All I got . . .

School's out, school's out; teachers let the monkeys out!

And they are all at our house!

The middle of June has arrived already, much to my disbelief.

And now it is nearly midnight as I sit down to catalog some of the activities of the past two weeks - I've got nothing of importance to say, except to type up a quick review of happenings for the family members who aren't on facebook who read this blog.

School ended June 13th. Prior to that we had the end of school awards ceremonies. An eighth grade graduation. A track awards banquet. A middle school concert. Graduation and confirmation parties. Multiple going away parties. A ketchup birthday party. Gifts to buy for graduates, confirmands, teachers, an eight year old birthday girl and party favors for her guests. A fourth grade play about the gold rush. A walkathon. A field day.

And I got my hair cut. The baby got shots. The kids all got good report cards and awards for academic excellence. The oldest got a job as a life guard and an award for being a faith leader on the track team. The second oldest got elected class president. The third oldest got an award for being a faith leader for the eighth grade. So did the second grader. The sixth grader received an award for exemplifying the school mission statement.

The older kids had physicals, but the younger kids still need them. All the kids need to see the dentist. The big car needs new tires. The newly minted lifeguard needs plain navy sweats.  The newly born nephew and goddaughter need gifts - some sort of acknowledgement celebrating their birth.The kids all need new books for summer reading lists. I need to do a lot of laundry and organizing and travel preparation.

Listmaking.  It saves me.

In a few more days we depart for our summer travels. We are leaving in waves. A couple days ago, one son left for a mission trip to New Mexico with the youth group.  Before he returns a group of us will fly away to see the grandparents; a few days later the rest of the fam will follow in the car. We'll spend a couple weeks visiting grandparents and cousins and enjoying the deep green of a midwestern summer, and then we'll all drive home together over a period of three days, most likely, unless something comes up. Hoping to spend a day at the Grand Canyon on the way.

 Before we pack up we have been trying to have a little summer fun with friends: the beach, the park, the bowling alley.  It has been fun, but it has prevented me from getting ready, or getting words out.

I'm looking forward to our trip back to the Midwest in order to have a vacation from life and from the kids' requests to be entertained. I'm sure they will still complain about being bored, although I don't know how they can do so with impunity. I can barely find time to breathe after running them around.  The end of the school year is second only to Christmas on the busyness scale.

And now for your entertainment: I've got a bunch of baby pictures.

This kid's got to get a better haircut.

Baby's got a swimsuit and a belly.

We're losing our heads around here.

Got ketchup?

This baby is in the 97th percentile for height, weight,
and head circumference, as you might guess by the chins and cheeks.

He's got poison oak from a backpacking trip. 

Baby's got a mustache.