2023 :: week 25

Summer Week #5

June 18

Happy Father's Day to Tony! He's a great dad and we are glad he's ours. During church he "helped" Miles give a talk in primary, and by "helped" I mean he delivered the entire talk while Miles looked the other way. In the afternoon he took a nap, and my sisters and I prepared a potluck dinner of Hawaiian Haystacks. 

June 19

After a busy day of laundry, yard work and other pre-trip preparations we spent the evening at Bluejacket. It has been so incredibly amazing to have Bluejacket open this summer. Of course we hope it will be open again next year, but if the past three years have taught me anything it is to be grateful for what you have one day at a time.

June 20

Tuesday morning Miss Julie came to our house for a piano lesson "home visit." It went well, though she again reminded us we need a piano light...just like she did when she came a few years ago. Julie is a wonderful teacher and we are so grateful our kids get to be taught by her.

June 21

Back when all my kids were little we would see one or two of the cheap movies at the theater during the summer. Now my older kids are so busy if I want to go to one I have to put it on the schedule weeks in advance. Miles loves minions, so we saw Minions: Rise of Gru. On our way to the theater we made a quick stop at the Dollar Tree for the kids to pick out their movie snacks. It was all worth it to see the look of adoration on Miles' face when the minions started to sing "You Can't Always Get What You Want," near the end of the movie. The rest of the day was spent prepping for our trip to WV.

June 22

Thursday we hit the road for the first leg of our 10 day summer vacation and drove to Lexington, KY. The family was gracious enough to let me go to the 8am water aerobics class and then hit the road. We had a fairly uneventful first day. I baked banana muffins and packed a lot of food, so the kids were pretty bummed we didn't stop to buy food. Anthony and I listed to the audiobook The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter. It was an interesting book that gave us lots to talk about. Basically, the author posits that modern life is too comfortable and that unless we push out of our comfort zones we will be unhappy and unfulfilled. One of our favorite things the author said was "hunger is the best sauce," meaning everything is better when you've worked for it. He also has us considering rucking and intermittent fasting. 

June 23

Every other year Tina rents a house somewhere in the US for the entire John family to gather to for a week. As the family grows so do the "homes" we stay in. This year we stayed at a lodge on the Timberline Mountain near Davis, WV. Right out the back was a ski run, It was amazing--5 floors, 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, an indoor pool, sauna, game room and even an elevator! There was plenty of room for everyone. Each couple had a room for themselves (kids born in 2019 and later slept in the room with their parents--Lucas, Miles, Mateo and Evangeline). Will and Sadie shared a room with two double beds. The 2022 cousin camp kids (Elise, Lauren, Weston, Adelaide, Nolan, Derek and Camille) slept on mattresses on the very large 4th floor family room floor. The remaining cousins (Elliott, Brigham, Lola, Grant and Felicity) shared a room nestled between most of their parents. As soon as we arrived the kids were off and exploring the house with their cousins. I love seeing how quickly the kids pick up after not seeing each other for a year or more! Miles quickly became interested in Lucas and especially Felicity and spent much of the week playing with them. Miles introduced Felicity to the joys of sports cards and the two of them could often be found "making teams." We ate a lot of delicious food throughout the week. Each couple was assigned a night for dinner, and a few people made extra desserts. 

June 24

The indoor pool was an integral part of the week's success. Rain was in the forecast for most of the week, and the area around the house was very steep, which made it difficult for the kids to easily burn off some of their energy. Most of the kids spent hours playing in the pool. At times things got a little chaotic, but it was a great escape. The west wall was all windows which made the room feel bright and open. There was a "hot tub" which wasn't actually hot, and we used as a "baby pool" for the younger kids that needed puddle jumpers or adults to hold them in the big pool.