Did you know that the Apple Store runs free camps in the summer? K and D attended the Telling Stories camp for 3 days (90 minutes each) and learned how to make movies using the Clips app. They got t-shirts and that bracelet D is wearing is actually a usb drive with his movie on it. It was pretty neat and Apple is very clever because I totally fell in love with their magic track pad and Hubby bought it for me when he came to meet us for lunch. It was grand being able to eat with him 3 times in one week! A parent needs to stay with them, so one morning when M and N were at the Waldorf summer camp I sat down with the over 300 page "Taking Charge of ADHD" book. Weeks later, I finally finished reading it and it was pretty amazing. I've also read "The Connected Child" this summer and fell asleep watching the Sensory Processing Disorder video so Hubby had to fill me in on the rest. lol. One hot day we convinced Hubby to leave work early and see Incredibles 2 with us after M and N went to an Incredibles themed Hip Hop/Acro camp one morning. We loved seeing it together and this was the first time M and N had been to the local movie theater. (The only other 2 times they went to the theater was on the cruise ships.) Of course, the price for 6 matinee tickets is still a whole heap of dollar bills so who knows when go back! lol. D, M & N are already creating wish lists for Halloween since Party City was so close to the movie theater!
D's mountain biking camp week finally arrived and he had a marvelous time riding from 9am-3pm for 5 days in a row. The last day he made Hubby promise to pick him up and ride with him until dinner time. It was great to hear their stories when they returned home. D learned so much and was even happier that his friend M. could be in the same group as him 3 of the 5 days. While D was at bike camp, M attended a Survival camp at her school where she learned how to make a water filter out of all natural materials, got to do some hand work, played a survival board game and let a girl paint her like a rabbit (complete with a carrot finger to munch on), among other things. 
That Friday night we attended Richard III at the CO Shakespeare Festival for our 15th anniversary (early). This was our first time at the indoor theater and it turns out I'm really bad at staying awake past my bed time if I'm not outside so Hubby had to buy me Skittles and M&Ms at intermission to keep me awake. The show was amazing -- I especially enjoyed how they presented the nightmare/haunting. Can't wait to see what is on the schedule for next year! Hubby, thank you so much for marrying me 15 years ago and being such a wonderful human, my best friend, my greatest support, and sexy boyfriend. I'll love you forever and always, no matter what. Muah!
That same week we had a birthday to celebrate! Since most of the friends she wanted to invite were out of town we will have her party later, but it was great to treat her to Noodles and Company for her birthday and have N help me make her a cake. The sparkler candles were quite fun -- almost like trick candles since some of them kept relighting. My parents got a pretty good kick out of them when they came over on Sunday to have a birthday celebration dinner and give her the presents they had picked out for her. Oh! I have to tell you more about Noodles. Not only did they let her have a free cookie for her birthday, but there was a woman that heard it was K's birthday and insisted on paying for us! She told me that her first grandchild had been born and she was sad she couldn't go visit right away so helping us celebrate our daughter made her happy. I thought it was wonderful for a stranger to do something kind for our girl. I hope she takes the lesson in that she is very worthy of love! K is an amazing girl with so much talent inside her. It is such a joy to watch her be athletic, artistic and creative. She can make amazing treats in the kitchen and has become an expert slime maker. What she wanted most for her birthday was glue, dish soap, borax and shaving cream if that tells you anything! We love you so much, K, and look forward to what the next year brings for you. 5th grade is going to be great!
The next week K attended a fun volleyball camp in the mornings at the rec center while M went to horse camp. They both were so happy to be with friends! Meanwhile, N and D had plenty of play dates and the AC finally got fixed and I went to book club for the first time in months because I absolutely loved "All Girls Filling Station" and the meeting was close enough to walk to. K also tried out for the Trampoline & Tumbling Level 2 class at the local gymnastics place and was accepted so will be taking that class instead of Acro this fall. I was impressed she was able to skip an entire level with just going to open gym 2 times to play around!
When you want to do yard work but your youngest children just have to sell Icees, you are very grateful when your home teacher comes by and pays extra for 3 cups of the stuff. He made their day! Thanks, Brother J.!
I love those moments we can all play together! They are too few and far between as the children grow older. Some of them are still young enough to want to wear matching clothes to church though!
One Sunday after church D and I said good bye to H's family before they moved back to Germany. H was a joy whenever I volunteered in the classroom and a good friend to D. We will miss her and her family very much but it was great to get together with some of the class at the park during the summer.
The next day Hubby found a babysitter!!! and took me out to eat at the Bonefish Grill for our anniversary. It was wonderful to hang out with the love of my life for the evening. A huge thanks to our favorite babysitter too -- all the children were in bed AND she was sweeping the floor when we got home. Can't beat that. Happy anniversary (again) my love!
Every summer (since the summer D was going into 1st grade), I have had summer workbooks for the children to complete during the break. M was once again the 1st one to finish her assigned work and received a $10 bonus. She worked hard so she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. (The children have a list of things they need to do during the summer before they are allowed to have screen time. One of those things is to do 1 or 2 pages of their summer workbooks. See this blog post for the list I use: http://www.pregnantpastor.com/2015/05/summer-rules-for-screentime-genius.html)
The last day of July we finally had time to enjoy our favorite park for the first time this summer. We had set up to meet a family that will be in the 3rd grade class next year (& took K's friend Q with us) and spent hours crawdad fishing, climbing, playing in the sand, and swinging from a rope swing. It was a blast! D actually left to go to the lake with his primary class (his teachers are the best!) but the girls all got to watch me fall in the creek. Turns out I sprained my mid foot and am now walking around in a boot most of the time. It was a wonderful day, though, that felt like a mini vacation. Already looking forward to our next park day!
A huge shout out goes to my boy! The last two evenings in July my dad took him to a football camp put on by one of the local high schools and won the award for "most coachable." What a great thing to be singled out for! D had a great time and loves the shirt they gave him as a prize and says that football is his favorite sport. Grandpa couldn't have been more proud because the qualities mentioned like hard work, listening and trying again and again are amazing qualities to have in a grandson (and son). No wonder he is the favorite boy in our family. (;
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