I Tried . . . .

At best, we only get 18 summers with our children. As for Ally, we've already gone through 12. :-(


So, I saw an idea on another blog about limiting children's activities during the summer and decided that I would not sign my kids up for ANYTHING - no camps (except the church-related ones), no sports (I even took Ally out of gymnastics for July and August), no music lessons . . . just family time. I've always wanted to have a summer like this, and I figured if I was ever going to do it, this would be the summer before my 2 oldest start middle school and sports & friends begin to play a bigger role in their lives.


But, I failed.


Nicholas had a great year in baseball this spring and made the All-Star Team. He was so proud of himself. How could I say no????

"Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play"

THEN, Ally had the opportunity to be on the USTA, Jr. Tennis Team. U-High's tennis coach is in our ward and has really helped Ally with her tennis. Ally even beats her mom occasionally (okay, I have to admit this isn't hard to do!) Again, I caved.

I'm feeling a little sad because I may have lost my window of opportunity to have a "family summer." I guess my only hope is to try and take advantage of the times when I do actually have all my children together and savor the moment.

Busy as Bees

I love the final month of school. Yes, it's REALLY busy, but there are so many fun activities and events that people have worked so hard to put together. It's like the "final push" before the lazy days of summer. We've been running around (literally!) like crazy - Here's what we've been up to:

TREK 2010
This is our school's annual "jog-a-thon." This was my 3rd and final year chairing this event. Fortunately, the weather was great and everything went as planned, EXCEPT at the very end of the night . . . Andrew and I took 2 cars to the school and when he left to go home he had my car keys in his pocket and no cell phone! We live over 20 minutes from the school. When he finally got home and got my message, he felt so bad that he rushed out, leaving my car keys sitting by the answering machine. He had to go back home for a 3rd time and retrieve the keys. Oh, well - it gave me some "down time" after the event! :-)

Nicholas and Adam each earned medals for "Most Laps Ran" in their grades. We knew Nick loved to run, but we were surprised little brother is following in his footsteps. Way to go boys!



Piano/Violin/Viola
Nick and Ally both had piano recitals and strings concerts this spring. Ally plays the violin and Nick plays the viola. I love, love, love, listening to them play. We often have "mini" concerts at our house and I love watching the two of them share a similar talent.


Arrow of Light
Nick turned 11 on May 18th and earned his Arrow of Light from cub scouts. I was BLOWN AWAY by the ceremony. Our ward has individuals dressed as Native Americans come to perform the ceremony. There was fire, smoke, drums, etc. It was awesome! Goodbye cub scouts - hello boy scouts.



Sports
Nicholas is still playing baseball. But, Ally, Natalie, and Adam had their last soccer games. They all had a blast and are begging to play again in the fall . . . we'll see! :-)

Isn't this the cutest shortstop ever!?!?


Adam's ready to kick off after scoring a goal.

Talent Show

Our school also had its annual talent show. Natalie really wanted to sing this year, so I signed her up. She was a little nervous about singing in front of a large group of people. I tried to teach her the "picture them naked" trick, but she thought that was GROSS! She made it through both performances though and did a great job. She sang "The Climb," which she has been practicing for the last 2 months. Way to go Natalie!

Now I'm off to the store to start putting together "end of the year" gifts for my children's teachers. I'm a tad (understatement!) emotional because my children will be going to new schools in the fall and we'll be saying goodbye to their old school. But, I'll save that emotional blog for another day. Hope you all are surviving your "Spring Activities!"