Summer Daze

Gotta love the days of water and sun! I complain (a lot lately) about our heat and how ridiculous it is. . . but my kids tell me it's because I rarely go in the pool.

Well . . . I've been better this year than I have been in past AND today I even went in on my own, without them asking (or should I say begging me). We had diving contests, games, silliness and just downright fun. Here's some pics for proof and a few extras from the days I spent with my sisters at their pools as proof we've had some fun this summer!

Laying by the pool with my Lady-Lou, watching the kids play!

Kids goofing off!

Cute nephew, David, after a full day swimming

Studly Dakota!

Jonathan is gangsta! LOL

Maddi boo - my super smiley girl!

Maddi strikin' a pose!

Funny Cameron hiding from the sun

My cute nephew, Austin, who "did his hair cute" in the shower. . . all by himself! DUDE!

My silly, but gorgeous, Kylee striking a pose!

My too-studly-to-pose-for-Mom, Jonathan!

SEE! I was there!!

UH OH . . . .UPDATE!

I'm sorry for not blogging lately - especially after I just got back into the groove. But here's the update why - - -

1. I was working at Phx Theatre for a week in a music theatre summer camp featuring Beatles music. This was my first time working for them and I really enjoyed it! The kids in my group were ages 7-12 and they were AWESOME! Our teaching artist, Karen, was a little hard to get to know but we ended up working VERY well together and I LOVED our choreographer, Andrea! The three of us ran a group of about 24 kids and they learned theatre games, basics of theatre and 4 songs with choreography. The Beatle songs our group chose were: Ain't She Sweet, Octopus Garden, She Loves You and then all the Beatles kids (another class combined with us) sang Yellow Submarine. I really enjoyed it but I'm glad I don't have to make that daily commute for a while.

2. Dakota was invited to be on the 10 yr old All-Star Baseball team again! He was excited and really wanted to win. Without going into great detail - Dakota is an INCREDIBLE player! He played 2nd base and pitched as well. He's very quick on his feet and a coach favorite. He got the flu one night and although he dressed out and went to the game, he just didn't have the energy to play. He was so upset and wouldn't leave his teammates but instead sat in the dugout sick as a dog hollering for the team to do their best. He is a vital part of his teams and the kids really missed him out on the field! They didn't win but got all the way to the end of the tournament and the kids played GREAT! It was a bad call by the coach and he admitted it as well. They should've won. But secretly, I'm happy I don't have to drive to Douglas, AZ (a HOLE IN THE WALL city south of us) for the next games! Shhh! Don't tell him though.

3. For another 2 weeks, I worked at yet another music theatre summer camp. But this time, in my neck of the woods. EVCT is a GREAT theatre and I've been honored to have worked their summer/spring break camps for couple years now. I love the kids, I love the staff and I love how close to home it is. With this workshop, I got to pick the songs for the morning classes. In the afternoon, they put on a show that was written for them. I won't bore you with the songs (three classes of 18-20 kids learned 3 songs each) but they all worked very hard and we had a lot of laughs! The performance and last day is tomorrow (well, today now) and I'm looking forward to it. The kids love performing, the parents love seeing them and I LOVE seeing the hard work come together! And p.s. - it's PAYDAY!

Well, only 3 things but they took up most of my days. Some days started at 6:30am when the alarm went off and ended around midnight after kids finally got to bed! I'm looking forward to the sleeping in, chores getting caught up and working on my workout and tan - - all starting next week!

How are you enjoying your summer??

Stay TOONed - details on Colorado coming up!

Bittersweet!

It's the last day of school for Mesa and it's a FULL day! And by that I mean ALL DAY OF SCHOOL - not a half day like Gilbert. And I'm good with that!! :) I get ONE MORE DAY to organize, clean and get my chore charts printed before they get home. They know they are "my slaves" for the summer, with some chores that require time. With school, dance, baseball, shows, and all that life brings, I enjoy the summer in that I can finally get some BIG things done. Among my list is clean the garage, finish painting the game room, touch up painting bedrooms and living areas, wiping down baseboards and doorframes and touch up painting them if needed, and lots of others.

WHAT DO YOU DO TO CLEAN UP DURING THE SUMMER?

We also have some big plans for summer and hope they can be followed through. I am working 3 weeks of summer music theatre camps, scout camp, girls camp, Journey (young women's retreat), Time to Blossom (girls retreat), trip to Colorado, trip to Oregon, etc etc etc. Here's hoping I keep my sanity!

But back to my bittersweet moment - I'm excited to have my kids home, excited to get some things done, excited to not have to get up so early, excited to enjoy some quality time together. But I'm not excited for the noise, the messes, the dozens of kids in my pool (although that is fun!), the LATE bedtimes, the lack of motivation. Can't decide which weighs heavier for me!

WHAT ABOUT YOU??