At the beginning of the summer I was in a withdrawn and private state of grief and didn't feel like sharing a lot with the world. Since I was taking a break from blogging, which has always been my primary way of journaling, I decided to create a private instagram account that only I could see to document the day to day activities of our summer. Here are some of the random pictures and captions from our summer.
- Temperatures in the 80s on early out day was just too perfect not to invite friends over for our first water party of the year.
- Tomorrow is the last day of school. I'm going to soak up every last minute of peaceful nap time I get to myself today.
- Miles is excited to be riding around on two wheels with the big kids this summer.
- School's out for summer!! The rain spoiled our plans to ride bikes home on the last day, but kids were happy to ride the bus one last time this year. Let the summer begin!!
- Our nightly family hug sometimes feels a little bit like WWE wrestling. Miles calls this his super hug (a spin off his Big Hero Six inspired super jumps)
- Got enrolled in the summer reading programs at the library, Barnes and Noble, and Books- a-Million today. After only the first day, Mason is already well on his way to completeing them by finishing three books including Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief, I survived the Nazi Invasion, and a chapter book about volcanoes. Brynn finished reading Meet Molly, her first book in the American Girl series.
- Mason is taking his biking very seriously today. He is using the Garmin watch to time his laps around the neighborhood.
- Two little monkeys swinging in a tree.
- Family bike ride around White Hawk Lake.
- When the kids are having a water party in the backyard and I get to hang out in the shade reading. No complaints coming from me today.
- You know Tornado season is upon us when the weather alert becomes a permanent sidebar and scroll on every channel.
- What 4 o'clock looks like after a fun-filled day.
- Enjoying a midnight summer storm on the porch. There's no denying how majestic the constant thunder and lightning can be.
- A trip to the eye doctor left Miles with dilated eyes for the rest of the day. Honestly it hardly slowed him down, although he would wander around like a blind man whenever his glasses fell off.
- First day swimming at Zorinsky Pool.
- First day of tennis lessons for Brynn and Mason was a success.
- It was a hot one today with temperatures in the high 90s. Thank goodness for another afternoon spent at the pool.
- Harry Potter ... I mean Mason just finished the 5th (and longest) Harry Potter book. He has loved this series just as much as I hoped he would. So much, in fact, that this conversation happened. Mason: "I bet that when I turn 11 I will be invited to Hogwarts." Me: "Hogwarts isn't real." Mason: "but if it is..... I bet I'll go there." Me: The wizarding world is just made up in these books." Mason: "but if it isssss real I bet I'm a wizard." Me: "It isn't real." Mason: "Of course you would say that, you're just a Muggle!"
- Spent some much needed family time taking a stroll along the Missouri River and over the pedestrian bridge into Iowa.
- Never mind that they had just spent 3 hours having a water party in our backyard or the fact we had no swimsuits or towels, when we walked past a splash pad there was no stopping the kids from running and playing like they had never seen water before.
- Spent the morning picking strawberries at Bellvue Berry Farm.
- "When I grow up I think I'm going to be someone who picks strawberries and sends them to the grocery store." - Brynn.
- Picking snap peas brought back many memories of picking peas in my Grandma and Grandpa Allred's garden as a little girl. We would sit on their back porch after and eat the peas, which I never liked, but I would pretend to so I could open them with everyone else.
- We used our freshly picked strawberries to make homemade strawberry ice cream and now we are enjoying the fruits of our labor.
- Hiking at Platte River State Park. Not quite the kind of hiking we are used to in Utah. We hiked right past "The Falls" that we were hiking to without realizing it because they turned out to be little more than rapids in a stream. It was still fun to get out into nature.
- Mason was not a fan of all the cicadas and took a big spill while sprinting past the tress full of them.
- Brynn conquered her fear of heights and we made it to the top of the observation tower that overlooks everything.
- I lost track of Miles in the bike section at Walmart today until I heard him shout, "Look, it's just my size."
- Grandma is here!!! The kiddos can't bare to be away from her for even a single second so as per tradition they are all having a sleepover downstairs.
- Early morning snuggles with Grandma.
- A beach in Nebraska? You better believe it!
- We had such a fun time at Fremont Lakes with our friends the Hunts. Maybe Nebraska isn't so bad after all.
- 4th of July water fights with friends.
- Started off the 4th of July weekend by buying our first family tent and having a camp out in the backyard.
- There are no pictures or words that truly capture Omaha on the 4th! Firework explosions shaking the walls and lighting up the sky in every direction as far as the eye can see. This year we enjoyed an up close and personal firework show at our friends' house.
- Last week I hurt my back pretty badly and could hardly move for several days. As a result I spent most of the week flat on the couch reading while Brynn fixed meals and took care of Miles for me. If I hadn't been in so much pain it would have been a rather enjoyable week.
- Miles' first item of business each morning is putting on his basketball clothes. This morning there weren't any clean jerseys in his drawer so I found him like this. "I'm looking for clean basketball clothes."
- Last swim meet of the year for Mason tonight. So proud of his hard work. His favorite stroke was butterfly. He improved from fourth place in her first meet to third place the second meet and first place in his third and fourth meets. He also improved his times in freestyle and backstroke. Too bad we'll be missing the end of season city championship.
- It's been a low key, relaxing week as the kids have been playing with all their neighborhood friends they missed while we were gone. Today we went to Freemont Splash Station with the Meeks and had a blast.
- This looks more like a crime scene than sun bathing, but what kids doesn't like warming up on the toasty cement.
- Sometimes when we forget to pick up crickets from the pet store and Spotty hasn't eaten for several days, Scott and I go out hunting in our yard.
- Family game night at the end of a wonderful sabbath day.
- Teacher assignments came in the mail today! Brynn has Mrs. Heusel and Mason has Miss Kober. I can't believe school starts a week from today.
- When Mason can't stop reading long enough for grocery shopping.
- When I asked the kids what they wanted to do in their final week of summer I got an unanimous vote for Skate Daze. It was fun to see how much Brynn and Mason's skating has improved.
- Miles was a speed demon flying around the skating rink on his razor.
- Last day at Zorinsky Pool this summer.
- Making back to school cakes because .... well, why not?
