Ahh- Summer!

 Now that I'm pretty much caught up with the school year, I can post about all the fun we've been having the past two weeks of summer vacation. It seems easier to keep a good summer schedule after having all that time off with covid. I mean, normally we have a transition from being so busy and then dealing with less to do and some boredom, which is always good. Now, however, we're used to being creative and finding things to do after all that time off, so it's been nice. Also, things are totally open finally and we've been able to go places we haven't been to and see friends we haven't seen much of, at least without masks. I really have been enjoying all the grad parties we've been attending and seeing people I haven't seen in a very long time!

The last week or so of school was extremely hot and humid, so I was prepared for that and noticed that the strawberry picking farm still had strawberries. Monday, the first official day of vacation, was going to be a pleasant day for picking, so we picked up Austin's friend from the Canton ward that he hasn't seen since covid hit, and really enjoyed a nice morning there. (Little did I know that the next two weeks would be pretty cool, and even very rainy, so there were other good days for picking, but at least we got it in and it wasn't too wet!) I spent the next day drying strawberries, making jam, freezing strawberries for smoothies, and we all enjoyed eating them fresh! I was able to do that (without the help of the kids who had no interest in that since they don't like to eat them anyway but in a smoothie or fresh) because Victoria had work and friends occupying her time, Karissa had color guard camp, and Erik had his first playdate at our home with his own friends from school since before covid! Austin hung out with them and went to his friend's down the street. Erik was so excited to have friends at our house again! He actually had 3 friends at our house that week, two together and then one the next day.

Austin and Tytan

Karissa now wears my overalls that I've saved since high school! I love overalls! So does my dad :) 

Erik's playdate galore!

To top that, our friends from our ward, the Dalebouts, who my boys went trick-or-treating with at Halloween, invited anyone who was available to meet at the Toledo zoo on Thursday. It turned out we were the only ones who could go, so it was just Stacie and her four kids and my boys and I since Victoria had something organized with a friend and dance class that evening and Karissa had color guard camp that week, which she loved! 

Erik, Austin, and Owen

All the kids

I love the water animals!

Austin's selfie with a polar bear.

Baby orangutan

This was Erik's first time at the Toldeo Zoo. We did go to the Detroit Zoo a couple times with him, but it has been a long time! Poor youngest child...

It looks like this sting ray is smiling!

These huge crabs were amazing!

Austins road home with the Dalebouts, so Erik and I had some time alone at the zoo for a bit.

We celebrated Austin's birthday with just 3 friends on Saturday. We had originally wanted to go to Turtle Cove water park that's nearby and somewhat inexpensive, but it wasn't open when we were trying to plan, so he just opted to have his besties at our house for 4 1/2 hours. They basically played on the trampoline, with Nerf guns, and then a very competitive two rounds of Capture the Flag. We came in for some pizza, carrots, grapes, and chips and a few rounds of live Among Us that Karissa had created for her birthday. At that point, I had to text the parents and have them come 30 minutes later so the boys would have a chance to play some video games, which was one of the reasons we decided to have the party at our house, so they could have time for gaming, but I'm glad we didn't spend too much time on screens. 

Austin got a back tuck on the trampoline and had to demonstrate!

Luke was having fun too.

Capture the Flag

They didn't even eat as much as I thought they would have after playing in the yard for 2 hours! I thought 12-year-old boys eat a lot?

All of them gave gift cards, which Austin loved!

Daisy wasn't in the pictures at the party, but we were dog sitting and she had a blast chasing the boys around the yard, until we put her in the house because she kept getting in the way of the games. 

Erik did a good job taking care of her. 

Karissa started an art class at our house for 6-11 year-olds. She had 7 kids in her first class, including two 6-year-old boys, but kept them all totally engaged for the entire hour. They all chatted and worked on their art and were so cute together. Karissa did a great job guiding them in their art and letting them explore their own styles. The next class was only 5 kids, but again, she really impressed me with her ability to engage everyone, especially those two young boys who really enjoyed the class. 

Victoria started a little dance class for 4-year-olds. She had 4 girls attend, which was perfect for dance, since our house isn't super big and it was raining outside both days she held the class so far. She did a great job as well and choreographed a number so we can have a recital at some point this summer, but we do have some vacation conflicts, so we'll see how it goes. Victoria had a few stubborn ones in her group who decided both times that they were done and too tired to continue for the rest of the hour, so I came in to give them a little "push". They showed me what they learned from the dance and somehow found more energy! 

I was so happy to have the art and dance classes here. I love when little kids are in my home. It makes me so happy!

(Next post will continue the second week)....