Catch Up Post (Get Ready for a Lot of Pictures)

Summer vacation is here!  I was counting down the days until the kids would be home, and it didn't feel like it was really coming until the very last day of school.  I'm so glad that they're home now, and we can follow our own schedule.  That really is my big beef with public school - that they set the times and I have to follow.  Silly, isn't it?  But really, what I didn't like this year was having to get everybody up and ready and out the door, then picking up Ethan right in the middle of when Becca wanted to take a nap, then having Alyssa come home each day after four o'clock.  Now that I'm in charge again our house is staying cleaner, we're having better, more planned meals, and we're doing more things as a family.  It's great!

So here's a recap of everything.  I think I'll go backwards to help me remember.

Yesterday we went to go pick up our fruit box from Fresh Picks, and we met our cousins at the park, who were also picking up their fruit boxes.  My mom was watching Tallia's kids, so she brought them, and then after we were done playing we went to her house to have lunch and to swim.  We stopped at Wal Mart on the way to get some pool toys and sidewalk chalk for the summer, then we just played all afternoon.

She doesn't like the feel of the grass, but that doesn't stop her from cruising around.

When Brian got home we left the kids swimming for a bit and went to look at a baby grand piano that we saw go by on Craigslist.  It's over one hundred years old, but still in good condition, so we bought it, and once we get it moved on Monday our quiet room will turn in to the music room.  That room has limited wall space, so we knew that any piano we got would force us to move furniture out, which is why we went ahead and looked at this one, even though we were originally looking for an upright.  The kids are already lined up to take piano lessons in the fall, so now they'll have a piano to dink around with over the summer before they start.

Last week we had Alyssa's end of the year ballet recital.  Our summer weather has been reluctant to show up, and it was cold and rainy for most of the day.  Alyssa, Becca, and I went to the rehearsal in the morning, and then we went to the actual recital as a family that afternoon.  We were late in getting there, and we were actually walking up just as Alyssa's class was about to go on, and they were calling her name, wondering where she was.  She ran up to the stage, hurried to put a skirt on and flowers in her hair, and then they announced, "Beginning Blue and Alyssa Jacks," so we're pretending like she was the star performer for their song, even though she was in the back row for most of it.

I had a lousy spot, being the last parent to make it to the picture taking area.  Guess where the recital was - you got it!  The Columbia Center Rotary Charity Stage at WSU Tri-Cities.  You can see Alyssa doing a really cool jump in the background, though.

And this is my camera dying, not special effects.

After the performance.  She's such a cute ballerina!

Alyssa and her cousin, Kenna, were in the McGee Talent Show.  They danced to "We've Got the Beat," and they were so cute.  They even got crazy with their pretend guitar playing skills during the guitar solo.

We went to the cabin to go mushrooming a couple of times.  Brian's parents were too busy to go with us this year, but we still had a great time.  One time we went up for just the day, and the next time we went up for a few days.  The kids are getting really good at finding mushrooms.  We usually batter and fry them, but this year we read in one of the books at the cabin that morels make great soup, so we found a recipe for Morel Bisque when we got home, and gave that a try. It was so yummy!  We kept trying to figure out how much a bowl of the soup would cost in a restaurant, because morels are actually pretty spendy, and we felt quite cultured and cool as we ate our mushroom soup.

the kids on the cat walk

pure joy

I think Ethan is about to say, "Marcus go to sleep!"

Then he just gave up.

I think that just about sums it up.  We've had a couple of summer school days this week after school got out on Monday.  The kids each have a service (chore) that they need to do as part of it, and they're doing a great job of doing their worksheets, scripture reading, and book reading along with that.  I'm really excited about what this summer will bring!