Hello, June!

Another week has gone by. Memorial Day was nice. We had a big family breakfast and then went to our church picnic. Last year we went to the park where we normally have it and just played by ourselves because there was no picnic so it was much better having our ward family back this year. We played games and had a relay (our team won!) and laughed and played and talked and it was really nice. Everyone was supposed to bring their own food but I don't like making lunches and we had just had a big breakfast so we stayed until about 3pm and then went home and grilled hot dogs and I made some salads and we had an early dinner sitting outside on our patio. It was really nice. The missionaries came over later and we had a nice visit with them--the first in person visit in over a year. I feel very grateful for my country and the many who have died and I like living in a very patriotic place that honors and celebrates that as well.

Tuesday was school and laundry and we went shopping at Target and the kids talked me into new swimsuits and shoes and all sorts of stuff. Since Josh was working late we even got Chick-Fil-A for dinner. I love being summer mom (we're almost there) who isn't on a schedule.  Wednesday I went to the gym, went to Lowes and BJs and played games with the boys while the girls had their church activities. Thursday was a big day and I felt very good at the end of it because I pulled it all off. I helped Brandon with school, cleaned the church by myself, picked up groceries, cleaned my house, taught three piano lessons, welcomed my in-laws who got here about 4pm, took Lily to rehearsal and Brandon to his soccer practice, and made a delicious dinner for everyone. It took so much planning but I did it all and was thrilled it all worked out. We stayed up too late talking that night with Josh's parents and I was so tired all weekend.

Friday Josh was able to stay home because he had worked late Tuesday and Thursday, which was nice so he could hang out with his family. I helped the kids with school and taught piano and we just hung out and talked a lot. We played some games but mostly just talked. Then I took Lily to dress rehearsal and Emma to her first ever school friend birthday party. She was so excited and had a fantastic time. Emma is so friendly and loves everyone but doesn't have any close friends her age and it makes me kind of sad so I was really happy for her to have this good experience with this girl at school she has really enjoyed being with in class. It was a Descendants party so Lily made this t-shirt for Emma to wear to the party. Josh made pizza and we ate outside because it was so nice, although it was quiet without the girls.

Saturday we went to Brandon's last soccer game. It was against his friend's team (Eli) so Jen and I were sitting next to each other and cheering loudly for opposite teams and it got pretty funny. We joked about our husbands announcing in church (not that they would) that their wives were kicked out of a 6-year-old soccer game for brawling and how bad that would make the bishopric look. It felt good to laugh and be silly and be with friends. Brandon had a good game and so did his friends, Ethan and Eli, so we cheered for everyone and had a good time. 

 

Then we relaxed at home for a bit before going out for a late lunch/early dinner at Kingfisher's. My father-in-law offered to take us out and it was so nice. He even let Curtis get the crab legs--he has expensive taste--and lots of hush puppies. It is so nice to be on the water and the seafood was good and it was a lovely afternoon. Then we went home quickly to get all of Lily's stuff and head over to her ballet show. It was in a gym instead of a theater so it wasn't as comfortable or nice as usual but Lily danced beautifully and I was so proud of her. She is a lovely ballerina and so poised and she has made so much progress this year. I'm really glad she has found something she enjoys and is willing to work hard to learn. Her social goal for the year was to talk to someone each ballet class, since originally she didn't have any friends, and by the end of the year she was really good friends with one girl and much more friendly with the other girls. She even did some very kind things for girls in her class who were struggling at one point and I was so impressed with her thoughtfulness. 

  

Overall the show was very good but I did miss the story (they just did a collection of dances from years past instead of an original story since they couldn't all rehearse together). It was fun to see some dances that I remembered from past shows though and Lily's Netherlands dance was so adorable. She was also a flower in Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker, a genie for her jazz dance, in a dance about the Library of Congress so they had books and kept dropping them and saying ssshhhh--it was cute, and Hall of Mirrors from Charlotte's Web when they're at the fair. That was for modern and it was funky and cool. Noreen came with us and it was nice to have Josh's family there and it was a nice evening. Afterwards we gave her flowers and we ate cannolis and got everyone to bed. Curtis and I did finish our euchre game with my in-laws and we won, which was fun. 

   

Sunday morning my in-laws left, we went to church and it was great to have primary again for the first time. I'm helping out with the piano playing since our pianist moved and no one new has been called. I've been the primary pianist for a long time so it is easy to step in and help Tony, who has been the chorister forever, so we are a good team. The kids still can't sing but at least they can hear the music and say the words. Fast and testimony meeting was really good too and I felt such a peace being in church. My in-laws are wonderful but not members of our church and when they're in our home and see a lot of our daily gospel living, I can feel a bit self-conscious and like what we're doing is weird, or at least to them. It felt good to be back with people who believe as we do and who can build and strengthen me.  We really enjoyed the member devotional with Elder Christofferson that afternoon too. He said a few things that really struck me and inspired me.

Today I am enjoying my alone time and the quiet. I wonder if I'll get lonely when they kids are in school all day every day but for now, I love my alone time and try not to schedule anything during it because it is so precious to me. I went for a nice bike ride and just felt the beauty of this area with its turtles and birds and blue sky and flowers and trees everywhere. I did get a bit sad riding past homes where good friends used to live and I did feel an ache for the way things used to be when they were around but life goes on.