Did I really just blink my eyes and have the whole summer gone? How did it go by so fast? I'm sitting here trying to remember all of the many, many things that kept us so busy all summer that we didn't even notice it disappearing....
1. Sonny Pie graduating from Logan High School(as per previous post).
He was so ready to move on. So he's very happy now to be a student at Utah State University!
2. Summer Orchestra.
DaVinci & Superstar both participated in summer orchestra for the month of June. It's at 8:00 am which is way too early when I've been looking forward to being able to sleep in a little when school gets out. They like it though, especially Superstar who was invited to participate in a chamber group that played at a workshop for orchestra teachers.
3. Too much snow at Camp Loll.
Sonny Pie was supposed to leave for camp on June 8(?), but there was so much snow that they couldn't get in. They finally decided they had to get in no matter what on July 1. Even then they had to shovel snow off of TWO MILES of road to be able to make it in. The first two weeks of camp were cancelled. That was a really long three weeks for all of us while Sonny Pie anxiously waited every day for news of when and how he would get to his beloved camp.
4. Juice coming home from China.
On June 26 Juice arrived home from China. She was jet-lagged and tired and happy. We're so glad to have her home!
5. Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre.
We are so lucky that Stephen's work sponsors the opera dress rehearsals and we can get free tickets to them. It's pretty much like the real performances but not as crowded and we can get the best(most expensive) seats. Stephen's mother comes every year and goes with us and this year my parents came to a couple of them also. It's always a highlight of our summer.
6. Cutie's 7th Birthday.
Right in the middle of the operas mentioned above is Cutie's birthday. He really, really wanted a party so we threw a pirate party. We put bandanas on their heads and sent them on a treasure hunt. The treasure was a pinata shaped like a parrot full of candy necklaces, ring pops, and chocolate coins. It was all topped off with a pirate ship cake with ice cream. We got Cutie a bike for his birthday which he now is thrilled to ride around the neighborhood all day and night if we let him.
Here's the Back to the Future part:
7. Howard Jones concert!
Stephen & I have both been HoJo fans since before we met and we've gone to several of his concerts since we've been married. We were very excited to take Juice, her friend, and DaVinci to the Sandy Amphitheater on July 9 to see him in concert once again. It brings back so many memories of college days. I remember being at a church dance and going outside with some friends to cool off, but hearing the beginning of a HoJo song we all RAN back inside to dance. Oh, and the lip sync a group of us did to Like To Get To Know You Well with a giant stuffed snake weaving it's way around the audience. I guess you probably had to be there. It was so much fun. It's still pretty fun, especially when I'm sharing it with my family! My brother Robert, his wife Lynnae, and their two oldest kids were there with us too.
8. Swimming.
I spent every summer practically living at the pool when I was 13-16. I LOVED IT! I got to know the owners of the pool and they taught me to dive. I worked for them a little. It was the best time! This summer DaVinci refused to take swimming lessons. He doesn't swim as well as I would like so rather than trying to force him to take lessons I bought some punch passes and went swimming with the kids. The time spent in the water was probably more valuable to them than the half-hour lessons where they only swim for about ten because the teacher has to split the time between four or five kids. And I got to swim too! When the kids are in swim lessons I just sit on the side. I do have to give credit to the Logan Aquatic Center though because this year they offered water aerobics for the parents during swim lessons. I did have Cutie in two sessions and I really enjoyed the water aerobics. It was wonderful to be in the water. I love to swim!
9. The Big Flood.
On July 10 we were walking out the door for church and sent one of the kids back in to comb his hair. He combed it and came back out and we went to church. When we got home 3 1/2 hours later we found the water in the upstairs bathroom running and water EVERYWHERE! He had left the water on and that drain is really slow. Fortunately, our home owner's insurance covered the damage, but that took a huge chunk out of our summer because we spent so much time with workers at the house doing repairs. We're still waiting for the new vanity for the bathroom since the one we chose was out of stock and is taking a while to get here. Hopefully soon!
10. The Big DeJunk.
So the big flood prompted the big dejunk. Since we were pulling up the laminate floor in the living room and most of it was perfectly good, we decided to replace the carpet in our room with the old laminate from the LR. We couldn't stand to replace the floor and not paint so we painted too. Then we just felt the need to paint the bathroom while we're waiting for the vanity. Then we decided to move all the kids' bedrooms downstairs and make this upstairs room into an office/library/sewing room/instrument room. All of those things were spread out all over the house so moving them all into one room made space in other parts of the house that had to be dealt with. Stephen's music studio has been moved upstairs. All in all we've gone through literally EVERYTHING in our house. We've sent SO much to DI. There's still a little more to do but it feels really good to get things in order!
11. Family Reunion.
On July 30(Sonny Pie's Birthday) we went to Twin Falls, ID for the Hymas family reunion. It was really fun to see all of my aunts and uncles and cousins. We don't get to see everyone very often. When I was growing up we got together pretty often and we've always been a pretty close family. Now the Grandma & Grandpa are gone we don't get together much. I am really grateful for all of the work of my cousins Sarah & Shelley who put this together so that we can spend some time together. I can just imagine Grandma & Grandpa looking down with joy and gratitude to see the family growing.
12. Bass Camp.
Superstar participated in a Bass Camp for young bass players. He LOVED it! He got to spend all day for four days working with older, accomplished bass players. At the recital on the last day, the teacher said he even corrected her on a key signature once during the camp. He's pretty smart about musical things. I'm pretty excited to see where he ends up!
Well, I know I've left some things out, like the blessing of my very cute nephew Evan on July 2, but this should give you some idea why I haven't had time for blogging. All summer I kept thinking I need to blog about all of this, but there just wasn't time so here's your synopsis. Now I am contemplating taking a job as an aide at the elementary school for a couple of hours a day. Hopefully I can make time to keep up!
