Michelle made us a lovely Summer 2024 bucket list. I have to say that somehow the summer got away from us and so many things got left without being done. Sometimes we even had an activity on the calendar, something would come up, we would reschedule, and somehow it just never got done. For example, Danny was supposed to get his wisdom teeth removed the last day of July and the oral surgeon ended up postponing because Danny was so congested he didn’t want to take the risk of sedating him. Other things didn't seem big enough to need a plan and we never got around to checking it off. Really makes me realize I don't have many summers left with my teenagers and that we may have to do less relaxing next June and work on that list early instead of waiting until August to realize how much we wanted to do.
My dear sweet Natalie finally got to go to camp at the local humane society this summer and had a wonderful time learning about, meeting, and making things for the animals.
I got to see my freshman roommate, Melissa, for the first time in about ten years! She was nearby to go to a wedding and we got to meet up for dinner and I am so glad we did. I hope it doesn't take a decade to see her again!
Around Memorial Day when we were preparing Kate and Danny's t-shirt quilts to be made, we realized Natalie had never been to Avid 4 Adventure Day camp like all of her older siblings. We were able to find a camp for her the second to last week of the summer and she had a blast! Monday she got to go canoeing and saw a wild fire start, Tuesday she went mountain biking and saw another fire start & a rattle snake, so we were glad that Wednesday when she went rock climbing nothing super exciting happened but by then the smoke was so bad they didn't get to climb as much as thy wanted. Thursday was their hiking day and once again they had to return early but not as early but by Friday the smoke was better and they got to have a great day kayaking. I am thrilled we signed her up, that she had such a wonderful time, and that all of my children can say they have had this experience. Next year would be the last year she could do the day camp due to age but Natalie says she is totally willing to do an overnight camp as long as she knows someone else who is going. We shall see!
Kate had the absolute best time at her first Quinceanera. The pictures and videos she showed us were amazing! Food, dresses, performance dances and dancing until midnight sounded so fun. I am grateful Kate got to have this wonderful experience with her friends. Look at that smile! And Kate has also gotten to have more summer fun with E.O. and her family doing things like going tubing.
We have been counting down the days until our sister in law, Shelley, came to visit us! We adore Hubby's family and are always so happy to see them. This was great for a lot of reasons, one of them being that we didn't get to see Shelley at the family reunion in July. She has been a joy to have with us! And so very helpful while I am healing from my hysterectomy. Yes, between a giant fibroid and my mother’s history of uterine cancer, we decided now would be the time! Hubby has been making me feel like a princess. Here he is driving me to the hospital. It seems so strange to be getting a surgery when I feel fine but logically this was the right thing to do. It has been great to have family, friends, and coworkers be so supportive. While I stayed mostly in bed for days I got some things done I've been meaning to do such as eye read a book called Zero Days Without Incident, listened to All the Light We Cannot See, watched the Olympics, Rise of Red on Disney+ with Natalie, and got some things off my Netflix watch list like Wedding Season, Riverdale, and Pain Hustlers. That last one I wanted to watch when I was switching from prescription pain killers to over the counter ones because, dang, they just aren't as good.
Michelle was at a leadership camp with her high school that week too. From what she told us, it sounds like the camp exceeded expectations and she had so much fun!
We moved our annual birthday dinner with Kate's family back a week in order for Kate to go to the Quinceanera so I had to miss out. I was happy to see pictures from C & Dan, though! And it turns out it was a very good thing I stayed home because the speed of service was pretty lacking and I'm still at a point where I like being able to lay down a lot.
And all too soon, summer vacation is now officially over and it's time to go back to school. I sincerely hope that junior year, sophomore year, freshman year & 6th grade are the best ones yet!
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