June at a glance

June has been, in a word, DREAMY. It has been such a great month. I can't even tell you how happy I have been to be able to sleep in until 7 and not have to rush to get Dane to school, and how nice it has been to have Dane home all day. Dane has been reading up a storm, playing continuously with Graham and Lucy, and has not once said the dreaded words "I'm bored" to me. He hasn't had time to be bored with all of the playing and reading he's been doing! I have been so happy with this month. I feel like this is the first summer in a long time that I haven't dreaded it and worried about how hard it was going to be when it got hot--maybe because I don't have a baby this year so it's much easier for us to go swimming and do outdoor activities. We have swam a TON this month, but there are hardly any pictures of it, so here are some pictures of what other things we did. It has been a fun-packed month!

We went back to Arbor Hills and spent a few hours playing in the creek there. It did my heart good to see the kids playing in the water and just exploring and building things and having a grand old time. They could have stayed forever. 

The kids and I went to the Dallas Heritage Village, which is basically a less well-run Nauvoo for Dallas. I actually really enjoyed it (although I wish there were some of the Nauvoo missionaries there to help explain things). This is something I would never have done before this summer, because it's a solid 35 minutes away in downtown Dallas, and that has always seemed totally out of reach for me. But it was fun and we had a good time and still got back for naps without anyone falling asleep. So it was perfect. 

Austin is staying with us for the summer, doing an internship at Capital One. It is so fun having him here. 

Dallin drove out with Austin to move his stuff here. 

We made it to a summer dollar movie for the first time in 5 years! (Once again, because I don't have a baby!) It was sooo cute--the movie was the new Grinch movie, which I hadn't seen. But there was once scene where they showed the little Grinch being sad because he had no family or home at Christmas, and Lucy started sobbing because "his mom and dad go to work! He needs his mom and dad!" She is such an empathetic little soul. I love her. 

Lunch at Capital One.

The three Capital One employees (or soon-to-be)... it still doesn't feel real that we have managed to get Austin and Dallin here (although Austin just temporarily!). 

Father's Day. Best dad ever. 

We used our Pogo pass to go to Hawaiian Falls a few weeks ago. It was Dane's dream.

Homemade popsicles--another thing on my summer to-do list.

We got passes to the Heard Museum this summer. We hiked around through the passages in the back, and then spent over an hour with the kids playing in the little village of houses. They were SO happy. I'm really glad we got an annual pass. 

So much swimming at the Fun Club!

Dane got a much-needed new bike and helmet (he outgrew his old bike over six months ago). He is very proud. 

Someone was groggy after her nap...

Our garden has been a success this spring! But sadly our sunflowers have stopped doing so well. 

Dane did a baseball camp with his friend Preston the first week of summer. And the weather was so nice that we spent most of the time just playing at the park nearby while he was there--it was not hot at all most of June!

I've wanted to do cooking lessons with the kids for so long, and we've had fun doing them this summer. They've learned how to spread butter/PB, how to peel vegetables, and how to cut soft foods. 

Chores! Chores! Chores! Another favorite thing about summer!

Someone is always very very sad about not having Daddy home.

Dane did a tennis camp after his baseball camp, and liked it even more. 

These three were so cute at Kid Mania. Lucy wanted to follow around after the boys, and Dane and Graham were so sweet helping her around the whole place. 

Lucy's first dentist appointment. She was scared but once we laid her down and she could watch TV and wear sunglasses, she didn't make a peep. 

Texas sunsets are just killer. 

Summer buzzes! I love them. 

Lucy insisted on getting a haircut too. I just moved the buzzer around behind her head for 30 seconds and said, "Good job!" and she hopped down. 

Lucy loves Austin. We all love having him here with us. 

Not to make June sound like it's been 100% perfect. There have been many meltdowns and even one day where all four of us (the three kids and I) were all crying at the same time. But I have really, really enjoyed having more energy and attention to do the fun summer things that I've always wanted to do more of with the kids but have not been able to with new babies. This summer is like a gift for me, and we have made the most of it. There are still so many other things on our summer bucket list that I don't think we will make it to, but we have done our best so far, and I have also made a big effort to give the kids lots and lots of unstructured free play time, both outside and inside, with friends and without, and it has been worth it. I will look back fondly on this summer.