summertime summertime sum sum summertime

Summer has come to the valley. We are attempting to actually enjoy it. I tweaked our daily routine for the summer to make sure we got our work done but still have plenty of fun. In the morning the kids have four requirements:

PRACTICE-on violin (Emma and Sawyer) or piano (Slade and Nathan)

WORK-daily chore

BRAIN-math, reading and journal

BODY-something active for 15-20 minutes

If they get those four things completed before noon they earn screen and friend time. If they don't finish before noon, they owe me an extra job. Taking a cue from this great essay, I also assigned each day a theme:

Make It Monday

Take a Trip Tuesday

Wet Wednesday

Thinking Thursday

Friend Friday

Finally I started a weekly rotation for their house zones and dinner jobs.

ZONE 1- Kitchen and clear

ZONE 2- Basement and rinse

ZONE 3- Family Room and load

ZONE 4- Living Room and pans

Because it was 75% the same as what we had been doing before, the tweaks have been fairly easy to implement. Despite some complaining here and there, everybody seems to like the changes. We haven't been perfect about doing a fun activity everyday but we have done several.

 We made Gak on our first Make It Monday. After trying two different recipes, we decided this recipe was the best.

Mix thoroughly:

• 1 1/2 cups very warm water
• 2 cups white glue 
• food coloring (Could stain clothing and skin. Beware of blue, especially.)

In a separate bowl, mix thoroughly:

• 1 1/3 cups very warm water
• 2 level teaspoons Borax

Mix the contents of the two bowls together kneading until it is fully combined. Discard any remaining liquid.

They have subsequently spent hours playing with the stuff. Unfortunately, Anne took some into her room and left it on the carpet. I haven't figured out how to get it out yet.

For Take a Trip Tuesday, we took a drive out to Saratoga Springs to check out a new-to-us park. 

 Dave has taken the kids out to Seven Peaks a couple of times for Wet Wednesday. It didn't matter that Wet Wednesday actually happened on Monday. Sawyer is participating in a boys' summer group on Thursdays. When it was our turn we made our own bouncy balls (which was a failure), played with dry ice, painted the driveway with water, and ate cookies.

One month of the summer is almost over and I am still feeling optimistic about surviving the next two. There are plenty of big trips/camps still to enjoy, and with our plan even the every day stuff is filled with good memories.

last days of summer

On Monday, we enjoyed a barbecue in the park for Dave's work. It was a thank you for all the hard work his team has done. The weather was lovely and we enjoyed ourselves. Slade and I had a sword fight with Nerf swords. The boys flew a kite. Emma played kickball. Anne and Sawyer rolled down the hill.

On Wednesday, Dave and I went to see Keri perform in The Pirates of Penzance, which was thoroughly enjoyable. A good show and a great date. Can't beat that.


On Thursday, we were invited to Seven Peaks for a client appreciation event.


Also that night, I made this yummy six layer Fudge Cake for my homeschooling book club. It was a hit. I also made Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes. Personally, I liked those even better.

we are family

Dave left with Slade and Nathan for Missouri on Saturday, July 31st. They drove to Colorado to stay with my mom on Sunday. Then they drove the rest of the way to Missouri on Monday, arriving late that night. They went to middle of nowhere Missouri for a family reunion on the Daniel side. Hopefully, I'll manage to get Dave to sit down and write a post for that.

WEDNESDAY
We were off for a reunion on my side of the family. I drove with Emma, Sawyer and Anne down to Vegas. We left about 1:00 in the afternoon with the hopes that Anne would nap for a while. Instead she only slept about 20 minutes but thankfully she handled the drive fairly well. After stopping in St. George for dinner, we made it to Vegas after 7 hours. My cousin Shea was nice enough to let us stay with her that night. It was hot especially since I ended up with all the kids in bed with me.

THURSDAY
After breakfast, we followed my cousin Britt on the drive to El Centro. I had Emma in the front seat so that she could help me. It turned out that she was hardly helpful at all. Since I am the one who is usually stuck in the front seat, I completely understand how frustrating it is to be constantly turning around to help those in the back. Emma took her frustration to the extreme though. At one point, Sawyer had peed in his pants and I needed her to go help him get changed and cleaned up. She actually refused. We were in the middle of nowhere in the desert with no shoulder to pull over on. There was absolutely nothing I could do. All three kids were crying and I just kept pleading for her to help. Finally after a long ten minutes she got him changed. Sigh. The drama with Sawyer's bladder control issues continued the whole vacation but that's another story...

the sand dunes about an hour outside of El Centro

We made it in to El Centro around 3:00 that afternoon. And it was hot! 110 degrees. Seriously how do people live here? That evening we met at the church for a-mazing carne asade for dinner. Followed by games led by Aunt Denise.

playing "Have you ever?"

the Lofgreen girls: Mom (Gay), Lani, Laurie, Denise, and Kjersti

FRIDAY
Dave and the boys flew into San Diego this morning. After nearly making it into Mexico, I managed to get to the airport and pick them up. Then we were off to the beach! We spent a lovely day digging in the sand, boogie-boarding, jumping waves, snacking and talking. The weather was perfect and besides losing Slade for about a half an hour it was a truly wonderful day.

We went back to the church that night for pizza, dancing and storytime from Aunt Denise. She told us a few favorites from Grandpa Lofgreen. The kids were enthralled.

photos from my cousin Justin

The down side of the evening was seeing how badly Dave's feet had gotten burned at the beach. He couldn't even stand up. It was a bad omen for the rest of our vacation.

SATURDAY
We had breakfast at Aunt Kjersti's house followed by swimming and visiting with GGma.

four generations

My sister Dana came to the reunion from Boston with three of her girls. Emma was so excited to spend time with Avery. We went back into San Diego in the afternoon. We checked into our hotel and then went in search of fun. Destination: La Jolla Cove. Dave took one look at the rocky steps and knew that he wasn't going to be able to handle it so we traded Emma for Audrey and headed back to the hotel.

at La Jolla Cove (via Dana's iPhone)

At this point, I was beginning to feel the frustration of having a handicapped husband. Dave's feet were so swollen he couldn't put shoes on or walk very easily. There we were in lovely San Diego unable to take advantage of the adventure all around us. The boys were totally happy to go back to the hotel and swim. Emma was happy with Avery and Dana. I was left alone to deal with the disappointment of not being able to do the things I'd planned. Because I knew he hadn't burned his feet so badly on purpose (of course), I couldn't really be mad at Dave. He certainly didn't want to be in that kind of pain. I just had to get over it and make the vacation fun in spite of it all.

SUNDAY
We went to Sacrament Meeting and then headed over to the Cabrillo Monument. While Dave stayed with a sleeping Anne in the car, Dana and I went and explored the rocks and tide pools with the rest of the kids.

Next we went to the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center. We had been told not to bother going here because it was just so boring. Fortunately, we ignored the advice and went anyway. Everything had recently been renovated and the result was fantastic.

Afterward, we went back to the hotel and swam for a little while. For dinner we got McDonald's and took it to a park. We were unprepared for the chilly evening air though and didn't last long. We got Percy Jackson from Redbox and watched it on the laptop in the hotel room.

MONDAY
It was my turn to make a mistake that limited our plans. I had left my camera at my aunt's house in El Centro. I was lucky that my mom was still there and was coming into San Diego later. We had to wait for the camera to get there so we couldn't just head home. We couldn't go back to the beach either. Unable to do much else, we went to see Toy Story 3.

After getting my camera and saying our goodbyes to my mom, we were finally on our way home. We stopped in Vegas that night because who can pass up $27/night hotel rooms? We pulled into the driveway about 5:00 on Tuesday evening.

It wasn't cheap. It wasn't easy. But it was worth it. We were able to attend two family reunions, strengthen family ties, and make lots of memories. What a blessing.

happy fourth

What's not to love about the Fourth of July? Patriotism, food, family, fireworks. It is truly one of the best holidays around.

We started our celebrations on Saturday with a BBQ at Keri's. The food was plentiful and deliciously satisfying. The conversation was plentiful. The kids were happy. The fireworks were only just short of dangerous.

On Sunday, we spent the evening at Katie's house with the other side of the family. More food. More cousins to play with. More fireworks. Good times all around. I made this layered Jello and a flag cake. Both were quite visually delightful and though time-consuming not terribly difficult to make.




My children promised me to indulge me in a bit of picture taking. One good picture and one funny was all I asked. It took quite a lot of cajoling to get Slade out there but we managed to get everyone in the shot. It is still rather hard for me, but I'm learning to just let go of the expectations for composition, lighting, posing, or expression and just take what I can get. With this imperfect photo, I'll tuck away memories of the day. I'll remember going to play the piano for Sacrament meeting at the retirement home down the street. What a privilege it was to hear the testimonies shared by those who have lived a lifetime in the service of God and country. I'll remember how happy I was to sing and play patriotic music in Primary for Singing Time. We listened to The 1812 Overture and The Stars and Stripes Forever along with singing the traditional patriotic songs. How often can I get away with something like that? Because of this picture, I won't forget that Anne wore the same outfit that she wore last year. I certainly shouldn't forget Emma getting completely upset about the fire started on the mountain above Katie's house by some idiots shooting off illegal fireworks. She was in tears even though we were perfectly safe. Apparently she is terrified of fire. Who knew?

Happy Birthday, America! We are so blessed to live here!