My summer has been a lot busier than I thought it would be. First my DD (19) left on an 18 month mission for our church. She's in Mexico at the Missionary Training Center learning Spanish. She has 2 more weeks of the 6 week training and then she'll go to Argentina. My youngest DD (13) made a new comp soccer team and we are in the middle of a week long soccer camp with training every day and multiple tournaments this summer. And to top off the list, my son (21) just proposed and is getting married in August. We only have 8 weeks to get that all ready. They want to do it before Fall semester. Thank goodness I'm only the mother of the groom, but there's still a lot to be done between now and then. His fiancee is from Texas so I'm working with her mom to get everything scheduled for the wedding, luncheon and reception here in Utah and then they'll do an open house in Texas as well. My husband thought our summer would be boring with just one kid living at home, but not anymore. It's looking like it's going to be our busiest summer yet! I hope I'll still find some time to work on my scrapbooking projects, but if not, at least I'll have lot of photos to scrap when things settle down. So how about you? What's going on in your life (personal or scrapbooking)... inquiring minds want to know.
A wedding is exciting and a busy summer is better than boring... We are off on a trip to Java with our two sons on Friday - 12 days of being warm - lots of train travel and exploring volcanoes - will be fun and exhausting I suspect. Then our youngest son is doing work experience at our Theatre Centre which will be a bit scary and exciting at the same time. - Lots of shows on during the week he is there so will be a very busy time. So good for his self confidence - next term he will be stage manager for the major production at school (Little Shop of Horrors) - Would never have picked him to go down that path but he loves it. Our eldest is signing his first full time teaching contract today for next tern so that is equally exciting - he has done a lot of relief teaching at this school so is very comfortable there.
We have a busy summer as well. My youngest finished summer school last week (her choice because they had enrichment clubs). She was also doing garden club, nature summer camp (next week) and art class. She did not want to go to our local Y summer camp so I had to get creative this summer. Her brother babysits her the rest of the time we are at work. My oldest started off summer with a week long HS basketball camp then 2 weeks and weekends of practice and tournaments. I'm also shuttling him to the Y when he wants to workout or play basketball scrimmages. On top of all that, my husband and I started a club basketball team. We have 8 players on the team which includes my son. That's been going on since April. We took a break in June for high school basketball programs and are starting our season back up. First tournament this weekend and pretty much every weekend to end of July. We've been busy with fundraisers and getting sponsors plus all the admin stuff that goes with managing the team. On top of all that, we are dealing with a set of non-involved parents which results in their son always needing rides...and now a ride/hotel stay in Vegas. That is a whole another story. And I applied for a job that I hope I get. A promotion. Same workplace so not going anyway. Fingers crossed I get it!
Kayla, you've got the busy summer to top all busy summers. Haha How exciting to have a wedding in full planning mode too. You'll get it all done and it's nice that you and the bride's mom are working together. We moved about 3 weeks ago and we're going to Oklahoma in one week. I've never been there and am really looking forward to our trip. Some of you might remember all of the pages I created from my DD and family's trip to Tahlequah, Oklahoma during Lynn's travel class. My son-in-law is from there and they bought 30 acres of land when they were there. We're all going to look at the property and go to a family reunion.
Best wishes to the engaged couple! My DD still isn't cleared from her concussion so we're taking it semi-easy this summer. We do have a trip planned to see family and I have some day trips I want to do around here the rest of summer. Perhaps if she's cleared soon, then we'll go to an amusement park, or maybe the Boardwalk. (She loves roller coasters, but her doctors were very clear that she has to avoid anything where she could reinjure her head and of course that includes roller coasters, sigh.)
Best wishes to your son and future Daughter in law.... you will be suprised Kayla, the less time for the reception and all the better it will be as there is no time to have people changing things and things will be decided and boom a perfect wedding Me, I have been trying to help from a distance re my 40th HS reunion... I just finished doing all the name tags with photos of the people paid for up until now and pics etc for the memorial montage the orgnanizer wants to do... I have been shopping for my outfit etc... excited for the end of July to go to see my BFF and then us go to the reunion and see other friends... it will be fun... that is pretty much what has been going on. Happy Summer everyone!
@keepscrappin Wow Kayla, sounds like an exciting and busy as well as life changing summer for you. @KarenW I'm looking forward to seeing those volcano photos. All the best to you boys with the theatre and teaching. @navaja77 Ophelia, we don't have the camps thing here really. It's always fun to read about children's camp adventures in other Countries. We've still got another 3 1/2 weeks of school left. Joy is about to leave Primary school. That's going to be quite emotional. That school has been the centre of our lives for nearly 11 years. We will still have links with them as the children are all part of the after school music program that is put on for the more able Primary students and any keen secondary students who want to continue with orchestra etc. Joy's last performance playing 1st violin with the Primary school orchestra will be next week. The after school orchestra have the finals for the National Music Festival next weekend. Then it's all the usual end of term stuff. I'm making a banner for the Primary school as a gift. I did a digital painting for the preschool when my youngest left and it's in their staff room. The banner focuses on the music program and will feature the instruments my 3 children play. TJ is on work experience week this week with the music program. She's got her dance exam next week and her flute exam the week after. For the summer, there are a number of activity options starting to appear on the sideboard. I'm sure the calendar will fill up soon.
Good luck with all you have on your plate, Kayla. I know all about that quick wedding prep. We did that about a month ago. This summer has turned out a bit busier than I had planned as well. I spent the first two weeks cleaning out my house, top to bottom. And this week I've done some babysitting. We also joined Planet Fitness, so I've been trying to get there for a workout about 5 days a week. My oldest left today for CA and will be gone for a month. He comes back at the end of July for a couple of weeks and then leaves for deployment overseas for a year. So... I haven't had much relaxing time yet, but hopefully soon!! We go on vacation mid-July, and I'm really looking forward to that!!
@keepscrappin - You will do fine! I was Mother of the Groom about 3 weeks ago. It was beautiful. Although, I did end up with a funny story about hole punches and corkscrews that I need to scrap. The daughter even got the 400+ cupcakes made and they were yummy! I hope to see the official wedding pictures soon. We left the cameras at home and just enjoyed everything, so far I have very few pictures. So we are recovering from post-wedding busy - official opening of wedding gifts tonight with bride's family since the newlyweds have returned from the honeymoon. Daughter is building benches for her Girl Scout Gold Award. Three of the 8 are done and hubby and 2nd son have been helping her. The garage is full of saw dust. Hope to finish that before the end of July. She is also getting ready for college in the fall. The only travel we have planned is a trip to Kentucky for hubby's 40th High School reunion in mid-July. That will be fun. We are spending a week there to also help his mom prep for moving into assisted living. I know many things will be coming home with us including a grandfather clock. I am also looking forward to a mid-September Scrap Camp weekend in the mountains of NC.
I am currently enjoying being kid-free this week as the kids are off at their grandparents' house. My house is so very quiet! They are attending VBS in the evenings and FaceTiming me when they get home from that. Before they left, we wrapped up t-ball for my son & a week-long Christian sports camp for them both. They will be back this weekend & then their dad is taking them to TN over the Fourth of July to spend time at their uncle's lake house. My little mermaid daughter is so excited to get to swim in the lake every day. My landlubber son is not quite as enthused. All of the pastors are off to convention next week so I will be in the office alone all week long -- YAWN. We recently joined a new church that has unofficial social gatherings here & there so I am trying to fit those into our schedule as well. I just went to a women's Brene Brown Netflix special viewing last night & there's a cookout and some park playdates scheduled for July. I'm also busy with volunteer work -- my local Moms Demand Action chapter, my local Free Mom Hugs chapter, & my duties as President of the local youth ministry program I participated in as a HS student 20 years ago. There's so much good I want to accomplish in the world & just not enough time to accomplish it in! There are some behind-the-scenes things, too, that I'm continuing to work on. Hopefully those will get resolved sooner rather than later. I am really trying to save up enough money to buy a plane ticket to visit my BFF who I haven't seen in almost four years -- crossing fingers that I can do that by the end of this year.
Quiet this side. DS1 is exploring Dublin, Glasgow and Edinburgh for 2 weeks. DS2 is in Johannesburg for 10 days on a gaming thing and DD is home alone, until the end of the week when she will go on a mission trip and the two boys will be home. Good space to be in. Congrats on your son's upcoming wedding, saw the photos on Fb and it all looked very romantic.
Summer is always busier than I think it will be (although not as busy as some of yours - wow!). Between summer camps, vacation (mid-July), planning school for next year for my kids and our homeschool group I'm staying busy...but it's a different kind of busy and I like that. But then again, I can stay busy just making 3 meals a day, doing laundry and keeping the house clean with 9 people living here!
@keepscrappin What an exciting summer for your family! I've been busy with work during the week and then we go up to our trailer on Fridays for a few days and then back on Sunday mornings, to spend the day with Bailey. I've been able to fit in scrapping time here and there and have been reading lots. The days fly by and although I don't seem to have enough hours in the day for everything I want (or need) to do, I'm managing and things are fairly stress-free at this point. A boring, quiet, drama-free life is just what I want right now. Oh, we are binge watching a few shows too. Just finished Stranger Things and are now going to binge Magicians.
I started off the end of Spring (June 8) with a week long vacation at the Outer Banks with my children, children-in-laws and grandkids. We had so much fun and enjoyed the time together. My summer has been wet here in the Ohio Valley so not alot of outdoor activities yet except for trying to get some quick walks for the pooch. I am hoping to get some cleaning/purging of the house done over the next month plus we need to get some work done on the outside of the house (new front deck, digging some ditches to get water away from the driveway).
As I'm sure that most of you know by now, we're in the middle of building a house in Florida. I'm sitting at the airport right now waiting to board the plane to return to Pittsburgh after a very busy week in Sarasota. We had a pre-drywall inspection and were told that we should expect the house to be finished in September. When we get home we need to make preparations to put our current home on the market. Anyone want to buy all my furniture so I can buy new stuff for my new home?
It might be cheaper to buy all new furniture than pay to take it to Florida. My husband’s company paid for our move from GA to PA. However, out of curiosity I asked the mover how much it was and we were all floored. It was so much more than we had guessed... and we didn’t take any living room furniture, which would have only made it cost even more.
Wow, you are all super busy! Our home renovation FINALLY started today (expected to be 3+ months)! So we will be working around that all summer. We have a few trips peppered throughout the summer. Otherwise, it's business as usual.
