What a wonderfully busy summer! As it winds down, my heart is full of gratitude for all of the family time we've enjoyed. Having had our big vacation in April, we stayed close to home all summer. It was mostly productive with projects and getting caught up around the home front, but we sprinkled in just the right amount of recreation.
Our summer began with a Mom run "cooking camp" for the kids and some friends. We made homemade spaghetti sauce and french bread.
Lady M attended a five-day church young women's camp while J attended a five-day STEM camp where he was actually paid a $50 stipend for his work in science, technology, engineering and math.
The next big project was a room makeover for our new high school girl. She'd grown out of the lilac walls and white daises, so for one of her personal progress projects she studied interior design and started sketching. M did all of the planning and selected all of the colors and accessories, and her room turned out spectacularly!
One of M's favorite summer experiences was a three-day pioneer trek, where all participants lived very much like the early pioneers, pushing handcarts and sleeping under the stars. They pushed those handcarts for some 18 miles through heavy rain, and it was such an awesome experience that at the end of it all M wasn't sure that she wanted to come home!
To cap off our summer break, we spent a morning on the lake, had a family lunch date, and went to the movies.
This was our last hurrah before M left for a four-day cross country camp. She is excited to join high school athletics this fall, and has been running hard in preparation. She's learning about team work, dedication, persistence and working towards a common goal. It is giving her a chance to forge relationships that will carry her through her high school years. We are very proud of her for taking this on and we welcome the challenges in store! We are all feeling refreshed and ready for the upcoming school year.
