June begins with endings for us. The end of the rain season (as if we actually had one). The end of a school year. The end of schedules for the next 8 weeks. The end of sanity. Just joking. Kind of.
Abby started the month by creating this gem for her brother. Even after looking at it several times, I still need her to explain it to me. I have a hard time following her logic path. Is it just me?
It was a very kind gesture and set the tone for the summer.
The end of school awards ceremonies are always fun to attend. Abigail was awarded for good character, perfect attendance for the 3rd trimester, and perfect attendance for the school year!
Way to go superstar!
And there goes my sanity! It seems like I only turn my back for a few seconds. My perception of time is obvious off...
10 months old and already loving chocolate ice cream. Parenting win? He is so lucky to have kind siblings that love to share with him.
Zeb's end of the year awards consisted of perfect attendance for the 3rd trimester and academic excellence in math.
Our little giant excels in anything he sets his mind to.
Maggie celebrates the end of the school year with silly faces.
Nothing new there.
June also marks the beginning of our life at the pool. Now that school is out of the way, we can spend hours upon hours just lazing about at the pool.
The splash park is the perfect spot for an afternoon nap.
The end of school means the beginning of Summer School. This year our theme was Monsters and Manners. Each week we focused on a different manner and did an activity with monsters in between doing worksheets. It was a blast!
Week 1 was "Monsters keep their hands and feet and tentacles to themselves".
We made our own monsters to show how we can have fun with our friends without touching them.
Another week not pictured (which I really regret because it was so amazing!!) was "Monsters can use their nice words". The kids all wrote their own words to a monster countdown story (monsters starting at 10 and leaving until there is only 1 left). Zeb's was all about killing the monsters off. Abby's was a bit nicer with the monsters leaving to do different activities. Maggie and Lizzie worked together to count the monsters and color pictures.
June is finally warm enough to pull out the slip 'n slide!
It wouldn't truly be summer without freezing in the shade and getting grass burns (is that really what it is called when you get rashes from sliding on the grass?!).
Our first camp-out of the year! We spent the day trying our best to get up to Big Bear (long story kind of short...our new installations in the megavan - cruise control and media upgrades - made the AC not work, so the kids and I spent 3 hot hours at a park while Bryan took it to the shop to try and get it fixed. Turns out a wire was nicked during the install and the van had to be in the shop for an entire day for the problem to be solved. Since we were on our way up the mountain, we survived without AC for the weekend) and finally made it.
We had just enough time to set up camp and do some exploring before it was time to cook dinner and sit around the fire.
Our main reason for camping that particular weekend was for Bryan to participate in the Big Bear Triathlon.
The sun was super bright when it was time for the race to begin. It was a beautiful morning for a race and we were all excited to see how Bryan would do.
The kids were great sports during the race.
We found a small park to play for a bit. We had also packed some snacks and coloring books just in case. Good thing! It was nice to sit in the shade and cool down for a bit after playing in the sun.
Oliver was his snuggly self and took great naps.
Lucky for me he is so small since I end up carrying him around more often than not.
Bryan finished the race about 10 minutes faster than his goal. We are so proud of him!
After the race, we went back to the campsite for lunch and more play time. Bryan took some of the kids on a hike/walk while I prepared dinner. We had a grand old time getting dirty and being out in nature. Can't wait to do it again!
Monsters can show emotions in a polite way. We had fun painting monsters with all sorts of emotions.
It's always good to remember that it's okay to have different feelings, but we don't have to let them be in control. We can communicate how we are feeling with words and not our fists.
Monsters can share. Our monsters loved making treats to share with friends.
This was a great exercise in following instructions as well as learning to share. It's easy to share something that you don't want...but sharing your favorite treat can be hard. I'm so proud of these kids for going along with my craziness while attempting to teach them how to be kind, respectful monsters with good manners.
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