Summer Scrapbook: Everything but the Party

I don't have too many flashy pictures or super fun summer days to share with you this week. It was a busy week, but not photo op busy. I do have one little 8th birthday party to show you, but that will get it's own post. This post will just be the rest of week. I will not be continuing the day by day replay format after the summer is over so don't worry, you won't always have to hear all the tedious details of our daily lives.

Monday July 19th

Monday I scheduled a Primary meeting at the same time as piano lessons. Oops. We rescheduled last minute, when Alyssa showed me her daily schedule and I saw piano lessons on there. We ran to piano and then off to the meeting. When we got there Alyssa made sure to tell my friend, Andra, that the meeting was throwing her off her schedule for the day. Don't my kids have lovely manners? We blabbed it up for a couple hours and hopefully accomplished...something? Either way, my kids had a blast since there were 10 kids running wild while we met. I really should hang out with my church friends more often.

Photo not available.

Tuesday July 20th

Tuesday we actually did have a little field trip with the Hawleys...to kids bowl free. I can't believe they let you bowl 2 games per day. It was packed in there and as people were waiting for a lane our little goofballs hogged up their lane for 3 hours. You do have to pay $1.50 for shoe rental, but still a great deal. And we figured out where they make their money. At the snack bar. All the kids cared about was getting a snack.

Little bitty bowling shoes. I wanted to keep them. I didn't.

Chloe broke 100. Of course she was using the ramp, but still...she broke 100 on her first attempt at bowling. I have never broken 100.

Tuesday Alyssa also started Activity Days. The church girls 8-11 go to Activity Days twice a month. I was the Activity Days leader for the first two years we lived here. Alyssa would watch me plan activities and has been itching to be old enough ever since. She loved it. What's funny is that as we pulled up and she saw the AD leader she said, "Mom, that's my Nursery teacher". Nursery is for kids 18 months-3. How bizarre that she would remember that.

Wednesday July 21st

Wednesday we cleaned house and ran errands, and cleaned house and ran errands, and made messes, and cleaned up messes and ran errands. We were getting ready for Alyssa's birthday party and since I planned it last minute I kept getting new ideas and having to run out to another store or two. When Seth got home I still had not found Fruit Stripe gum, so I left him with the kids and went 7 more places and still failed. I came home to put the kids to bed and Seth went 7 more places. He returned with the gum. He has learned that when I say I have to have a specific thing, that I have to have it. I love him for always letting me be crazy old me. My only picture from Wednesday is this.

It sums up the day. Another mess to clean, and back to the store to buy more sprinkles.

Thursday July 22nd

Party day. I spent from 11:00AM until 4:00PM getting ready for the guests. Making cupcakes, decorating, last minute store runs, and picking up the messes I was making along the way. I was completely ready with two hours to spare. I will show you the party soon, in it's very own stand alone post.

Last night after the party, the weather got really nasty. I sat and read in my room for several hours while facing the window and watching the storm. Every minute or so lightning would strike. It was stunning. I have lots of trees in my backyard and all I could see is the shadow of their branches silhouetted against a periwinkle sky. I knew I couldn't catch it on camera so I made sure to look for it after every clap of thunder. Beautiful, and what is more comfortable than being all cozied up with a book during a storm? How about nothing.

Friday July 23rd

The bad weather continued today. I walked outside for two minutes and felt like I had stepped on to another planet. It was so hot and humid that I felt like I was breathing in a bowl of soup. It was so weird that I had to do it again a few minutes later, just to be sure I really felt it. I have never felt humidity like that, or air that thick. I locked the door and opted for an indoor day.

The kids stayed very busy playing with all of Alyssa's presents from last night. At one point Alyssa came and asked me to open a doll that was sewn into her box, even the hair was sewn down. I was cutting pits out of cherries for Chloe so I asked Alyssa to wait just a minute. She answered, "Mommy, it's an emergency, I'm bored". Oh pardon me, allow me to open that for you immediately, your majesty.

While the kids played and made lots of messes, I lounged a little bit and made tin can stilts for the Pioneer Picnic tomorrow. I think I needed a lazy day, and thank goodness for new toys. Some of them were fun. I even played along.

Be back soon with the party shots.