Summer Notes: June 11th - June 20th

Tuesday was 'office day' for me. I was filling out paperwork for various things, listing phone calls that needed made, and paying bills. The kids enjoyed their summer day with minimal fussing at one another. The Instant Pot beef stew recipe we made was delicious for dinner, with a side of fresh rolls.

Wednesday was 'phone day' for me. I spent several hours on the phone, on hold or talking with people at various doctor's offices, insurance, etc. Almost everything on my list was taken care of by the end of it. Today was also Makayla's official birthday. I'm the parent of an adult. Crazy.

Thursday's physical therapy was a lot of fun. Mason liked exploring the new gym and equipment. Beyond that, the day had a lot of cranky kids who were getting on each others' nerves. It kept raining off and on and we were stuck inside.

Friday - I'm sure we did something on this day, but I have no notes.

Saturday we headed to The Works with the kids. It was a great morning for it because we nearly had the place to ourselves. Most of the kids spent their time in the tech center taking apart different donated machines. The youngest kids spent time in the little kid play area with me. It is full of costumes, puppets, and pretend play areas (firetruck, science lab, grocery, ice cream shop, puppet stage).

Sunday we had a peaceful day at church where even the littlest ones managed to make it through the first hour of services (family service). I began a new calling today, secretary in the Primary (children's church). That means I get to spend time with the large group of children we have at church. It is such a sweet place to be, hearing them learn and testify of what they know to be true, as well as enjoying the singing time.

Monday we started the week of daily rain. The kids are NOT impressed. Most of them only have one pair of shoes, so they can't play outside in the mud and ruin their only pair of shoes. We're stuck inside. That means trying to find different fun things to do each day.

Tuesday's fun activity laid out on the table after breakfast was exploring our rock collections. The kids did their summer reading and math time, then play ensued until lunch. Then the day took a downward dive because Samuel threw up. Vomit is a large family mom nemesis, because it increases cleaning, laundry, and work.

Wednesday is a blur because I was up all night Tuesday with sick kids, sick myself, and tired. Half the family was in various states of being sick, though vomit was limited.

It is Thursday morning. I dropped Joseph and Emma off at the church to travel to youth conference (they are in the non-sick half of the family). They will return on Saturday. It is raining and I'm still tired. We're about 25 hours out from the last person throwing up, but I still have a handful of people who haven't gotten sick yet, so that may change. Today will probably be a day of movies while people lay around in various states of illness. I think today will be a great day to watch Newsies.

June 2nd - June 10th

Our Sunday began as it usually does, with church. The rhythms is an anchor to our week and I always some away refreshed. Even if keep 10 children engaged and relatively quiet during worship sometimes means I hear less of the service than I would like.

Quick picture of the family at 

Makayla's seminary graduation.

After a quick lunch at home we headed to the stake center (larger church building 30 minutes away where groups of congregations meet together for various events) for Makayla's seminary graduation. Seminary is a 6am scripture study class with other teens that Makayla has attended throughout high school.

Monday was our usual get-all-the-things-done day before daddy's work week begins on Tuesday. Rebekah and Jason each had doctor appointments, there was grocery pickup, errands to run, a couple hours outside enjoying a random cool weather day, Makayla working the farm in the morning, college work for Daddy, chores, cooking, cleaning, and the usual medical care for Mason.

Fortresses

Tuesday morning I was tired from the get go. Rebekah is getting in her first molars, and she did not sleep well, so neither did I. Our day's plans were very at home and relaxed. The kids read, played built fortresses out of bunk beds, and enjoyed our train set. They also had piano lessons.

Birdwatching window at the nature center

Wednesday Makayla headed off to work at the farm as usual. Rain was in the forecast but I decided to see if we could sneak in a visit to the arboretum. I packed up 9 kids and by the time we arrived it was raining. We decided to start in the nature center basement where there are displays, toys, books, turtles in tanks, a nature table with things to explore, and a giant bird watching area. We had the entire place to ourselves and saw so many birds and chipmunks! Once the rain slowed we headed back out to the van and headed down some of the auto trails to explore. Our mission today: look for leaves and bark to find differences.

Thursday was a bit shuffled around because we switched Mason's physical therapy time to mornings for summer. After getting everyone up, fed, and moving on their day, I took off with Mason, leaving the kids in Makayla's capable hands. Next week his therapy group moves into a new building that has an actual pediatric therapy room. We're excited for more space!

Daddy dropped the borrowed van off at the mechanic shop for an oil change and to have the a/c fixed.

This week we decided to start introducing the kids to some old shows, mainly musicals. Today we watched My Fair Lady. It was a hit with several kids.

Friday was a quiet, at home day while Makayla worked both jobs, using my van, and Daddy had the car for work. In the evening we were able to pick up the borrowed van from the mechanic shop, so we now have 3 vehicles for the summer. It is a huge blessing! We finished off the evening watching The King and I with Makayla.

Saturday morning I browsed a cookbook I borrowed from the library, jotted down a few recipes, and made a short shopping list for ingredients we didn't already have. Joseph was my shopping buddy this week. The cookbook recipes all an Instant Pot, which I already have and use occasionally. Here are the recipes we'll be trying in the next 2 weeks:

• Vegan Fajita Bowl - Made on Sunday, added chicken as an option. Yum.
• Cilantro Lime Rice - Made on Sunday. Yum.
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Beef and Broccoli 
• Salty Baked Potatoes - Made on Saturday. Yum.
• Super Simple Chili
• Fire Roasted Beef Stew - Making this tonight (Tuesday)

Sunday began with church. A few of the boys were teaching or giving talks, which is always fun. In the evening we celebrated Makayla's upcoming 18th birthday with family. We had root beer floats and sherbet floats, talked, laughed, and just enjoyed time together.

Monday's forecast was rain, cooling off the temperatures, so we planned an afternoon trip to the zoo. We had a great time exploring three sections of the zoo: North America, Heart of Africa, and Polar Frontier. The kids were thrilled because we finally were able to feed the giraffes, an activity that has been on our wishlist for over a year.

Monday also was special because it was my 19th wedding anniversary! I have been married for half my life now to this wonderful man!

Summer Notes: May 23rd -June 1

Thursday we had a lovely thunderstorm kick off the day. I don't know if random conversations like this happen at your house, but at mine the rain kicked off a conversation that covered the following topics:

• Why rain can be good/important.
• Why too much rain can be bad.
• Forest fires/dry grass fires.
• The Paradise fire.
• Serving others.
• Fire safety (ex: crawl to get under the smoke, don't hide under beds or in closets - get out.)
• Birds and worms after rain.

Friday Makayla headed off early in the morning to work at a local farm. She's now working two jobs - the farm in the mornings until lunch, and then the bakery in the afternoon until dinner. This is our new normal until she heads to college in the fall, which leaves me van-less and complicates all appointments for Mason. We're trying to work it out.

Saturday we figured out the vehicle situation - found one to borrow for the summer from extended family. We will get it in a week or two. Saturday was busy because it was Makayla's graduation party. She and a friend had a party together with a cookout, snow cones, and lots of food to prepare. I loved sharing the party with another family because it made the workload lighter!

Sunday Church. Quiet. Recovery. Family. In other words, all the good things!

Monday was Memorial Day. We talked with the kids about the holiday, went through all 10 kids clothing to switch from spring to summer (removing long sleeves/pants, bringing out shorts/short sleeves, etc). I made a list of everything we didn't have and needed to buy for various kids in their individual sizes, then hit WalMart for sale prices. The next thing to look at is shoes for everyone...sigh.
We went to my sister's home for a cookout, trampoline jumping, and a sprinkler. So much fun!

Tuesday my sister took Joseph to the orthodontist to get braces adjusted (thank you sister!) while Makayla worked and had my van. The home life included reading and playing games together.

The kids are all happily doing their summer reading and coloring in their charts, creeping toward the reward of a frosty. Joseph, Emma, and Daniel each finished the book they were working on and moved to a new book. Joseph and Daniel chose Framed by James Ponti as their next read. Emma chose Here There Be Dragons by James A Owen. Oliver is still working through Howliday Inn by James Howe. Caleb is on the last reader for All About Reading level 3. Mason is on the last reader for All About Reading level 4. Samuel is on the second reader on All About Reading level 1.

Many of them are also cheerfully doing Musical Multiplication from The Good and the Beautiful. This, quite literally, takes 5 minutes.

Wednesday I managed to take no notes.

Thursday we had book club with friends. We actually never finished reading the book, unusual for us. Beauty just didn't catch my kids. It happens! We had a wonderful time with friends.

Friday Several boys asked about some new to us math books that arrived in the mail this week and have been sitting by my computer. It was a lovely opening to introduce them to another aspect of our summer math review/maintenance. We will be exploring these books by Edward Zaccaro:

• Primary Grade Challenge Math
• Upper Elementary Challenge Math
• Read World Algebra

I love the thought on the cover of one of these books: "Math is often taught as all scales and no music. This book contains the music!" These books are explorations of math in a fun, thoughtful, and challenging way. Each chapter teaches concepts with fun stories and illustrations, then has 4 levels of questions from basic to Einstein. You should have seen my boys asking for one more question over breakfast, or a question from the next level. So fun! The Algebra book will be used more during the school year for Joseph and Emma, whenever they ask "when will I ever USE algebra?", because the entire point of the book is showing just how often real life has us using algebra. 

The other highlight for Friday was a library trip to restock our shelves with new books. We ended up with books about weather, big machines, tractors, different forms of energy production, Harry Potter, the Oregon Trail, optical illusions, some cookbooks, and a family that spent a year sailing together.

It is Saturday morning and we have a couple graduation parties to attend today. I'm hoping to get some work done on portfolios, and the bathrooms could use a good cleaning.