School Time

I love summer vacation and always enjoy it while it is here but then about a week before school starts, when you can start to feel the excitement in the air, I look forward to starting a routine again and having a little more structure to our lives. 
This year I never felt that excitement and, honestly, felt that way for the first two full weeks of school.  I love my job at the school and was excited to start work again but the busy afternoons and evenings, homework, spelling words, just filled my soul with dread and anxiety.  I missed the long cool evenings of summer, having an afternoon to hang with friends or go swimming or just whatever.  Now it's back to bed times and a schedule.  The first few weeks were awful but its ok now.  Homework is getting done faster and everyone is settling in just fine. 

Veronica is a Junior and working hard to get all her college courses done as well as her high school credits so next year she can graduate with her high school diploma as well as her associates degree.  Even with that she maintains a GPA high enough to be in the honor society and enjoy her extra curricular activities.

Tyler is in 8th grade, still says he hates school but I don't believe it!  He is taking honor classes and is in the honor society as well.  He wouldn't take a decent picture so he gets the one with his sisters.

Samantha is in 7th grade and loves having more options on which classes to take and took some different ones so that she can see what she likes to do. She also keeps her GPA high enough to be in the honor society.

Braelynn and Brenna are in 2nd grade.  I kept them together in the same class again this year.  It just makes life so much easier.  After talking to them and last years teacher, we decided it was ok for them to be together still.  They play with different friends are recess and don't seem to compete academically. Their teacher this year is open about the fact that she had a hard time telling them apart and one day they inadvertently wore similar shirts and she teased them about not being allowed to do that so sometimes they ask me to do their hair the same and find clothes that are similar just to try to trick her.  Lets hope they  get it out of their system before they are old enough for it to be a problem!

Brenna

 Braelynn

Annie

Samantha had the opportunity to play an orphan in our community theater's production of Annie in February.  It was kind of a big deal to us, it was the first time she has ever tried out for a play and we sort of didn't give her a choice but to try out.  She did awesome, she was one of the few orphans (besides Annie) that had some speaking parts and a little solo.  She seemed to enjoy it, always coming home from rehearsals happy and singing.

 

bottom row, 2nd from left

 2nd from right

 3rd from left

 Since that kind of stuff (singing and dancing and acting) is very much not one of my talents it was really fun and exciting to watch her be so amazing at it!

Pre-teen

Samantha turned 12 this summer.  Its hard to believe that she is old enough to go to Young Women's and will be going into 7th grade, her second year of middle school. She invited a few friends to go swimming and then come over for Navaho tacos and cheesecake cupcakes.
Sam is so much fun to be around, loves to help out anyone who needs help, is a really good babysitter (the kids love her) and is a good friend and is full of spunk and personality.  She loves to play the piano, run, and play soccer.  She can (and does)  fall asleep everywhere!

She had a little bit of excitement on her birthday, we had the biggest amount of rainfall we have had since 1967, receiving over 2 inches of rain in about 2 hours. It caused some flooding and power outages for a few hours.  If any of you know Sam, you know she just loves stuff like that.  For example, she got her braces put on on Valentines day of this year, got them adjusted for the first time on April Fools Day and adjusted on Brenna and Braelynn's birthday.    It was completely coincidence but for her it was a huge deal and she still talks about it.

We hope you had a happy birthday, Samantha!

Sweet 16

16.  A junior in high school.  Driving.  Wow, how did that happen?
I wanted to do something different for Veronica's 16th birthday so we threw a surprise party for her.    It was originally going to be outside, with lawn games and a fire to roast starburst, marshmallows and hot dogs. A smores bar with different kinds of chocolate, marshmallows, etc.  But we were in the middle of a heat wave with temperatures over 100 and cooling down to only about 85 degrees and no change forecasted so instead we did a float bar. 
Think rootbeer float, cherry coke float  (cherry coke, ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry), creamsicle float (orange soda, whipped cream and ice cream), strawberry and cream float, etc.  There was popcorn, kettle corn, and other kinds of goodies.
I had decorations all planned out in my head for outside.  I rounded up extra chairs, tables, and outdoor games.  I borrowed a projector so they could watch a movie outside.  Red, white and blue decorations made and hidden while she was away at youth conference for a day.  Cute labels made identifying all the food,  it was going to be perfect.
About 2 hours before the party the wind started to blow and it started to rain so we moved it all indoors.  It wasn't the same but it still looked good and she was surprised!  It is fun to have her friends come over.  She is blessed to have a good group of friends.  It makes high school (and life in general) that much better. 
She is a talented violinist, she is driven to accomplish the goals that she sets for herself and has a firm desire to stay true to the things that she knows is right.  She is on track to graduate from high school at age 17 with an associates degree.
I hope she had an awesome birthday and felt extra special on her birthday!

I can't seem to find all the pictures of her party.  Sad.

A Little Jaunt

Or maybe a long hike.  For scout camp this year our scout troop decided to do a 5 day (technically 6 days, leaving Monday, returning Saturday), 50 mile hike.  The boys and leaders were required to carry everything they needed for the entire time, including bedding and food.  Leading up to it Tyler and Joe were really excited but for about a week before they started getting a little nervous.

They both agreed it was the hardest thing they have ever done but also the most rewarding.  The families were able to meet them up the mountain on Wednesday to provide a nice dinner and participate in a fireside.  We were able to get a small glimpse of the spiritual experiences they were able to have throughout the week.  Amazing.  And it was nice to hug my husband, although he didn't smell the best!

Tradition?

Braelynn decided to cut her hair for Locks of Love and donated 10 inches.  It was a decision that shocked me!  She loved her long hair and I really thought she never would cut it.  She decided to cut it just in time for school to start, which makes her even more excited to go to school and see her friends! 
                                                                          Before:

After:

 

Hidden Messages

I came across this picture and thought it would be fun to post.  One Sunday morning Tyler was teasing his sisters relentlessly (like normal). 
Brenna,  who has recently been becoming a little comedian, wanted to show me something she had made.  I came out and saw this message:

 Tyler is a butt

She is not allowed to say that word so I had to hide a smile, gently reprimand her, and send her out of the room so I could sneak in a picture.