Dancing with Daffodils

 It has been an up and down kind of week. Monday we went school supply shopping, which I was very nervous about it since I put it off for so long but we got everything we needed in two stores. Then Brandon and Emma got to go to Petra's pool party and it was nice to have them out of the house for a bit. I went grocery shopping and did laundry and then it was Curtis's first baseball practice. Lily is such a great babysitter and I sat at practice and read. It was the most relaxing part of my day and Lily had dinner made when we got home. She is such a sweetheart and I am so grateful for her. Josh worked late most of the week trying to catch up from vacation. Tuesday I cut the grass and the kids all cleaned their bathrooms and it was a bring order back to the house kind of day. I really had to get after one of my children who groans every time I ask this child to do anything. I've learned I have no tolerance for laziness, either at home or at school, or ingratitude. To me, bein...

 It has been a crazy couple of weeks. Two weeks ago Lily did a dance intensive so she was gone from 9-3 every day. It was exhausting for her but a good experience and she enjoyed it overall. We just found out her ballet placement for next year and she has also moved up a level so that was exciting and made the hard work worth it. I'm really proud of her and her dedication. She is now in level 5 and the next level is studio company, which is by invitation only. So she may stay here for a few years, which is good with me. Every level up means more time and more money and Emma also got moved up so it was a bump in time and money for her too. Lily will now be dancing four days a week and Emma two days, plus the boys are playing baseball and have different practice days so it is going to be a busy, busy fall.  That week was also busy with vacation prep and a trip to the orthodontist and we did go to the spray park one afternoon and the library. Friday was my birthday but I was pret...

 Saturday morning my brother-in-law took Lily, Curtis, Mitchell, Timothy and Abbey to kayak down the Weber river and they loved it. Cindy, Josh, Emma, Brandon and I did a little walk around the fish pond and up the hill a bit to see the views right by her cabin. Then we played games and watched the Olympics until it was time to pack up and head back to Salt Lake. We stopped by my aunt's house to say hello and then went to dinner at Cafe Rio (so yummy--we were all so happy!) and then went back to Cindy's house.     Sunday was church and it was great to go with family. We spent the rest of the day talking and watching the Olympics. Then Tristan (my nephew) and his wife came over for dinner and it was great to see them. We missed Chandler because he was at the beach while we were there and then had to work and Bradley had already left for West Point (and Ethan is on his mission) so out of 31 family members on both sides we saw 28 of them this summer. Not bad! The three of us...

 It has been a wonderful few weeks. I was busy all day Friday, July 16, doing laundry and packing and returning books to the library and cleaning out the kitchen. We left for the airport at 2pm and made our flight with no problem, although no extra time for dinner either so thankfully I had a few granola bars in my bag. The kids all did so well and Brandon especially loved flying on an airplane. We got to Denver about 8pm (10pm according to our bodies) and little guy was really tired but we had some sub sandwiches when we got to Nana's house and then got everyone right to bed.  Saturday we had a nice brunch at my brother-in-law's house and it was great to see him and his wife after 5 years. We met our niece and nephew and my kids were so sweet with them and quickly became their favorites. Then we went to see Space Jam 2 and then we went to Golden to explore and have dinner. Lots of people were floating on the creek, which looked so fun, so we got some tubes too. Sunday we went...