Father's Day and Scout Camp and Bluegrass on Ballard and Rough Riders!

For the third (?) year in a row, Ben had to leave on Father's Day to take his Scout troop to camp.  This year, though, church was early enough that we were able to attend together before they left.  He took Caytie and Tessa and three of the other scouts, as well as Benson and three other boys from his troop, and two women leaders and two men leaders.  

Emma gave a short talk on fathers, but since her ward met after Ben had to leave, she gave him a copy of what she said.

Gracie made an amazing card!

Camp was fun, though VERY HOT.  It was over 100 degrees for most of the week, and the humidity was not helping.  Everyone had to be diligent about drinking water and keeping cool.  Ben had to soak in the pool one evening after feeling the effects of the heat getting to him.  But everyone worked hard and had fun and got their merit badges mostly done.  Here's a couple (a lot of) pictures:

What were the rest of us up to that week?  Mostly working, for the three big kids, and writing blog posts about previous months for me.  We also took a trip to McDonald's to celebrate Grimace's birthday (which no one has felt the need to celebrate before) with these purple milkshakes.  They were kind of berry flavored, but the medium sized one gave me a stomachache.  A small would have probably been better.

Then we had some cool clouds roll in again.  The sky amazes me.

The gang came home on Friday.  They were happy to cool down, clean up, and rest a bit.  Then on Saturday, we took our yearly pilgrimage to Bluegrass on Ballard--and sweated while we listened to some sweet tunes.  We remembered to bring chairs with us this year.

One more activity for the week-- Ben and Benson went to a scout night to see the Frisco Rough Riders.  They were supposed to watch a movie and spend the night on the field after the game, but they decided to come home for some more rest.  It was a wise choice!

Scouting has really been a blessing to our family.  So has our "little" city and their awesome activities.  Most of all, so has The Dad, my sweet Ben. 💓

 

"Off" Week

Emma worked at her preschool summer camp each day, Gracie did babysitting for a family as well as piano lessons, and Caytie and Tessa had three out of four weeks of June away from home, so these moments were rare, and I had to take a picture of my four girls, nearly all grown up, squashed together on the couch.  I LOVE THEM.

Benson's summer wasn't quite as full, though he was enjoying his basketball practices twice a week and scouts once a week, as well as using up some art supplies Gracie gave him.  (Note the ever-present laundry pile on my floor, as well as past school work yet to be organized.)

Freshly picked blackberries deserve to be highlighted in a cobbler.  It was SO GOOD.

June also brings...june bugs.  They were plentiful this year. The dragonflies, however, were more prolific--though harder to take pictures of, because they were almost always flying in large groups, low to the ground, almost like they were migrating somewhere.

The Elders Quorum organized a trip to see the Rangers, and Benson and I came along, too.  Our tickets were in the "all you can eat" area, so we were well fed with hot dogs, chicken, hamburgers, nachos, peanuts, and sodas.

Fun game, fun company.  Hooray for that giant roof and air conditioning.

Also during this week:

*I had lunch with my sweet ministering sister Cecilia,

*I took Benson, Gracie, Caytie, and Tessa to the eye doctor,

*Caytie and Tessa did a service project of washing sheets and towels for an underprivileged children's camp,

*I took Benson and Tessa in for a well-check,

*Benson and I had a Primary Activity of swimming at our neighborhood pool,

*I taught four piano lessons,

*Scott worked every day,

and other various and sundry things that happen in every-day life.

Lovely June

Kaitlyn invited us to join her and her mom Melissa at a Beach Boys tribute band at a park in Allen, so those of us at home enjoyed a lovely summer evening with them.  In our family, Caytie and Tessa were at their first FSY (For the Strength of Youth), and in theirs, Kaitlyn's sister and brother were also at FSY, and her younger brother and dad were camping.  Ben got us some chicken nuggets, fruit, and nectar sodas, and we adults sang along to the songs which we were surprised that our kids had never heard.

I have been putting a poster each week up on the wall highlighting a name of Christ from the Come, Follow Me assignment of the week.  (I purchased them, and it was well worth it for me.)  This week the name was Friend.  I loved it.

Meanwhile, Caytie and Tessa were loving their week at FSY.  Caytie had a roommate, but she left each night, so she slept alone, which she thought was actually ideal.  Her group met in her room each night, and one of the nights, Sister Bonnie Cordon, the YW General President, came to their meeting, too!  Tessa roomed with her friend Lauren P, and they all made a lot of new friends, too.  It was kind of extra special that Sister Cordon was there and able to give the girls hugs.  In April General Conference, it was announced that she would be released in August, so she was finishing up her last few months as the President.  When she was first called, we took a trip to Utah and happened to see her in the basement cafeteria of the Church Office Building, and she gave everyone hugs then, too, so my kids have always pointed her out as "the one who gave us hugs."  She is generous with her hugs, her testimony, her time, and her genuine love.

They came home renewed and filled and tired--but not too tired to take a trip to Ham Orchards!  We really wanted to get the peach barbecue sandwiches and peach/strawberry soft serve, and maybe some more t-shirts, and we checked all three off the list.  We added a little trip out to the blackberry patch, too, since it hasn't been open the last several times we've gone.  Once again, the summer day was so beautiful, though we could feel the heat creeping in on us.

(This was a field of wildflowers across from the parking lot.)

(This was going to be the perfect Texas picture, but I didn't check it until I got home.  Sorry about your eyes, Gracie!)

That night the clouds started rolling around, and formed these weird streaky bubbles.  We watched them for a while, and these pictures don't quite portray how cool it was.  Thankfully no hail accompanied these crazy clouds.

June is just the best.