2018 :: week 24

June 3

Sunday afternoon Will played the piano and Lauren sang along. Will has taught himself to play the melody of a few Imagine Dragons songs. I love listening to them make music together.

June 4

Monday was a busy day. The older kids attended a VBS (vacation bible school) in the morning. I love sending my kids to vacation bible school in the summer. When they got home we worked on laundry and other post-trip chores. Then Will had his first official piano lesson in the afternoon. His teacher is Miss Julie, who also taught my youngest sister Laura the piano. He had a great first lesson and maintained the enthusiasm throughout the week. He practiced everyday without complaint. One of my concerns about him taking piano lessons is his motivation to practice. That night Will and Tony went to Will's baseball practice and Lauren, Elliott and I went to the gym. We rounded out the night with an FHE where we talked about focusing on the important things in life.

June 5

My garden is growing! I was surprised to see how much it grew while we were gone last week. We were only gone about four days and my tomato plants seemed to have grown about a few inches. I am looking forward to when the plants are producing. One of Will and Lauren's summer chores is to help me weed and having their help has made tending the garden so much easier. Elliott wants to help too, but he wants to pick everything so we have to distract him while we work. Maybe we can use his services next year?

June 6

My sister Melanie is in town, and she, along with all local family members came over for dinner Wednesday night. My parents ordered a few meals from Jose Peppers and divided the meals into smaller portions which we shared. The kids had fun playing in our basement and running around in our back yard. I love seeing my kids interact with their cousins.

June 7

I didn't get much done on Thursday. I found out that my friend's son had fallen in a pond and nearly drowned Wednesday evening. They were able to resuscitate him, but the brain damage was severe and he passed away early Sunday morning. I spent Thursday evening feeling sad for my friend and her family. Her older son was one of my nursery kids last year, and they moved to Utah at the end of April. Meanwhile, Tony drove up to Girl's Camp Thursday for the testimony meeting. Per tradition he brought up a cooler full of popsicles and cold ice cream novelties.

June 8

Friday evening Jill and Laura arrived for a "Girl's Weekend." We celebrated Jill and the upcoming birth of her little boy with a Harry Potter themed shower. Melanie suggested the Harry Potter theme because her due date is July 31st, which just so happens to be Harry's birthday. We donned costumes (Lauren and Leah really got into that), played a few games, and chatted about pregnancy, babies, and birth. 

June 9

Saturday was a family day. In the morning we went to the Deanna Rose Farmstead for a few hours. We fed goats, rode the toy tractors, played on the playgrounds and checked out some animals. It was  a great time, but very hot. After breaking for lunch and naps we met up at the pool for some swimming. The water felt wonderful!