Summer–week one

Oh, how I love summer. I love the lazy feel of the days, the free time, and the fun activities!

Our first week has been good.

We started out with a clear list of jobs, and expectations of what needs to be done before we up and have fun. Day one was GREAT. The kids were excited to do their jobs, and they even picked EXTRA jobs off the “extra pay” job list. John wanted to wash the car. I couldn’t get any of the taller kids to help him with that job, so John and I washed the suburban. He washed the bottom part, and I washed all the rest. It was fun, though. The second day they did their jobs, although less enthusiastically. By Friday, they are pretty much back to their usual, “Jobs? What Jobs? You want me to do jobs?”

Natalie has had tennis lessons every day this week, and next week. She has been having a fun time, and it’s good for her to get some exercise. One day this week while she had her lesson, I hit the track. I managed to walk/jog for two miles before I thought I was going to die. John sprinted about halfway around the track. Boy is he fast! Jenna jogged with me, and honestly, even she is faster than me.

When we came home, Megan said to me, “Mom, you might need some sunscreen. You’re face is red.”
“Yeah, that is red because we did some jogging. And I will never be able to beat any of my kids. They are all faster than me. Because I’m old and fat.” I said.
“You’re not that fat, Mom,” she said, trying to make me feel better, “There’s lots of people fatter than you. All those people on the Biggest Loser are a LOT fatter than you.”
Thank you SO much.
She went on to tell me that someday I will be able to beat John. When he’s old and can’t run fast, she will get me a really fast Jazzy or electric scooter. Only she kept saying she’d get me a really fast electric chair. So which is it, you want me to be able to go fast, or you want me to GO fast?
Yeah, that makes me feel a lot better.

This week we’ve had a lot of two things: Baseball and rehearsals. Since my concert is Friday night, that means extra bell rehearsals, so I’ve been gone a couple nights. Natalie and I also have tiny parts in this year’s Alpine Community Theater production of Cinderella. So that adds a couple more rehearsals this week.

John had his last regular baseball game, then started his tournament. Wednesday they pulled off two wins in a row, despite micro bursts and plummeting temperatures. That means two more games, whether they win or lose. And he’s not the only one. Megan and Jenna are also playing softball, so they’ve each had at least one game a week.

Wednesday I took the kids to Trafalga in Lehi. We had fun miniature golfing together. They also rode the merry-go-round, the go carts, and had a great time. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Since we have some extra time on our hands, I managed to go to the temple on Thursday. When I got there, there were 4 or 5 wedding parties taking pictures and being generally happy! When I came out of the temple, the wind had picked up and clouds had rolled in. I hope all those brides got all the pictures they needed before the weather turned.

I’m going to encourage the older kids to also go to the temple often during the summer. I think it will be a good bonding experience for the three of them, and also keep in focus what really matters. They did go Friday morning, and it was fun to see the three of them getting into the beat up old truck and head off to the temple. They said it was “crowded”, and they had to wait a long time. I guess that’s a good thing, right? Maybe they will be nicer to each other after having that service experience. Let’s hope.

I can’t believe how big my chickens are getting! We’ve only had them a week and a half, but we love them. We survived the drama of the dog attack, nursed that little chick back to health, and the kids named her Pirate (because she had one eye that wouldn’t open after her brush with death (or dog). The others are: Henrietta, Gabby and Caramel. Good names for chickens, I think. They aren’t quite the scraps eaters I had hoped for yet. I gave them celery and strawberries yesterday and those same foods are still out there. But I think as they get bigger they will eat more and different foods, not just their chicken food.

So, that’s what we’ve been up to this week. How’s your summer shaping up?