My Adventures: Summer Has Begun

We finished our second whole week of summer and even though we haven't done anything spectacular it has been so great. I have played pickleball on Monday and Thursday mornings the last couple weeks. Sometimes it is just the pick me up I need. I love associating with the women and sometimes men in my ward. I personally love that right now its outside. My kids generally play in the basketball court next to us, on an extra pickleball court, or at the park. It has been a great way to get outside and be with the ward.

We had two big things this week. First, Abby pulled out her first tooth! She did not like that it was bloody, and hurt, but she also couldn't leave it alone, so she got it out. The other big thing of this last week is that Kylee went to girls camp. She really enjoyed it. She did have a couple nights where she had trouble falling asleep, but worked through that and stayed all 4 days of camp. I don't know exactly what went on (obviously), but I know that she tented with the other girls her age in our ward, did archery, played games, went on a faith walk, gave and received secret sister gifts, ate good food, and just all around had a fun time. It was kind of weird not having her around. Mostly it was interesting to see what things her siblings did while she was gone. Like Tia handling the music, lots of Tia playing with the younger guys, and then just kind of wondering what she was up to all the time. I am so glad she went and that she conquered there, by staying even though nights were hard and enjoying even though it was windy all the time and super windy sometimes.

While she was gone we did somethings that we thought Kylee would not enjoy or could do with out. We rode bikes to the grocery store to buy some ingredients to let Tia make an oreo cheesecake. We went to Kanemoto pool which is a pool geared toward 'little' kids. It has zero entry and then only goes to 4 feet deep, but this pool also has a little water slide. We also went to Dacono Splash pad with Allen and Roxy. I also had a friend over for Tia and they enjoyed playing together, I think. I had a great time getting some stuff done while Tia was entertained. We also had some food Kylee does not like to eat. We enjoyed breakfast burritos for dinner and cold cereal, parfaits, and boiled eggs for breakfast. The kids also watched the tv shows that Kylee does not want to watch: Pinkalicious, Super Why, Wild Krats, and Daniel Tiger.

Once Kylee was home we loved being with her. Friday we made our first trip to Sunset Pool. We packed a lunch and enjoyed the sand and pool. At the end it started storming and we had to get out because of lightning, which was fine except Hope and Abby got covered in sand and they would not let me run the shower because of the lightning so I had very sandy kids to put in the car. I still had fun and I think the kids did too. That night Jason and I went to the temple. I just really wanted to go even though I fully plan to go to the temple twice while in AZ later this month. It was a great sealing session. There was a set of boy/girl twins that were their for their first time, so the sealers took time to explain things and it was just a great refresher on why and how things are done. It is always so good to go to the temple. My heart and mind get busy and whenever I go the temple stills my soul and helps me remember and re-align with what is really important. I am so grateful that I have a temple so close to me.

One other I think win is Tia's reading chart. Tia really needs to read as many days as I can get her to this summer, but I didn't like that it was a fight every time, so in pondering what to do I had the idea (aka revelation) to do a sticker chart and she could use her stickers to 'buy' things. One sticker=One piece of candy, 5 stickers= one special drink, 10 stickers=She chooses an activity, 20 stickers=treat date with mom and dad. As soon as she got the chart she knew she wanted a soda, so she got her five stickers. We will see if it keeps going, but it was so nice when it did work and she is getting better every time she reads. It is not easy for her, but I am grateful she hasn't sworn it off and keeps at it. Tia does't give up, and most times I am so grateful. Its worked great for Tia but isn't without problems as when Tia got a soda everyone else was super jealous and thought it was unfair. I don't know how to navigate that and I don't know that I handled it that great, but we are working on it and hopefully can figure it all out because I love not fighting Tia and having her read. Plus, I love that she feel accomplished.

I am loving the time with my kids, the great weather days, the more relaxed mornings, time with neighbors, friends,and family. This time of year is my favorite. I just love the more relaxed time I have with my favorite people.