Summer Misc

We had a really busy summer; it seemed to be simply an extension of the school year, with one thing after another.  We had camps, trek, and family reunion (in a coming post) as big events, but then we had all the little things that kept us busy.  Here are some of those things:  temple sealing of a family and mine and Alex's monthly temple trips, youth neon dance and youth activities (baseball, kickball, kayaking), Lord of the Rings movie marathon, Owen's summer league basketball and football, Jared's summer cross country (no picture), pioneer day BBQ, haircuts (Jared learned how to cut Alex's hair), dentist appointments, piano lessons, Savannah's crafts, hanging out with the dog, and swimming lessons.  We still had our summer task list with a daily morning routine, but I let them make their own list this year, so they were all a little different.  Savannah did pretty well on piano lessons.  Jared mostly was teaching himself how to play the piano and did some consistent practice.  Jared also had a couple summer jobs, working at a bakery and print shop.  He has already established a good daily routine.  I think that may be a side benefit of the summer lists; they eventually establish their own routines with good habits without me telling them what to do.  And eventually they don't have to write "shower" and "brush teeth" on their daily to-do list!   

Owen had 3 hours of football practice on Monday-Friday, although he missed sometimes for basketball games.  He did make the summer league BB team, but he really needs to work on shooting.  We spent some mornings practicing at the church gym.  Two of those mornings, he shot three hundred 3-pointers.  He only made about 50 and 68 out of 300 in those shooting practices, but he did finally make a couple of 3's in the game. They call Owen by his last name just like they did when Nathan was playing.  Even though Nathan and Owen aren't much different in height, they call Owen the "little" one.