This Week at Our House # 23

1. One job thing I think has fallen through due to money of the company and another is on hold while the hr person working with John is on vacation. We had an incredibly busy week. Ruth easily passed the written drivers exam on Monday, so we went to the beach after that. It rained, but it was lovely. The water was warm and swimming in the rain was kind of fun. On Tuesday, John and I celebrated 19 years of marriage. John and I drove up to the Raleigh Temple and did an endowment and then had a McDonald's dinner on the drive home. On Wednesday my parents came into town and we had them over in the evening and that was nice. Early Thursday morning was Ruth's graduation ceremony, and then we went with my parents to the beach. It was a perfect beach day with the sun shining, a cool breeze and nice warm water. We got to see dolphins swimming. Friday my parents spent the day with us and then drove home. Saturday was the ACT for Kate in the morning and the rest of us cleaned the house. In the afternoon, I finally had a chance to take Ruth driving in our 15 passenger van on the back roads and John mowed the lawn during the hottest part of the day. In the evening the kids were jumping on our tramp and jumped straight through, so our beloved trampoline is dead. Sunday, things got back to normal.
2. I enjoyed my time in the Temple. It brings such peace during this time. I also loved our two trips to the beach. They're a nice escape from the heat. It is always cooler and windier at the beach. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with my parents and chatting with my mom. It was a quick and busy visit, but very relaxing at the same time.
3. Ruth graduated high school, got her drivers permit, finally drove our van, and moved on to the singles ward. I think the local singles ward will be just what she has been missing socially since we moved from Utah. I am so glad they have that here. 
4. Kate took the ACT on Saturday. She had meant to spend the whole week studying, but we had so much going on that she really only had Friday afternoon free. When she came out of the ACT, I noticed her skip toward the car and knew that things had gone well for her this time. She said she finished more sections that ever before including her practice exams. If she does well, this will be her last try. But she can take it one more time in September before she applies to BYU and BYU-I. 
5. Johnny was a big help all week. He babysat a lot and took care of dinners and clean ups and a lot of other things. He loved our two trips to the beach. He swam pretty much the whole time we were there. He also caught a little minnow that he wanted to bring home, but it did not make it. Johnny enjoyed visiting with his grandparents.
6. Adam loved the beach too. He pretty much stayed in the water the whole time we were there on Monday and Thursday. He caught a bunch of mini-frogs and tadpoles that had arms and legs in the yard. There are a ton of cute little baby frogs in this yard, which makes mowing very sad at times.
7. Rachel loved visiting her grandparents and her trips to the beach. She had fun walking up and down the beach with Grandpa. Rachel spends almost all day everyday outside collecting frogs, swinging, climbing trees, and playing pretend. When inside, Rachel likes to play games. She really loved playing skipo with her grandparents this week.
8. Anya had a great time collecting mini-frogs in the yard. She also loved the beach. On Thursday, I took her out beyond the break so she could enjoy riding the gentle waves. We also saw some dolphins playing in the waves and she enjoyed catching minnows in the shore.
9. Joseph loved the beach too. Joseph also spends a lot of time reading on his own. and playing outside. He loved wrestling my dad. I think it is pretty amazing that my dad still wrestles with little kids.
10. Joshua was the most heart broken about the trampoline. We are taking it to the dump and he is pretty distressed about losing it-- poor guy. Josh mostly plays in the sand at the beach, but he is so good and stays where it is shallow in the water or plays near our little beach setup on the sand. I never have to worry about Josh being outside or at the beach. He always follows the rules about staying in the yard at home and close by at the beach.
11. Arwen loved seeing her grandparents and going to the beach. She has become a bit of an oppressor to Susan, so we have to watch out for that, but other than that she still is her sweet quiet little self that loves to cuddle, play, and look at books.
12. Susan is such a joy. I was thinking about how hard these last two years have been for us,but how Susan has always been this bright shining light making the dark days much more tolerable and happier. We are so glad we have our magical little Susan. We do have to keep a close eye on her now-- at the beach and at home. She likes to run away outside and she always heads to the road or the ditch that is usually filled with rain water. At the beach, she will either run carelessly into the water or escape to a different part of the beach. Inside she waits for a bathroom door to open in hopes of getting into the toilet. So she is a bit of a handful right now, but a joyous one. 

This Week's Pictures

Grandma and Suzy have the same birthday (June 19th) so they celebrated together while grandma was here