July

At the beginning of the month we made a trip to Flagstaff with Jacob's work for their traditional 4th of July weekend. We love going to the picnics and parties they host and spending a few nights in the cooler weather up north. Our new discovery was the Flagstaff aquatics center, with a really fun climbing wall for kids. Each of the girls made the attempt and Lauren and Ellie earned $5 from their dad for reaching the top. We also loved our ward's annual 4th of July breakfast and the festive decorations, music, and talks that helped set the tone for the day. 

Elsa lives

Face painting and balloon animals were a hit with this girl

Face painting at the work party

Nature gals- with hotel in background :)

Climbing at the aquatics center

Kids + netflix + bathtub = napping Daddy

4th of July Breakfast at our church

The last few weeks we've been enjoying the relaxed life of summer. I really like having my kids home and not having the imposed schedule of school, sports, lessons, etc. Open ended days where we can do what we want, or nothing at all is the best and I truly am a mom that loves summer.

The girls and I spent a few days going through every room in the house in preparation for the D.I. drive and made 9 bags of items to donate. I love cleaning out old stuff and making order of chaos around me. Things had been especially bad since I hadn't done any deep cleaning or organizing since right after Christmas, so it was good to have some time to dejunk.

I do have to comment on our ceiling situation. While we were in Hawaii, our dear neighbor called me and in a shaky voice reported that when she had gone over to our house to feed our fish, the kitchen ceiling over the fridge had collapsed. It turns out water (our pipes run through the roof) had been leaking above the ceiling for some time and soaked the insulation until it got so heavy that it finally gave out. The ceiling in the kitchen collapsed and the ceiling in the living room was drooping and would have given out next. Her saintly husband came over and did the first clean up job, emptied the fridge that had tripped off, and sealed the leak, and then our amazing bishop (who happens to be a contractor) sent a few of his guys over to clean up and re-sheet rock the ceiling in both rooms so that we could have the AC on when we got back from our trip. They have since been texturing and putting the ceiling back in order and we are grateful that it is all coming together. We're still working things out with the insurance company but are able to function in our home just like normal. I guess I can say that previously a ceiling collapse would have been a horrible situation, but under the circumstances and with our new perspective it is merely inconvenient.

Jake gets to teach Sunday School to the 14 and 15 year olds at church. He has a great class and Thomas and I love to attend and listen to him teach. Jake really is a wonderful teacher. He cares for the individuals in his class and tries to get to know about them and their lives so that he can tailor his lessons to their interests. He (and I) believe that a teacher has to earn the attention of their class and every week he comes up with great ideas to present the doctrine that he is teaching in a way that is interesting and engaging to the youth.

Jake teaching Sunday school

Tommy's nap time at church

The kids and I have had a lot of fun with friends lately. The girls have had some of their pals over  to swim and play for hours at a time, we've hit up some fun pools with friends, we attended a reptile show, and we've visited the library. Lauren and her friend Daniela participated in the city's cub club swimming program and had so much fun at the Olympics they held at the end of the program.



 



 

We did a spur of the moment family shopping trip for some back to school outfits and Jacob and I loved seeing each girl's personality emerge as they tried on new clothes, critiqued each outfit, persuaded each other, and decided on their most loved choices. I have to say that Jacob is a good shopper when he puts his mind to it, and he's also enjoyed freshening up his wardrobe since he's now back to his normal weight.

July has been good to us so far and we wish this summer could last forever.