July

Alan, Mason, Grace and I took it pretty easy the rest of July. Spencer left for a week of hard-core running at Steens and then another week at FSY just a couple of days after we got home. 

Grace turned 20 months old while we were on our trip. Here's what I wrote about her:

• Transitioned to one nap/day. Would sleep for around 3 hours after lunch. Could make it to lunch without getting too sleepy but got very bored and into lots of mischief if we didn't get out of the house in the morning.
• Learn to dance by going to Zumba at the church with me.
• Screamed if we tried to leave her in nursery so Alan and I took turns staying in there with her when we weren't teaching.
• Loved having Spencer and Mason home more since school got out.
• Loved playing peekaboo.
• Can point to lots of body parts when asked.
• Still just saying "mamma" and "daddy".
• Loves steamed baby carrots and fresh blueberries.

TV buddies. Grace only gets screen time if she happens to be awake when Mason happens to choose tv for his screen time. She likes to lay by Mason and tries to steal the remote. ;)

We were blessed to be able to attend Aunt Peggy's 95th birthday celebration on July 13th. Teri is always so good to organize these parties. Chris and Carol drove over from Pendleton and Maren happened to visiting with her cute kiddos. Teri took these awesome pictures and shared them with me. We had a yummy bbq pork lunch, watched Peggy open her presents, and visited the ducks in the courtyard of her assisted living home. I have always been so impressed with Peggy's smile and optimism about life. Her life hasn't been easy. Her husband was in the military (Navy, I believe) and they moved around a lot. Peggy always worked as a nurse and I think spent a lot of lonely time when her husband was oversees. They never had children so it's especially meaningful that her niece's are doing such a wonderful job caring for her. 

At this writing in November, Peggy has recently had a stroke and is now bedridden. Grace and I visited last week. She still had her characteristic smile, but was so frail and her hearing was so poor that we couldn't communicate well. I don't know how much longer she will be with us but I'm grateful for her friendship and presence in my life. 

Hooray for summer weather and lots of outside time!

Mason and his buddies Colt and Urijah spent a couple of days sweeping a "dirt-bike" path through the forest. They all just have regular bikes but it was fun to pretend. The track was awesome and they spent several more days riding the trails over and over until they got tired of the upkeep and moved on to a new activity. :)

Heading off to Steen's Running Camp. Most people would probably think that sleeping in tents, running/walking/hiking a ridiculous amount of miles at high elevation through all kinds of terrain, and having no showers for a week would be torture. Not Spencer. I think this was his most-anticipated activity of the summer! He was stronger and more confident in himself and his relationships with his teammates this year and loved every minute of it even though it was hard. They eat really well but it's pretty rustic besides that. I'm glad they have a professional photographer who shares all of these great photos with us! 

Another lost tooth! Maybe his last baby tooth?!

Sadly, the boys have outgrown splash pads so I just take Grace by herself. That's fine for now but we're going to need to make some friends to go with next summer.

Mason started equine therapy at Helping Hands Animal Sanctuary in June. He didn't take to the horses like we hoped he would but fell in love with this funny, cuddly rooster named Chad on a visit in July. Chad isn't a horse but Mason left loved and accepted by him and that helps heal the gaping adoption wound Mason holds in his heart.

I was surprised that Mason wanted to get up early to pick blueberries with me and that he picked almost better than I did! He's come a long way since his days of sitting in the dirt and whining about it taking too long. Haha!

Mason set up a drawing station in the driveway one day and spent several hours out there sketching and listening to music. 

The Robin Hood Parade! Grace had no idea what to expect but liked it once the parade got going. We walked straight down to the festival after the parade and Mason chose to spend some of his allowance on a 3D printed dragon. 

Spencer got home from Steens on Saturday evening and left for FSY in Monmouth first thing Monday morning. He roomed with his good buddy Karter and had another great experience. I am so grateful the Church provides these opportunities for everyone now! It is so great for our youth to gather and feel the Spirit and grow like this. I know not everyone loves it but it has been amazing for Spencer and his testimony and I hope he'll always remember the testimony he gained as he felt the Spirit there. 

Braces, Phase II for Mason. He had been super dreading this day because the original plan was to put another roller bar in to try to break his finger sucking habit again. Alan and I had a serious talk with Mason a month before the appointment though and told him that if he could show us that he could only suck his fingers during screen time and at bedtime, that we wouldn't put the roller in. Mason was super motivated by that and did better than I expected. We didn't install the roller bar and he is doing great just sucking at bedtime now. SO much better than the almost constant sucking that occurred whenever he was home a few months before!

Sweet, sleeping baby! We have another finger sucker on our hands. Hopefully we'll be able to help Grace break her habit earlier with the knowledge we've gained with Mason. Right now is too early to start though. 

Helping clean the church building. :)

Visiting the temple grounds on a Sunday afternoon.

We scored this little car off the Buy Nothing group and Grace was immediately obsessed. We had one for the boys that they both loved too but got rid of it a few years ago.

Mason REALLY wanted to have a lemonade stand and finally convinced me to get the ingredients. He worked hard to squeeze the lemons and make no-bake cookies and then set up the stand with Alan's help. He didn't make much money but it kept him occupied for awhile. :)

Edy Ridge Ward was so good to continue to invite Mason to their Valiant Activities for several months after we changed wards. Mason had a great time at this pool party at the Williamson's. And I volunteered to help just so I could hang out with some of my friends from that ward. It was fun for me too!