Our summer so far

So school got out the 6th of June. Nathan's party was the 7th and Rachel's was the 8th. I was so busy keeping track of and feeding teenagers that I forgot to take pictures of Rachel's party. She didn't want a "birthday" party so there were no presents and no cake.

The 11th-14th Rachel attended driver's ed. The 15th and 16th was Youth Conference for youth 14-18 so Rachel and Nathan attended that. It was from 8am-10pm on Friday and 9am-3pm on Saturday. Nathan missed Saturday because he left with his scout troop to travel to Catalina Island to attend Camp Cherry Valley Scout camp. Rachel left at 5am on June 18th to fly to Salt Lake City and take a cab to Provo to attend Especially For Youth at BYU for the week. She flew home Saturday the 23rd at 2 and then attended a Stake Dance that night at 8:30. Nathan arrived back in town about 11:30 that night.

Rachel took a camera to EFY and has decided to start her own blog. You can find it on my list of blogs, it's titled "Smile because it happened." Nathan did not take a camera to camp but some others who attended did and you can find those pictures on his facebook page. Anna attended gymnastics camp during the same week. She was at camp Monday - Friday from 9 to 3:30. She learned a lot and really grew in her skill set. It appears that she will not be moving to competition team until next spring but we're okay with that. Competition means a lot more money spent so she'll keep working on her skills and routines for the next several months.

The 25th through the 29th was a mellow week with little scheduled. My friend, and neighbor, Rose had a minor emergency on Sunday the 24th. She found bed bugs in the new bed they had purchased two months ago. Her husband was out of town so Rachel, Nathan and I helped her a lot that week with pest control visits and watching her kids. Her kids are 8,7,5 and two 19 month olds. They are great kids so we had them over a lot to ease her stress. On Wednesday the 27th her husband returned home and we had the whole family over to celebrate Nathan's real birthday.

Last week we were lucky enough to have Jason off from work a little early on the 3rd and then all of the 4th off. The day of the 4th we had a great time but I forgot my camera for the first event, didn't want to take it to the second and gave up for the third. The first event was a neighborhood parade sponsored by our church.

Our church sits in the center of our subdivision and the local fire department sent an engine to lead a parade of kids on bikes through the neighborhood. We walked/rode over from our house so I was without a purse so no camera. We all had a great time walking/riding in our parade. It was great to meet some more of our neighbors. At the end of the parade we were invited to a friend's house for a barbeque. So we went to the Dunn's and enjoyed a nice barbeque with friends from 3 to 6.

Last year we watched fireworks on t.v. hoping to spot Rachel there in DC. This year the kids wanted to see them live. There are only a few options available in the area. Lake Tahoe, Virginia City, Sparks or Carson City. Tahoe and VC are NOT options, as far as I'm concerned. Very steep, windy roads are not meant to be traveled with millions of other people late at night. So then it was a choice between Sparks and Carson City. The distance to each, from our house, is just about the same but we chose Carson City because of the location of the fireworks and better roads for traveling home on. Turns out we chose well.

Carson City's fireworks started at 9:15 and ended at 9:45. They did a great show and we enjoyed it a lot. We were on the road by 9:50 and home by 10:20, in bed by 10:30. The next day I spoke to someone at the grocery store and they mentioned that they had gone to Sparks. The wind was worse in our valley, big surprise, and the fireworks didn't even get started until 10:30! I was so glad we chose Carson. We'll probably do it again next year.

Then on the 6th the kids and I went up to the Lake to spend the day. It was hot and the water was freezing but they had a great time. Rachel had her first date ever on Friday evening so we came home about 4:30 so that she could shower and prepare.

This week the four youngest started swim lessons. They attend on Mondays from 12:20 to 1 and Thursdays from 3 to 3:40. The lessons are taught by Sarah's preschool teacher, at her in-laws house, who have an indoor pool. Monday Rachel took her driver's test and got her license! We're so happy for her new skills, abilities and privileges. She has run quite a few errands in the 24 hours since passing.

Anna got a spacer glued to her bottom teeth yesterday. She had two teeth pulled on the 11th of June and the spacer is needed to, obviously, keep the space open until the adult teeth grow in. She is struggling to adjust to having it in her mouth but is doing well.

Caleb and Sarah still have gymnastics on Wednesdays at 10 and Anna has it Monday and Thursdays 5-8. Jason took a course last night in woodcarving and made a cute little boot. His second and last class is next Monday from 6-9. And that is our summer so far.