10 Things We Did This Summer

I always think I'm going to dread the summer break because of the clash and clang of people not used to so much togetherness, but it is actually always lovely. The end of the school stress transforms the kids back into nice human beings for this 3-month stretch. We had great time!

1. We made God's Eyes. I intended this craft for the twins but Tyce and Mary made as many or more than they did. In fact, Mary used an entire skein of yarn herself. I think Tyce took a bunch of stuff to his room so he wouldn't have to share. In crafts as in snacks, it's every man for himself.

Only a sampling--they made many more.

I also attempted to teach making friendship bracelets, but that didn't turn out so well and there are no pictures.

2. Tyce started his job at Albertsons at a courtesy clerk. He bags groceries, sweeps floors, and gathers shopping carts from outside. He was a total punk about getting his picture taken but I wanted to document his first day as a real working man.

Trying to keep his face out of the picture.

His badge.

Walking in to the store on his first day.

3. Bryce had a low-key birthday. A highlight was the challenge Mary and Bella issued to him: A Mario Kart Championship race.

You will notice that #3 says Isabella Smith (your favorite daughter).  Hehe. The disclaimer at the end states: Withdrawl before the races are over will result in immediate execution.

4. During chores the boys wore some of my aprons one day. I thought they were so cute!

If you're going to clean you might as well look pretty.

5. Mary was creative. Here are just a few things she did.

A disturbing, meant-to-be-funny dark poem called "Dead People".

A reward sign for the ancient Game Boy she had stolen from Harrison and played non-stop, obsessed over for weeks.
 I like her rewards: butler for a day; the dog for a night; a coupon for a stuffed animal rent; a Mario and Sonic profile and 1 mystery prize; and dragon lessons. Unfortunately for her the Game Boy is still missing...but I know who took it.

The logo she created for our upcoming Santa Run team. The red-caped reindeer are Mary and I, Vixen and Dancer.

6. Bryce took Mary on a Daddy-Daughter trip to Disneyland!!!!!!

Pretty girl in the parking lot. She lost my hat though on a ride.

Classic! Splash Mountain was one of their favorites. Notice, no hat. Hm.

The next day they went to the beach. Both Bryce and Mary were in their element. They were made to live by the sea. And yes, she is wearing her red cape.

7. Tyce and I went to Les Miserables at the Smith Center. Awesome as expected.

Our view from wayyyy up there.

People kept thinking Tyce worked there!

8. Cub Scout Day Camp was a blast. I got to go every day and hang out with my favorite Cubs. They learned about animals, the environment, knot-tying, citizenship, and teamwork. Favorite activities were archery and bb guns. The last day was a huge fun day with a rock wall, a maze (which was creepy and made me feel claustrophobic just thinking about it), and rocket launching.

Cameron on the wall!

Check out how high that is. Cam didn't make it all the way but he did great.

9. The Prices came for a visit! And while they were here Kira had a birthday. 

Birthday girl--7 years old.

She had a giant cookie for a cake. Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

10. I made homemade play dough, Gack, and bubbles for a Relief Society Meeting. I've made play dough plenty of times but it was a my first attempt at gack and bubbles. The gack turned out great--guess what....Harrison made it by himself. I just supervised. It was super fun. The bubbles turned out pretty good but were not amazing, probably because I didn't have "real" bubble wands. If I hadn't used homemade wands I think the bubbles might have actually been just fine.

Cam with the play dough.

Harrison, the never-normal-for-a-picture poser.

Look at that gack!

So that's a good overview of what we did. Now we're back to the school routine and I'm missing those carefree days already. Goodbye, Summer! Come back again soon!