Summer Madness!

There's no way I could possibly detail everything that has happened in the past month without this being the longest blog post ever, so I'm going to have to leave a bunch of stuff out and just give the bare-bones version because we have had a BUSY month!

First of all, Shawn and I celebrated 11 years of marriage! We elected to stay home and do something we've never done before- fondue! We bought a fondue pot and had a 3 course meal. It was delicious, even though our kids would NOT leave us alone! Unfortunately, them "bugging us" is something I'll always remember of that night. We had all these ideas of how romantic and fun it would be yet the annoyance we felt towards the kids is seared in my memory forever, haha!

Second- the kids had their last day of school! It was the BEST feeling! We have missed out on that feeling for 2 years now.  In 2019 the school year had to end abruptly (and without warning) because of the historic flooding that shut us down. Then, in 2020 some little virus called "Covid-19" shut us down. So even though the school year was crazy and unconventional it ENDED normally! We celebrated with big jumps for joy and Lucy was picked up in a Limousine to go to a party with a bunch of her girlfriends. So fun!

Lucy on her 1st and LAST day of 4th Grade!

Piper on her 1st and LAST day of 2nd Grade!

Sully on his 1st and LAST day of Pre-K!

 Next- The girls go to their annual Tennis Camp. They LOVE this annual Tennis camp that they go to, but they never choose to persue Tennis at any other time of the year.  It's a bummer because I LOVE watching them play tennis, but it is what it is.

After that, we sent the girls to a week-long overnight camp called New Life Ranch! Overnight camps here in Oklahoma and Texas are HUGE!  All the kids go- there are SO many to choose from.  They're amazing. Truly amazing!  Now, this camp they went to is one of the best, but it's also one of the most expensive. No way we could afford something like that....unless.... we apply for a "scholarship."  Yes! They do what they call Scholarships for families who want to go but can't afford it. I applied, not thinking we'd be approved, but we were! The application process was LONG and I truly did NOT think we'd get assistance so I didn't even mention it to the girls in case we were denied. But we got the green light 3 weeks before camp and we only had to pay a quarter of what the camp costs for each of the girls. It was a HUGE blessing because they honestly had the best week. They cried on the way home; they didn't want to leave. Piper cried for 2 whole days afterwards.  They missed their counselors and new friends so much.  This camp had a "no contact" rule too- there were no phone-calls at ALL unless there was an emergency. And I think that's simply because sometimes phone-calls make kids even MORE homesick.  We were allowed to send them daily emails that their counselors would print out and distribute once a day, but they couldn't email us back.  They could write us physical letters and mail them to us but that was the extent of it.  We dropped them off on Sunday and picked them up on Saturday.  They were in different cabins (grouped by the grades they'll be in in the Fall) and Lucy chose to sleep on a top bunk while Piper chose to sleep on a bottom bunk.  They had the time of their lives! They got to do Archery, shoot paint ball guns, shoot BB guns, have shaving cream fights, do a ropes course, use the water slides, play on jet skis, paddle boards, a water trampoline, go tubing, hiking, explore a cove, had LOTS of parties, but most importantly- they had morning Bible study and lots of prayer time with their counselors. Their counselors became their confidants. They really poured their hearts into the kids that week. I'm so thankful.  It was a beautiful week for them.  Not only fun, but also spiritually uplifting.  When Sully is old enough to attend, I hope that we can receive scholarships again so that they can all go together.  Next Summer the girls will go to a much cheaper camp that is only 4 days long (and closer to home), because I want them to try a couple different ones in the area, but my fingers are crossed that we can go to New Life Ranch at least one more time within the next couple of years!

While the girls were at Camp, Sully actually had a 3 day music camp of his own (not overnight, but still!) It was called SMAK. Summer Music Activity for Kids.  He learned some cute songs and they performed them for us on Wednesday night.  It was the first time I had ever been able to watch him perform anything!  Since we weren't allowed in schools last year we missed any and all performances that Pre-K'ers normally get to do (isn't that so sad, by the way?? The age when performances are the cutest was taken from me :( Sorry for the random thought).  So this meant SO MUCH to me to watch him do something that was SO sweet! We also took him to an FC Tulsa Soccer game and afterwards there was an AMAZING firework show- it lasted about 15 minutes and was as good as a 4th of July show.  Shawn took him golfing one night as well, so he definitely had a great week without his sisters around. I don't think any of them missed each other at all ;-)

We had Father's Day right after the girls' got home. There was breakfast in bed and fishing.... and that's pretty much it ;-) We were still under a record breaking heat wave so there wasn't much else to do.... however a cool front was coming in to end the heat wave and that's when we decided to go fishing! Lucy caught 5 and Sully and Piper caught 7 fish EACH!

Lastly, Piper got her braces! Finally!  After 37 "turns" on her expander she was ready.  She had 3 months to emotionally brace herself after her panic attack last time.  There were tears and she was SO nervous but she did it!  It was heartbreaking to watch her cry while they put them on- the tool that stretches your mouth open freaked her out. She cried and I watched the tears stream down her face into her hair as they worked on her, but we held hands and it was pretty quick.  Afterwards she said it wasn't NEARLY as bad as she feared- yay!  Her mouth was SO sore and she hated that, but it's been 3 days and she's pretty much back to normal already.  She looks ADORABLE- truly- no one looks as cute in braces as she does! She chose blue and purple for her colors and her teeth have already moved SO much in just a couple of days- it's crazy! She will have them on for 15-18 months (remember, her mouth is VERY bad) so her and Lucy will probably over-lap at the end, but she's a trooper and it's all going to be so worth it!

Look how close her front teeth moved together overnight!

Here is her before and after of the morning!

Look at her mouth back in April! The pictures before her expander was put in prove that her face changed SOOO much!

So, since all our Summer extra-curriculars are now over, we've just been living our Summer lives! Library time, pool time, birthday parties, Neighborhood parties, crafts, Stunt Camp (for Piper), friend time... And then we leave for Idaho in just 1 week! Summer is FLYING by!

Once again, just living the Neighborhood dream!! <3