2016 :: week 30

July 17

No matter how much room we have on our pew, the kids and I usually squeeze together in a fairly small space. Will had really gotten into singing lately. He's pretty good at carrying a tune, and now that he can read he really belts it out. It makes me smile. He's a sweet boy.

July 18

Our garden is growing! There are several (green) tomatoes on the vine and we are now starting to see cucumbers and zucchini too. I am more excited about this than I should be.

July 19

We visited the farmstead during their extended hours Tuesday evening. It has been very hot and I thought we might enjoy ourselves more if we went later in the evening. It was cooler, but 97 degrees doesn't really feel "cool." It was pretty deserted, which was nice as we were able to wander around and explore without dealing with any crowds. Lauren has decided she isn't scared of feeding the goats this year, which is fun. She was very curious what the goats horns and beards felt like, and the white goat in this picture eventually obliged.

July 20

Will has started to seem a lot older lately. He has gotten very confident in the water this summer and usually keeps himself very busy when we are at the pool. He started to drive me a little crazy when he climbed up my back while I was holding Elliott and trying to help Lauren tread water. I love the lines he gets on his face from wearing his goggles.

July 21

It was so hot we went to the pool every six days this week. Will's classmate Delany and her little sister Caydee were there most days too. The two sets of siblings really enjoyed swimming together as their skill sets and interests matched up well. Delany and Will did a lot of jumping off the diving boards while Lauren and Caydee retrieved pool toys together. During the adult swim I let the kids buy a freezee pop (which I did about once a week this summer) and they enjoyed sitting at the table with their friends. They are getting very independent, going to the snack counter to buy their treats by themselves and wanting to sit without a parent, but are totally fine asking me for a quarter every single day.

July 22

Friday evening we saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Theatre in the Park. I wanted to take the kids to a play at TiTP this summer was so excited when I saw that this play was on their lineup. The kids have enjoyed listening the Joseph soundtrack ever since I bought it after Anthony and saw a production at Starlight back in 2014. It was a super hot night, but we had lots of water and a few battery-operated fans. We sat with the Chases who graciously saved us a spot and then shared their snacks with us.

July 23

Our Stake rented Splash Cove Saturday evening and we went and had a great time. Before swimming there was a potluck dinner, with the stake providing sandwiches and drinks and members bringing sides and desserts. For some unknown reason, Lauren had a meltdown while we were getting our food. She was clearly tired, as she had fallen alseep on the way there, but it put me in a bad mood. Anthony took her to the car to cool down, but made it back in time to swim. Will loved the tall slide and spent most of the night waiting in line to ride it. Anthony and I each went down it with him once. Elliott loved waving at Will and his parents while they waited in line. Lauren wandered all over the place swimming with various friends. Anthony got to participate in a hula-hoop contest with other leaders in the stake. He did not win, but the kids were proud. I did my best to keep track of the kids and fit in some visiting too. It was fun seeing friends from other wards. As far as I know, this is the first time our stake has ever done something like this. It was fun and I'd be happy if they did it again.