Happy Father's Day!

So, with school coming to an end, we’ve been quite busy with field days, special themed days that the boys get to dress up for, a kindergarten concert, and the musical that Kolby’s class put on, not to mention three soccer games in the last week, a couple of speech therapy sessions, and some piano lessons. It was a busy week, but nice to be able to go to Lijah’s concert and Kolby’s play. They both did great, and were really excited about them. I’m looking forward to Wednesday, which will be the first day of their summer break, and I can’t wait to be able to do whatever we want to all day long for the rest of the summer.


The evenings were rather full again this week, just because I had my regular shift at the family history center on Tuesday evening, followed by our monthly family history staff meeting on Wednesday. Thursday was Kolby’s musical (Lijah’s concert had been during the day earlier in the week). And then Friday evening we went over to the Silva’s for a BBQ.


Friday and Saturday were busy days, because we got a lot done. On Friday the boys and I decided to hit a couple of garage sales before Lijah had school, and we just happened to stop at one where we got one of those large, portable, adjustable-height basketball hoops. Ever since Kolby did that basketball clinic in the spring, Michael has had me looking at craigslist for a portable basketball hoop, but many were too expensive, so when I found one for cheap at a garage sale, I was pretty excited. Luckily the garage sale wasn’t far from home, because I threw some blankets on the roof of the minivan and tied it on top with some bungee cords. We made it home in one piece, and got it set up, and the boys have enjoyed playing with it since then. I did need to pick up an extra screw to replace one on the basketball hoop that had bent out of shape, so after Lijah left for school the younger boys and I went to Home Depot. We found the screws, then also picked up some ground cover for the little planting area in the front yard (it’s called Japanese Spurge, which is a strange name, but it’s a nice little leafy green plant that grows thick enough that weeds almost never grow up through it, and we have some around some of the bushes by our front porch and it was so hardy that it never died or turned brown through the entire winter here, so hopefully it fills in well in that front planting area too). When Michael got home from work, I picked a bunch of lettuce for a salad, we got the boys ready, and we headed to the Silva’s. Our friends, the Purcells, are moving to Idaho where their family is, and they recently got a job offer so we only found out they were moving last week, and they only have another week before they go. So, lots of families got together to wish them goodbye, and it was a really nice evening.


On Saturday we kept ourselves busy. Michael mowed the lawn before taking Isaac and going to help clean the church building for a service project they were doing while I took all the other boys to Kolby and Lijah’s soccer game. They have one more game next Saturday, then their season will end. They have really loved soccer, more than any other sport in the past. They told me they want to play every year for the rest of their lives. And we’ve just been impressed at how much they’ve improved in just the last few weeks. It’s been quite fun. I wish we could let them do the year-round soccer, but the one they offer here costs $400 per kid, so that’s definitely not an option. We’ll just have to wait until next summer (I did have to assure them that there is soccer in San Diego – they were a bit concerned about that).


When we got home, we did lunch and naps for the little ones, and the three oldest boys stayed up and helped us do a thorough cleaning of the garage. We removed everything, then I borrowed the neighbor’s leaf blower and blew out all the dust that had accumulated over the winter, before we put everything back in it’s place and got it all nice and organized. It’s really nice out there now. Michael also got the hedges in the front yard trimmed, and I used the leaf blower to get rid of all the dust and cobwebs on the front and back porches (that’s so great – gets things way cleaner than just sweeping). Then Michael and I watered the garden and harvested another large bowl of strawberries before coming in for a while before dinner. Michael got a lot of good work done on his presentation for work next week too. Then we enjoyed BBQed hamburgers and asparagus out at the picnic table for dinner, with lots of strawberries for dessert. Afterwards, we went for a short walk over to the greenbelt along the woods near our house, where threw Brax’s ball until he was totally worn out while Michael and the boys kicked the soccer ball around. And when we walked home, Brax was so tired from chasing his ball that he didn’t even pull on his leash at all. I told Michael we should wear him out before walking him every time from now on. :)


So, today has been nice. It’s perfect out – sunny and warm, but not too hot at all. I hope it’s been a nice Father’s Day for Michael. This morning we had eggs for breakfast, then Michael opened his gift – a book of the sheet music from the Harry Potter movies, which he played for a while after breakfast, before we rushed to get all the boys ready for church. There were some good talks about Father’s Day at church today, and the boys did pretty well. I’ve got a roast cooking – I decided to do it for Michael today (he usually cooks the roasts at our house). And I think the plan is to go for a walk on the canal around Fairport Village when Courtland wakes up from naps. So that should be really nice – it’s a rather quaint little walk, with tiny backyard gardens that border the walk way and a few little bridges that you walk under, so I thought Michael might enjoy it, since he’s never gone before. We’re looking forward to talking to both of our Dads tonight too, and wishing them a Happy Father’s Day too. We miss being near them, and can’t wait to see them again later on this year when they come for Kolby’s baptism! Hope you are all having a good Father’s Day too.