June???

Did June really come and go??? I think it was the busiest month so far this year - and that's saying a lot!! Here's a few pics from our month - only a few this time!

We decided to add to our outdoor repertoire and buy a small bouncy house for the kids and for summer camps. The kids enjoy going out there when it's not too hot! We had such a nice cool, wet spring, then BAM - June 21st everything changed and it's been HOT HOT HOT!
When Steve removed the dishwasher to do the tile in the kitchen, some buildup got dislodged in the tubes and totally clogged any water flow. He was able to get the tubes and dishwasher all cleaned out, but one tube broke and we had to wait a couple of weeks for the replacement. I sure got tired of washing dishes. Emily and Ella decided to help out a couple of times!

I got a deep fryer for my birthday (later replaced it with a yard-sale special!) and we've been having fun making scones, Navajo tacos and donuts. Emily rated my donuts A+++++++++, while Krispy Kreme only got an A. :)
School didn't end until a week and a half into June this year. I was at the school very frequently for end-of-year activities! The big one is the Dance Festival. I got a quick pic of Ella before they started. Both girls did a good job! Emily, especially, was groovin' out there!
Ella rescued a stray box from the yard after a windy day. It's been the favorite toy for weeks! They've decorated it, cut an air hole, filled it with toys, etc.
But getting inside is the big hit. I love this picture of Eden locking Ella in the box!
The big event of the month was summer camps! Emily and Ella got to attend both boy and girl camp again this year! I started out wondering if I was even going to do camps because of low enrollment, but by the time both camps started I was 1-2 spots away from being completely full! It's a great way to get some summer money! First was princess camp.
Belle came to visit the first day.
And Cinderella came the last day for the coronation ceremony.
We did a quick swichover during the weekend (well, Steve did most of it because #1 He was excited to decorate for Super Hero week and #2 I got super sick on Sunday and was down all day!). The first day we learned about Green Lantern and Thor. Here's the Thor kids!
Spiderman came the next day and sprayed all the kids with silly string. I had a few cryers - he is a masked man after all - so I made it into this picture!
My girls were tough though!
I think the best part about Super Hero camp was watching Steve's pure joy as he would come home and the girls would pepper him with questions about each super hero's special powers, their origin, their secret identity, etc. They were very interested and Steve was very happy to explain it all! Ella had some interesting questions for me throughout the week, "Does Superman have a secret identity just like Spiderman?"

This last week I've just been cleaning, putting things away and surviving being with my kids all day! We've been eating breakfast and lunch at the school - nothing like free food! We've also been working on our summer goals. We each have a 100s chart to work on. Emily's trying to read 100 chapter books, Ella 100 books, Eden 100 times at the potty, Kim 100 sets of situps and Steve 100 times exercising. So far Emily's winning. Guess what they want their reward to be...vising the playhouse in Wyoming! Oh, I mean Mark and Kellie's family! Hope we're invited!

At least I'm being a good example - here are the girls joining me for a set!
I've also been training for my first 5K ever! Paige talked all the sisters into training for one and we've picked the AF Steel Days 5K. I've been impressed that I've stuck with it so far! I've been getting up at 6:00 MWF and working my way up to 30 minutes. Right now, I'm at 28 minutes. Considering I hate running and have never run before, I'm proud of myself. My knees are complaining a lot though. (If you're wondering why it doesn't look like I'm losing weight, reread the paragraph above about the deep fryer.)

Grandma and Grandpa hosted an open house to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary and 95th birthdays!!! Amazing. We loved visiting Payson again and seeing Grandma, Grandpa and lots of other relatives - including Mark's family that surprised us by driving down from Wyoming. As I was talking to G&G, Grandpa went to get something for me. It was another newspaper sack full of milk lids! Grandpa looked SO happy to pass it off to me!! It's amazing how the teacher mentality has NEVER left grandma and you can always count on them to be frugal by not only saving the lids, but by using a newspaper sack to collect them. I'm seeing A LOT of that frugality coming out in me. I wash a lot of our food containers and collect them in the laundry room just in case I need them to store little items, or for crafts. I also keep all the newspaper sacks. When I fill a bag, I leave them on the mailbox for the newspaper deliverer. (They once sent a note asking us to do that because they have to buy their own bags. I've noticed that since I've been doing that, my newspapers are placed carefully right in front of my door and I often get the newspaper on days I didn't order it!) So I'm guessing this hoarding/saving mentality is not only heriditary, but will last as least until I'm 95!!

Steve finished his first semester and earned 16 credit hours!! He took a much needed semester break and is back at it again. The kitchen floor looks great. All he has left to do is cut, paint, trim and install the new baseboards we bought. Hopefully that will happen today!

Eden is talking up a storm. Of course, I can usually only understand a handful of words out of her LONG stories she tells me. And if I look away or get distracted, she'll yell, "WAIT!" Then she'll usually start ALL over again! She loves to count things and tell me the colors she sees. My favorite is when she walks into a room and announces, "Guyz...Ninny's here!!!" (She's Ninny). Or says, "Guys, guys" and then goes into some long monologue. She's all girl!

We got the news from Mom and Dad that they are extending their mission another 6 months and will not be home until March of next year. I forwarded the email to Steve at work and he replied, "Not a big surprise, is it?" No, mom and dad are enjoying it too much and are doing such a wondrous work for so many people. We are proud of them and love to hear all about their adventures via blog, skype and FWIW installments from dad.

Hope you enjoyed our short blog this month - I'm sure July will be back to normal length again! Since you saved so much time reading this, you're welcome to leave a comment!!