Oh, Where to Begin?

School's been out for 2 weeks now and I'm not sure when I ever thought I'd be able to accomplish all those summer goals! Oh, sure, I've slept in several times and taken a nap or two, but our family hasn't slowed down one bit!

The kids both attended Challenger soccer camps the week after school was out. I was thoroughly impressed with what they learned! The coaches at these camps are soccer players from Europe. Their skill and patience were highly extraordinary! The kids respond well to them and it was a fun camp to watch.

These last 2 weeks have been devoted to swimming lessons. Dylan wasn't too thrilled that I wanted him to take one more year of lessons but he's adapted well to HAVING to be in the pool every day! His goal is to go off the high dive this summer. However.....his little sister beat him to it last night! She bravely went out and jumped off that thing! I couldn't believe it when she leaped into the air without a care in the world! She did it again today in lessons, much to every one's amazement. I'm impressed because I won't go near it!

We went camping for Father's Day weekend. We met my parents, Robyn and Kim and Erin at Lake-Wenatchee_State_Park. This part of the state is gorgeous right now. Unfortunately, the weather threw some pretty heavy winds at us so we didn't get to get the boats out and no one was able to fish, but the weekend was outstanding!

After packing up camp on Sunday, we stopped in Leavenworth for beer (some of us) and brats.

Steve and Dylan spent the weekend at Cub Scout camp while I attended one of my classes. Dylan, once again, raved about the BB Gun target practice and the archery. No pictures of their weekend but lots of stories! Dylan got to go out biking with the Cheesemans yesterday. He came back after riding 13 miles full of energy and stories. Apparently they found a geocache and a hummingbird nest. Not bad for a summer afternoon!

While the rest of the family was gone, Lyndsi got to go to Spokane where she was treated as royalty! She and Nana put on a tea party for Grandma and friends Nancy and Claire. Apparently it was quite the event! Then she and Nana and Papa went to McDonald's for dinner - I think Nana and Papa were exhausted! On Sunday, the 3 of them went downtown to Hoopfest and were able to watch David Pendergraft (from Gonzaga basketball) play. They had lunch at The Olive Garden and played in a waterpark that evening. Holy canoli! I'm exhausted just writing it all down!

Tea Party

Check out the strawberries dipped in chocolate - yum!

The babies got their own table.

Tea Party Guests

Ruth had a bit of a scare this week. She had a growth on her head that continued to grow so we opted to have it removed. Poor thing had a reaction to her anesthesia and had what the vet called "Malignant Hyperthermia". Scary word! Basically, Ruth had a panic attack. That, combined with the anesthesia caused her body temperature to rise so high that the vet had to give her fluids and douse her with water to cool her off. I guess it was a bit of an iffy situation for a while. She's fine now, other than the yucky looking stitches on her head, but she was pretty shaken for a couple of days.

Dylan and I worked on cleaning out his room today. Wow! That kid accumulates junk quicker than I can count to ten. I was pretty proud of him, though. He went through all his toys and got rid of several boxes full. Guess it's yard sale time!

School's Out For Summer.....

aaahhh...... No, no, no! I can't relax just yet! I still have a classroom to clean up, a doctor's appointment to go to, a camping trip to get ready for and a Master's class to read for! The good news is that I can do those things when I want to - not when I have to. Well, all except for the doctor's appointment. I should probably show up when they want me to.

Steve and the kids hit the pool last night. A sure sign that summer is here! They'll be going again tomorrow. I'll be heading to Spokane for my Monday doctor's apt.

Another sure sign of summer is bar-b-cuing. We had the end of the year BBQ for our district here at our house on Thursday night. What a perfect evening! It started out a little warm but cooled off to a pleasant temperature for the rest of the night. Lots of people came to relax and eat. I like that we do this district wide because I get to see people I normally wouldn't get to talk to.

Dylan had perfect attendance this year! It's a first for me! I've never had perfect attendance, neither has Steve. I was very happy for him! My parents came to watch him receive his certificate and pin. They brought him a bouquet of balloons and a card. Then they took Dylan and Lyndsi fishing at Leder Lake. It made the last day of school very fun for the kids.

Tonight we went to an annual cook off at a friend's house. Another sign of summer! Good food and a fun band. Lots of people we didn't know but still fun.

We'll spend next weekend camping with my parents and sisters at Lake Wenatchee. I'm looking forward to our first campout of the year - hope I'm ready!

Grandparent's Day 2009

This was the first year that both kids attended the annual Grandparent's Day assembly as students AND they had a grandparent to sit with! We had a surprise visit from "Grandpa Richard" this week. He called on Wednesday evening to let us know that he was en route from his home in Alaska (which has now been put on the real estate market) to his new home in Arizona. He and his wife, Teresa, would be traveling through Omak either late Thursday night or sometime Friday and he'd call when they got here.

We expected to hear from him some time on Friday so we were pleasantly surprised to get a phone call on Thursday afternoon. He was about an hour out of Omak and could we meet up for dinner? Of course! So, after a lovely dinner at Rancho Chico, the kids invited he and Teresa to the Grandparent's Day Assembly at school the following morning. They accepted the invitation and Friday morning were in the gym with about 500 others, listening to our principal sing, laughing at teachers' tell bad jokes and watching kids perform various acts of talent. They even won the award for the grandparents who had traveled the farthest to be with their grandchildren that morning! Perfect timing for a short visit! Needless to say, this was a memorable day for all of us.

Today was Okanogan Days, our town's annual festival. It's held every year around graduation time. Many groups of past graduates hold their reunions on this weekend so it's pretty exciting for those who grew up on Okanogan. We like it because it's an excuse to get downtown and visit with everyone. Part of the festivities is a parade. Both kids were in the parade with their scouting groups. I didn't get picture of Dylan with his Cub Scouts but I walked alongside Lyndsi with our local Girl Scouts. The girls started out on this float but walked when the trailer flattened a tire. They were pretty funny as they RAN down the street waving at everyone. I couldn't keep up without running myself and I wasn't going to do that! I cut a couple corners and met them at the end of the route - Girl Scouts are always full of unexpected surprises!

Lyndsi is on the far left.