Ahhh, Summer!

Summer is officially here, and my house reflects it!  I love having my kids home from school, the relaxed schedule, and beautiful break from homework and tests.  But I am not a fan of the constant messes.  Guess I need to do more training! 




And that pile of school stuff on the floor?  It's still there..... My kids keep saying they want it.  I always leave it out for awhile and then throw it away.  Yes kids, if you are reading this, it will get thrown away.  Dun dun dun.....


We've enjoyed some fun summer outings thus far.  One night we drove up to Massanutten with the intent to do a hike, but we decided to do a drive instead and stopped at an overlook.  What a gorgeous picture Lee captured.










I love trips to the pool!


We also gave away our piano this summer.  Our piano tuner said it wasn't worth tuning again.  Lee bought it off of Craigslist in Missouri for $50 back in about 2010?  It has served us well.  We are hoping to replace it soon.  We were grateful that some people came and picked it up.  This piano weighs around 600 pounds or so!


Out she goes!  They successfully moved it out of the house without scratching the wood floors.




Lee and I went to a scout gala and auction one weekend for a date. I had fun wearing my new wedges.  I've never owned a pair before.


The scout fundraiser was at a vineyard.  Aside from being very windy it was a pretty evening.






A lady that I was acquainted with from the PTA was there, along with her husband.  We chatted for a little bit and they sat with us at a table for dinner.  I enjoyed visiting with them and meeting her husband.


We may have started a new tradition. Early one morning we went up to Shenandoah National Park again for an early morning hike.  I dubbed it the "breakfast hike".  We left about 6:15 from our house and arrived back home about 8am.  We did the Bearfence hike. 




Gorgeous views!


Looking at the picture I agree...they are too close to the edge!






Heart rock on the trail.  At this point we were on the Appalachian Trail that took us back to the parking area.






Hope all of you are enjoying your summer! It seems like school has been out for awhile which is great because summer will be over before I know it!

Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Lee!  No, you didn't miss it.  Actually, you have a few days left to plan that special something for your favorite Dads in you life!  Because of our schedule we won't be able to properly celebrate this special day with Lee, so we decided to hold it a week early.

Lee is very easy to please for breakfast.  He LOVES cereal.  I mean, REALLY loves cereal.  He quite enjoyed having cream on his cereal Sunday morning too. 


Some of the kids made cards and Haley made a banner (with a little help from me).


Something else Lee likes is Oreos, though you can't really see them here.  But he loves cereal even more than Oreos.


Cal made a cute card for Lee to hold up to a mirror to read it.


Little notes from our kids are so cute.  I love them.


I bought this glasses holder back in March in Ellicott City, Maryland.  It's one of those things that when I saw it, "Lee" was written all over it.




The kids thought it was pretty cute too.




Lee and his kiddos!  He'll have to tell you what he thinks about fatherhood, but I know he enjoys it and loves his kids.  HAPPY FATHER'S DAY LEE!!!  We've had our ups and downs, but it sure it great being married to my best friend.


That Sunday we visited a friend in a nursing home while Lee was at meetings.  We saw a bunch of carriages heading home, I suppose.  I'm guessing an old order Mennonite church had recently finished their services.


That night Cal and Clark had a court of honor.  Cal's first as a new boy scout!


Clark completed Star rank! YAY!  He also was in charge of conducting the presentation and retiring of the colors, and handing out advancements.  He is the Senior Patrol Leader!  I received mother's pins from both boys. I have this nifty ribbon "necklace" that the boys can pin their pins onto, instead of my shirt.  Cal also helped post and retire the colors. 


And thanks to an 11 year-old scout camp and Cal's awesome scout leader, he was able to get Scout Rank right away.  The new scouting requirements are harder and more involved.  I am glad Clark's requirements aren't as difficult.  Wonder if it will change before Elden enters or not.  Whatever book you start with in Scouts is the one you stay with the whole way through.  They came out with new books, which included new requirements late last year. 


Overall it was a nice Sunday.  A young man received his Eagle Scout at the court of honor also.

Again, Happy Father's Day Lee!  And a big happy Father's Day to my dad and father-in-law.  We're so blessed from all they taught us about work, service, and loving the Lord. 

Cal's 11th Birthday

Wow, Cal turned 11!  I can't believe my cute guy is headed to middle school this fall.  He is officially in boys scouts now too!  Cal's birthday fell on the last day of school, and on the last day of piano lessons for the school year.  He didn't mind it being on the last day of school so much, but was not excited about piano lessons.  Thankfully our teacher is flexible with things like this and Clark and Cal had their "last" lesson the day before.  That same afternoon we picked up Cal's birthday cake that my friend Beth made.  We won a certificate for a cake at an auction to raise money for the young women in our ward for a week-long summer camp.  I asked Cal if he wanted to redeem the certificate for his birthday cake and he readily agreed.  I must say, it was so nice picking up a cake!  His birthday was very easy and simple for me!


The morning of his birthday the girls and I snuck out the back door and headed to school to decorate Cal's locker.  We all enjoyed doing that. 






I made sure there were 11 balloons.


I went back home and Cal and Elden did notice at all that we had left.  I walked upstairs to the 5th grade hall with Cal.  When he saw his locker he said "Now I'm embarrassed."  So funny.  He did think it was kind of cool too.


The last day of school the teachers and some of the parents put on a big picnic for the 5th graders.  During the picnic one of the girls in Cal's class had every 5th grader sing to Cal.  They were all in a big circle with Cal in the middle.  I thought that was so sweet.  Cal enjoyed that too. 


We had a fun little family party that evening.  The Frankes were able to come too.








Haley gave Cal a manila envelope filled with a bunch of cut up pieces of paper--like confetti--that she cut up using the cutting board. Inside with the confetti she put in a little stuff blue bear and a bookmark.  Not exactly sure what Cal thought about the present, but Haley loves to give presents and it was sweet of her to think of him.


Cards from the grandparents!  Always something my kids look forward too!


We gave Cal a boomerang.


A Lego set.


And because we don't have enough Legos already, another Lego set.  I admit, I love Legos and I'm sure we'll be buying more and more for years. 


The Frankes gave Cal two fun model size Star Wars ships, which he likes.  We had fun eating and visiting.  Cal loved putting together his Lego sets.  As you saw in a previous post we also went down to the river that afternoon too, and Cal and Elden played outside a little with the hose and the trampoline. 

I just love this baby picture of Cal.  What a cutie.  Happy 11th birthday Cal!  He's a sweet and thoughtful kid; and still a cutie.