June Misc

 Here are some of our family's happenings from the start of the summer:

Family Vacation Bible School

Our family had a great time at our church's evening VBS in mid-June. Each night, we kicked off with a time of worship, then traveled to three stations-- missions, dinner, and games. During the 3-night VBS, we enjoyed playing water games, tying blankets and making onesies for a local pregnancy center, meeting new friends, and praising Jesus. I didn't take any photos of our family doing any of the activities, but we did receive this fun tropical family photo from the VBS team.

Ticket of Time

As part of my Mother's Day gift last month, each of my kids gifted me with a "ticket of time," a way that each of them wanted to spend time with me. I loved the individual time with each of my kiddos! Apparently, I wasn't into picture-taking mode at the start of the summer, as I only took photos of my time with Cody. As his chosen "ticket of time," Cody and I enjoyed going bowling together. He beat me handily during the first game!

In addition to this fun outing, I got to take Adley to a movie (Bad Guys) and play tennis with Jaden.

Oceans of Possibilities

All three kids participated in our local library's ocean-themed summer reading program in June. As prizes for their reading, the kids received a free book as well as an inflatable sea creature (sharks for the boys and a dolphin for Adley). They were excited to take these shark photos at the library too.

Noah's Birthday Party

My sister-in-law Chelsea planned an adorable baking-themed party for her son Noah this month. Adley loved participating in the party events. She got to dig for treasures in a pile of noodles, make puppy chow, do a relay race wearing oven mitts, build a creation with grapes and toothpicks, listen to a cute cooking story, make her own personal pizza, and decorate her own cupcake. It was great fun for the kids! Happy 5th birthday, Noah!

Summer Fun Days

For the first time EVER, Adley allowed me to paint her toenails! I'm not exactly sure what she's always had against nail-painting, but I was thrilled she finally said yes. Unfortunately, this cute pedi lasted less than five minutes before she asked to have the polish taken off. Silly girl.

Jaden demonstrated this popular "griddy" dance on video for me after some of my Bible study girls were talking about it one week. Like many other kids around the country, Jaden and his friends often did this dance at school this year. It's typically done as a touchdown celebration dance.

I have come to the realization that my house will probably always be a mess, especially during the summer when my kids are home all day. Sigh. The positive side of this coin, however, is that my children are very creative. This part I love. They are always building, imagining, and engaging in creative play. Thus, our house constantly looks "played-in." Most of the time, I don't let it bother me too much. On this particular week, however, I just had to shake my head. Our family had spent a good day or two cleaning up all the rooms in our house to welcome some company for lunch. The floor all over the house was spotless. Every toy was put away. Our lunchtime guests left by 1:00, and less than an hour later, my kids had the great idea to create forts. Jaden and Cody shared a larger fort in the back of the room, and Adley's is in the foreground. Here are the "after" pictures of our upstairs:

The kids gave me a tour of their forts, and contrary to appearances, the forts are actually quite organized! They created sections for reading, playing games, snuggling with stuffed animals, writing books, looking at their Pokemon cards, and more. They loved their forts and kept the house this way for a good couple of weeks. It's a mess for a good purpose, I guess. ;)

Beach Trip

Jason's brother Jon had the great idea to take a family trip together to Galveston one day this month. The cousins all loved playing together in the water and on the sand.

After time at the beach, we visited La King's Confectionery for ice cream. We were fortunate to arrive at just the right time for a taffy pulling demonstration.

We all got free samples of this bubble gum flavored taffy.

Conroe Aquatic Center

We used one of Jason's Fridays off to visit the same aquatic center that we had gone to for Jaden and Cody's birthday. The kids enjoyed having Daddy along too this time! 

Near the end of the month, we welcomed my Uncle Rick and Aunt Mary to Texas all the way from Florida. They spent most of their time with my parents, but we joined them for dinner one day at my parents' and hosted them one day at our home for lunch. The kids enjoyed giving Rick and Mary a tour of our home and even planned a scavenger hunt for them. The boys read them some books they've authored, and Adley showed them her letter book and country book. Rick and Mary are such an attentive aunt and uncle, and we enjoyed seeing them!