June felt more glorious than ever because the temperature ranged from 65-80 degrees all month. Spring and early summer were done just right this year. Happenings from the month included . . .
Saying . . . goodbye to a beloved teacher. All of my kids have had the same first grade teacher, Mrs. McCandless. This was her final year of teaching before retirement. Ian will be in first grade next year, and it was so disappointing to know we missed having her for a fifth time by only one year. As luck would have it, she and her husband have been in our neighborhood and ward for the last two years. It has been a delight to interact with them outside of the school setting. So a couple of days before they moved, we all went over to their house so that Mike and Aaron could help lift a couple of heavy things into their truck. I took the opportunity to get a photo of Aaron, Max, Bradley, and Clark with her. It makes me happy to look at it and remember how blessed we were to have her give them such a solid foundation at the very beginning of their education.
Feeling . . . wistful on the last day of kindergarten. Me, not Ian. I have loved walking him to school every afternoon, and I'll be sad to have him gone all day next year.
Graduating . . . from elementary school. Bradley had the best fifth grade year imaginable. He participated in all the things (FPS, debate, JA Biz Town, Hope of America, safety patrol, class play, math olympiad). His teacher is one of our favorite people, and it was a joy to have her for a third time. She made learning a marvelous adventure. The school put on a nice promotion ceremony for all outgoing fifth graders. Bradley cleaned house on awards, but the one he was most proud of was his perfect score on the math olympiad test. Aaron and Max both got gold pins in fifth grade, but not perfect scores, and Bradley fully relished being able to one-up them. Bradley's class had a fun pool party after promotion where more awards were handed out. Bradley got the "most fun at recess" award, and I can think of numerous examples of this being true over the course of his elementary school career, from having all of his fellow kindergartners lay down on the pavement to sunbathe with him to teaching boondoggle classes in fourth grade. When I went to the school to pick up Clark on the last day, Bradley walked with me, and I was amazed at the number of kids he knew from all grades and classes. The entire way we were walking across the playground, he was calling out to kids by name and they were saying hi back. He cast a wide net, and I hope he can continue to do so as he moves onto junior high.
Getting . . . back into cross country. The beginning of summer meant the resuming of cross country training for Aaron. They practice in the early morning, which is both good (beat the heat) and bad (no sleeping in).
Exploding . . . with so much to say. Silas' speech is taking off. He is still limited to one and two words, but he has so many of them, and new ones are popping up every day. He has become a real copycat and will try to repeat most of the words the other kids ask him to. He can now say each person's name in the family (much to everyone's delight!), and he also learned what is maybe the most important word for him to know: ice cream. Other favorites that we love to hear: Oh no, O-Kay, french fry, orange juice, dinner, bubble, balloon, Silas' bed, and singing along to "What Does the Fox Say." This is such a fun stage, and we can't get enough of him.
Attending . . . the new Saratoga Springs Temple. It was such a gift to walk through this temple as a family. I had a few rather profound moments. The first took place as we watched the little introductory video. A clip of Elder Holland was included where he says, "I don't know how to speak about heaven in the traditional, lovely, paradisiacal beauty that we speak of heaven. I wouldn't know how to speak of heaven without my wife or my children. It would not be heaven for me." I just felt the truth of that so strongly. I need to be with my family for it to be heaven. The second happened as we walked to the temple from the church. Mike was at the front, I was at the back, and the six boys were in the middle. It felt very representative of our current stage with all of our boys under one roof. I know this time is fleeting, and I took a mental snapshot of this moment. And the third occurred as we rounded a corner in the temple, and I saw a painting of Jesus with His arms wrapped around Mary and Martha and tears streaming down all three of their faces. Tears sprang to my own eyes. The story of Lazarus being raised from the dead took on special significance to me this past spring, and seeing this visual representation of the Savior being with the sisters in their grief and sorrow was so beautiful to me. Speaking of art, the Saratoga springs temple is breathtaking: the stained glass, rugs, furniture, and lighting, but mostly the artwork. There are so many gorgeous painting throughout the temple, most of which I had never seen before. I know I'm taking too long with this little recap, but I just wanted to share one final observation. The temple is located in a brand new housing development. The houses leading up to the temple and surrounding it are mostly completed (and they are my favorite style with big, spacious porches and gabled rooftops), but everything else is undeveloped. It felt very much like the temple was placed there first, and so it was the central point that everything else was moving outward from. Just a cool visual. It was a really beautiful day, and we all loved being there so much.
Participating . . . in band camp. Max and Bradley went to band camp all month. It was every weekday morning for an hour and a half. The bus picked them up and dropped them off at our nearby junior high, which was nice. The camp culminated in a concert at the end of the month. The beginning group (the one Bradley was in) was maybe the most impressive because most of the kids had never played their instruments until camp started. Because Max is in the more advanced group, he had two other concerts as well--one at a shopping mall and another at the aquarium.
Making . . . dinner. Over the summer, Aaron, Maxwell, and Bradley are each attempting to make dinner one night a week. Of course, we're flexible as we have evening plans, but so far, they have made pasta and meatballs, pizza, breakfast casserole, homemade mac and cheese, and Father's Day brunch. My hope is that they will continue to develop skills so that they can easily read a recipe, be adept at using the stove and oven, and be comfortable using kitchen tools. The biggest challenge for them so far seems to be time management. It always takes longer than they think it's going to.
Playing . . . lots of whiffle ball. One of Aaron's friends has been organizing regular whiffle ball games. He has a great backyard for it, and they play for hours. I love that they want to do something besides video games.
Traveling . . . to Lincoln, Nebraska for my grandma's funeral. My maternal grandma passed away the day after Mother's Day, but my mom and her siblings held off on the funeral until the beginning of June. This worked out really well for our family because it meant that we could all go (whereas if it had happened in May, it probably would have just been me). This trip was so special to me. I loved being able to show my kids around Lincoln and share memories with them from my childhood. They got to spend time in my grandma's cute yellow house, go to the UNL Dairy Store, play at several parks, eat out at Stauffer's, and go to the botanical gardens. The funeral itself was so nice. I played the organ for it, and I loved getting to see family members I hadn't seen in many years. We also did a little driving tour of some of the places my grandma had lived over the years, which was cool. I came home with my grandma's jewelry box and a few necklaces of hers. They still smell like her, and I'm just so grateful to have something to help me keep her close.
Seeing . . . animals at the Children's Zoo. While we were in Lincoln, we went to the local zoo. This is not the zoo I grew up going to (my family usually went to the larger zoo in Omaha instead), but in recent years, my grandma went there frequently with children and grandchildren who were visiting her. So even though I didn't have a lot of memories there, I thought it would be fun to go with my kids. It was so lovely. There were so many unique animals to see, and this zoo is meant to be very interactive, so the kids fed giraffes, goats, butterflies, penguins, and camels. It was the perfect size--small enough that we could see everything in just a couple of hours, which was just about right for us. Aaron lost steam because of the humidity, but it was actually a very pleasant day. Unfortunately, we got sucked in by the gift store at the end (Ian can never resist going into one) and came away with a red panda (Clark) and a gray wolf (Ian), which they happily played with for the rest of the trip.
Celebrating . . . Father's Day. The boys got Mike a new game (Chameleon) and Chacos. They made brunch before church (these veggie egg cups were a hit). They gave him a new set of questionnaires and drawings, per tradition. In the evening, we went to my brother's house for dinner. He made jambalaya with sausage he smoked himself, which made all of us happy, not just the dads. It was a nice day spoiling Mike, and I'm glad I got to spend part of it with my dad, too!
Savoring . . . wagyu beef. Mike bought one steak of wagyu beef as his Father's Day gift to himself. He had always wanted to try it but been dissuaded by the price. He invited his parents over, and we all got a taste of it (he grilled other steaks as well). I was expecting to be disappointed, but it turned out to be the most melt-in-your-mouth meat I've ever eaten. It was rich and full of flavor, and just a taste actually seemed to be plenty.
Buying . . . a Ukranian painting. I have started to really enjoy adding original art to our home. A few months ago, I began following an Instagram account called Ukraine Vintage Art. It is run by a woman here in Utah who began working independently with a Ukranian art collector and an artist to sell their paintings. She posts multiple paintings every week, and I was waiting for just the right one to pop up. I loved the citrus paintings by Vyacheslav Pereta, and I was quite taken by one of a bowl of oranges. I knew the perfect spot for it in our kitchen, so I purchased it. I asked Mike to make a simple frame for it, and my love of it has not diminished in the month I've had it. I highly recommend this account if you'd like to add some very reasonably priced art to your home.
Hosting . . . book club. It's always nice when I can check this off the list for the year. Both the hosting and the leading the discussion bring on a fair amount of anxiety, but everything went smoothly. We read Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder. It's the first graphic novel we've ever read and discussed as a group, but it was well received. I can thank Mike for easing my hosting worries because he handled most of the food, notably the key lime pie and Caprese salad (both favorite foods of the author's mom).
Taking . . . swimming lessons. Both Ian and Clark took two weeks of swimming lessons. Ian began the summer very cautiously in the water, but by the end of lessons, he was swimming around the deep end and jumping off the diving board like a pro. Many days, we stayed to swim after lessons. Because it was right during Silas' nap time, I left him with the other boys, which meant that I had some relaxing time with my knitting by the side of the pool. Speaking of Silas, he has been swimming a couple of times, but he's at a difficult age where he's still a little too small for a puddle jumper to do any good, but he wants to move around on his own. If anyone has a great floatation device for this age (18 months), please share.
Continuing . . . my reading streak. I have a bunch of friends who are very prolific readers. I am not to their level. But I haven't read this much or this consistently in four years, so it feels good. This month, I finished seven books:
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe (extremely fascinating, but also tediously long)
Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater by Peggy Orenstein (I can't resist a memoir about knitting)
The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat (road trip audiobook with the family)
Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder (reread for book club; just as good the second time)
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 by Beth Brower (despite never being able to remember the title, it was a fun read)
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (left my comfort zone with this fantasy novel and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially because I got to talk about it with Aaron and Max afterwards)
A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner (devoured this historical fiction novel in just a few days; really loved it)
Enjoying . . . a windy day at This is the Place. We invited my friend, Sarah, to come with a couple of her kids. Each time we go, we hit some of our favorite spots, but then try some new things as well. This time, the kids "plowed" a field and visited the tin shop, both of which they hadn't done before. We finished off the afternoon with donuts because they're so good.
Finishing . . . two knitting projects. Finally! Something to show for my efforts over the last couple of months. I made a cute summer cardigan (this was the one I had to rip out and start over with last month). And I also made a pair of socks--that's my third pair this year! Both projects were so enjoyable, and the finished results are even better.
Eating . . . a lot of burgers. We made summer goals, per the norm, at the beginning of the month, but we cut way down on how many in order to make it a little more manageable. We also made a family fun list of things we want to do over the summer, and one of the items on our list is a "juicy burger tour." So we have been getting burgers any chance we can get, both locally as well as when we're on the road. I'll have to let you know which burger wins.
Moving . . . the trampoline. In preparation of our backyard renovation (if it ever happens), we moved the tramp to the side of our house. Mike insisted they could move it without taking it apart, which they actually did do successfully, but it was quite a crazy sight. See below:
Walking . . . a lot. Along with dieting (which I mentioned last month), Mike and I are also trying to get in more steps each day. So I take the opportunity to walk anytime I can: to the bus stop for band camp, wagon rides for Silas, morning walks with friends, evening walks after dinner, marching back and forth across a hotel room as a last resort (which I did when we were traveling in Nebraska). It's easy to want to walk when the weather is so pleasant.
Having . . . cousins over. One of Mike's sisters went on trek with her husband and oldest son, so we got to have their other four kids at our house for one of the days. They are such easygoing, helpful kids that it almost didn't feel like we had anyone extra. My kids loved having cousins to play with, and Evelyn and Charlotte even got to participate in a little neighborhood kids' camp that Ian and Clark had been going to all week. We also went to the pool, although the boiler was broken, which meant the water temperature was quite chilly.
That's it for another month. Time is flying. I wish summer would last forever. The end.
