us making a big scene at the checkout counter and they liked the independence.

Julia's 13th birthday party: spa night!  She planned and organized the whole thing (including talking me into a trip to Orson Gygi for party supplies and to check out all the other goodies).



Family party!

Our traditional 4th of July cake.  Somehow I don't have any pictures of our day at the community breakfast and parade . . . the kids decorated their bikes and rode in the parade, and we all ran in the family fun run, and of course came home and crashed so we could make it through fireworks.

Catching up on organizing school papers and photo albums.  I didn't decide on a system till this year and now I am trying to get through all the years past.  It is not pretty.

Picking berries and playing in the irrigation water with cousins at great-grandma's Joyce's house.  She and Grandpa Don have the best place for enjoying the simple things, like canned peaches and homemade jam and spending time with family. I only hope I am going as strong as they are at their age.

We leave for Texas in two weeks so I feel like summer is winding down.  When we get back, we only have a few days before school starts for Anna and Dallin.  It always go so fast.  I hope I'm making the most of the summer, but it's hard to tell sometimes.  Oh!  And this idea has given us a simple structure to our days that has worked really well (we made our own based off this plan).  In many ways it has been so nice to have everyone home, and less to do.