Mason loved to help me give the garden a little extra water when the drip line wasn't quite cutting it on hot days. Mostly he just really loves anything to do with water.
One of his daily jobs was to do a couple of workbook pages and sometimes he chose to do them at a table in the backyard. It was a little harder to pay attention, but worth it to be outside in our gorgeous PNW summer weather.
Mason took three weeks of swim lessons over the summer and did very well. One of his teachers even told him that he should do swim team! That made Mason feel so good. He's not quite at the level he needs to be at for swim team yet, but we might do some more lessons over the winter to help get him there.
Mason REALLY wanted to have a lemonade stand over the summer so we let him try it. He had to help squeeze the lemons and sit out by the road. Sadly, I think he only sold 3-4 cups and was disappointed that he didn't make more money.
Kiki still thinks she can fit into little boxes. Haha!
Spencer went to his first stake dance in August! It was actually a multi-stake dance held at the Doyle's big house outside of Sherwood. There were A TON of kids there and traffic was crazy when we dropped him off. Spencer said he had a good time. I had given him a simple dance lesson before he went. When I asked him if he danced with any one, he said that his friends pressured him into asking a girl to dance, but by the time he finally got up the nerve to do it the song was almost over and he didn't even have time to ask her name! Hahahaha! Love those super awkward firsts for teens!
We kept up our annual tradition of going to Klineline Pond in Vancouver with the Holdens. It sprinkled on us for a few minutes when we first got there, but then turned nice. Everyone had a good time until Mason cut his toe jumping into the water. He was pretty bummed and sad after that. Spencer and Sawyer played frisbee in the water for a solid two hours and I had a good time visiting with Allison.
I don't know why, but my garden did horrible this year - like the worst yield I've ever had. The plants mostly grew ok, they just didn't produce many vegetables. It was disappointing.
My Hosta flowered and did great though!
First day of soccer practice for Mason! I only convinced him to try soccer if he could be on his friend Lincoln's team with Lincoln's dad (Gary) as the coach. Thankfully, Gary was able to make that happen and it turned out that Krew was on the team too! Mason was still nervous for the first few practices and wanted me to sit on the sidelines the whole time, but quickly made friends and realized that soccer is awesome!
Last ward bbq of the summer at the Williamson's house. It was a fun party!
Spencer really wanted to play disc golf this summer so we squeezed that into August too. We went to Champoeg and I was surprised at how long Mason lasted before getting bored - probably 15 of the 18 holes! I lost miserably, but it was still fun to play. We also went on a nice bike ride and had a picnic. It was a great day!
Digging for gems in the kit Mason got for his birthday last year!
Chores:
Bricks and Minifigs:
Making a muddy mess:
Mason REALLY wanted a Minecraft backpack for school this year. He wore it all afternoon the day it came in the mail. Haha!
Happy 6th birthday on August 20th Kiki!
More beauty from my morning walks and runs:
We participated in the Summer of Heroes with the Don't Miss This podcast over the summer. It was a fun way to learn about a lot of the characters in the Old Testament, many of whom are lesser known. Plus, I really liked how my garland turned out. :)
Pokemon with Sawyer. I know they'll grow out of this someday, but I'm savoring it while they're still young and innocent.
We had a hard time finding a good evening for our Back to School Feast this year and wound up having to do it the same night as the seminary open house. It was more rushed than I would have liked, but better than not having it at all. Alan and I decided to reuse one of our old themes about the power of covenants because Mason's baptism was approaching and because President Nelson has been mentioning covenants in his talks fairly frequently. We gifted the boys wallets, book marks, and Church books this year. Dinner was fresh tomato soup and homemade French bread but I can't remember what we had for dessert. I love this family identity building tradition!
We found time for our annual bike ride to the temple on a Saturday morning. It was a little warm, but not bad and we celebrated with lunch at Olive Garden afterward.
High school open house a few days before school started! We walked all over the school to find all of Spencer's classes and his locker. The school is so big that hardly anyone even uses their lockers, but we didn't know that at the time. I think Spencer was annoyed to have his mom and little brother tagging along. He's definitely growing up. I'm excited for him though. He is so ready for high school and is going to do great!
Supply Night at Mason's school! He was super excited to get to meet his teacher and see his classroom before school started for the first time. They didn't do it last year due to Covid. I'm so glad they did it this year though because it really helped Mason's anxiety about starting school. He is in Mrs. Sten's class this year and was so happy to find out that he already knew many of the kids from last year.
Pretty nectarines. All produce was late this year due to a cold, wet spring so I was just barely starting my canning at the end of August.
