I love that summer is carefree days, happy times. I want my children to remember that our happiest summer moments didn't take a lot of preparation or money. And it didn't really matter what we were doing, what mattered most is that we were together.
Summer is...
Advanced Swim Team 8:00-9:00.
Allan
Liked: Flippers.
Didn't like: Not enough games.
Favorite Stroke: Breast Stroke
Hardest Stroke: Back Stroke
Best Stroke: Freestyle 100 Yd. 1:27.
Nathan
Liked: Every thing, especially sculling. Sculling is when you use your hands in a circular or figure 8 motion. It is used to help swimmers get better at "grabbing" water.
Didn't like: Warm ups. 300-500 swim or 10 minutes continuous swim without stopping. Not enough games.
Favorite Stroke: All
Hardest Stroke: Butterfly, but not too hard.
Best Stroke: Back Stroke
Beginning Swim Team 9:45-10:30.
Joshua
Liked: swimming with flippers and sharks and minnows. Learning to dive.
Didn't like: sea otter stroke - dolphin on your back and stream line.
Favorite Stroke: Dolphin
Hardest Stroke: Sea Otter
Best Stroke: Freestyle
Swimming Lessons for Emily. She finally got brave enough to jump to her swim teacher in the deep water.
Wooden model kits
Daily Work Projects. My windows are gorgeous now and as well as my blinds and shutters. Baseboards cleaned. Closets organized. With a big family, there is tons and tons of laundry and kitchen cleaning. I was so grateful for all of the help.
Bowling with Friends - Strikx had free bowling all summer long for the kids. Nathan and Joshua scored over 100 and had a few strikes and spares. Emily loved taking her turn and setting up the ramp. Somehow, Nathan threw the ball so hard the ball got caught in the alley and the bumper. Good times.
Eating Lunch with Jacob in Dallas and seeing his Office
Wednesday Movies - We had movie parties almost every Wednesday and usually with friends. We watched the Star Wars Series and a few other favorites. Allan said, "I loved them. Star Wars 3 was the best." Nathan said, "The movies were really cool and I especially liked it when friends came over. My favorite movie was Star Wars Episode 3." Joshua said, "Star Wars 3 was the best movie." With a huge bag of candy, the kids used their math skills to equally split the bag so it would last for all of our movie parties.
Master of the Blender - Allan makes delicious fruit drinks that we had almost daily. It was a great treat to cool down with.
Huge Forts with every chair, blanket and pillow possible. Nathan said, "I liked how I came up with the idea and it was big enough for us to do all kinds of things in it." Joshua said, " I liked the forts because we got to use all the chairs and put blankets up."
Spontaneous play time. Rachel loves her siblings.
Nathan LOVES legos and he has been wanting to buy more collections. He collected some Yu-gi-oh cards and sold them on e-bay. A business man in the making.
Library Events - Amazing shows
Programs at Village of Allen - Heard Museum Animals - Rachel was scared to touch snakes and lizards but Emily was brave enough to do.
Fieldtrip Tour to McDonalds - Hugely popular and loved it! The kids said, "It was really cool to go in the fridge and the freezer."
Tour of California Pizza Kitchen - Delicious! The kids loved making their own pizzas.
Swimming and Rock Climbing at the Natatorium - We loved the diving board, played lots of tag, raced in rock climbing, swam often in the lazy river, and went down slides.
Handstand Competitions - Nathan won freestanding and Emily won supported by a wall.
Getting Ready for Kindergarten
Water Light Shows at the Village of Fairview
Twilight Camp - This is the last year for Nathan. He had awesome woodworking projects - a crossbows and investigator box with tray, made a rocket and shot it up a couple of times, caught 6 grasshoppers at one time, loved archery, leather making, branding, bb guns, games (kickball and baseball) and water games.
Yard Work - and attacking the bugs. We removed three tiny hornet's nest and attacked caterpillars who were killing one of our trees. Allan also mowed our lawn 2 times a week almost every week. Nathan and Joshua pulled many, many weeds.
Catching Bugs - Huge moth from the garage
More Spontaneous Game Time
Tons of Reading and Tons of Reading Logs - Allan's favorite spot to read is laying on the couch in the media room. This summer he is reading the Artemis Fowl series and Ranger's Apprentice, Maxium Ride, and the Graveyard Book.
Swimming at our Neighborhood Pool with Friends and Waterfights
Allan and Nathan make a great team of efficiency.
Our neighborhood pool is about 8 houses away so we always load up our wagon and walk. While swimming, a cloud storm came in quickly and started pouring rain while we cleaning up. The kids loved walking home in the pouring rain.
Star Wars Lego Battles
New Flooring
Playing with Friends- Never enough time.
Turning in reading logs to get prizes and new books.
Lots of dressup for the girls
Scout Day Camp - Knot tying, Geology Beltloop, Fishing Beltloop, Water Games, Cooking on a fire, Smores, and lots of family games.
