summer 2014

beware. photo overload ahead.

well we finished up the summer of 2014 and have begun the new school year. we took 2 beach vacations and 1 mountain vacation this summer. i will reserve separate posts for those :)

it was a very peaceful relaxing summer. up until the last 2 weeks. then things started to break, family members were starting to clash, i found myself wondering daily what exactly would happen if/when i reached a breaking point and what exactly that would look like, it's hot, hot, hot and we were all ready for a little change. i.m.o. the big kids survived a whole month of summer school. they took math classes to help prepare for the school year. the little girls took two weeks of arts academy at the same high school that the big girls attended. i thought it was brilliant planning on my part until i realized they had 3 different pick up times. that wasn't cool. R attended 2 vacation bible schools with his cousin. and i... well i spent a lot of time driving everyone around. and best of all, we had new neighbors move in right next door with 2 little girls. so tons of time was spent running from house to house, putting on performances, swimming and crafting.

 lots of time was spent watching soccer. it was very exciting rooting for the USA. they went pretty far, but were sadly eliminated. we attended an awesome world cup party, had lots of world cup viewing get-togethers at our house, and listened to a lot of world cup talk.

 

D attended a week long british soccer camp in flagstaff with one of her bffs.

baby J and i drove her up and spent the night, where he puked for the first time. that was sad.

D stayed with our friends all week and then Paul went up to get her. the coaches weather was beautiful and she learned a ton! she had some awesome new foot tricks when she got home.

 

we found a new place called nekter that we frequented. it is amah-zing and healthy :)

 

the kids crafted...

 

  and went on pretend adventures...

i was able to attend my friend's baby shower. check out this frank lloyd wright inspired cake!

R took up a little b-ball

L got her first paid bb-sitting gig.

they played school with the new neighbors.  keeping themselves on a pretty strict curriculum...

this girl turned 14!!

 

we went to a make your own donut place. it was pretty cool.

 

this girl had to take some tests at her new school. she was feeling a little caged in her new uniform.

we got to visit some of Paul's family from ohio. that was really fun because we don't get a lot of arizona visitors in the summer. they were staying at a place with a great pool so the kids loved that.

we went to feed my starving children .

after the whole cat "problem" we found out that the kids had flooded the basement with the hose.

insurance will not cover it because it came from ground water. glad that we are getting new floors afterall... not sure how we are going to pay for them.

we had a fun cousin day and went to a new park with a splash pad. 

 my bro climbed to the top like donkey kong.

we had a few mommy movie nights in my friends theater. its practically heaven on earth. the pics don't do it justice.

 

we swam in as many pools as possible.

 

another one of L's selfies...

 lazy mornings...

 we fished and we fished and we fished. well i should say Paul and R and whoever else wanted to go. R has been wanting to catch a fish for the longest time. he watched a wild kratts episode about large mouth bass and has been "hooked" ever since. man did P ever try. he was really dedicated to taking him whenever he could and finally he caught one on our mountain vacation! too bad it was so teeny tiny we had to throw it back. but still....

 

they even rented a boat this time. no luck :(

breakfast for dinner....err wait. i think that's mac & cheese....

 holiday baking...

 whole foods date nights at home...

 

and whole foods date nights at whole foods...

craigs list lego finds...

 museum trips...

continual line drawing... my friend sent a link and the kids did this for days.

scorching downtown day trips...

archery 101...

vbs buddies

a little light reading...

summer hair cuts...

library craft days....

 cooling off with the fancy backyard pool...

 and the back yard dog bowl...

 

and to top it all off, we went with friends to see ingrid michaelson. so fun!!

bye bye summer! i will miss your sleepy lazy mornings and the open schedule... but i am ready to tackle this house that looks like it had wild animals living here for the last two months. oh wait, it did.