Summer 2012

Over a year since I last blogged? Crap. I may be dropping the ball here, but in my defense, I have been writing a magazine blog, and also been better about my personal journal. So I say that makes up for it. Anyway, here are some highlights from this summer:

Madison has been loving Activity Days and is set to start 4th grade. She's maturing more and more every day, in all the good and bad ways! She is less than a year away from earning her junior black belt in martial arts, and a couple of months ago was invited to join a special performance team called XMA (for eXtreme Martial Arts). They practice on Fridays, and the program integrates performance techniques and forms, as well as a lot of gymnastics, so it's been very fun. It's also a lot more demanding in every way--there are attendance rules, homework due every week, and appearance standards. It's really great for developing character and providing opportunities for Madison to learn and grow. My challenge is to allow her to take responsibility by not reminding her to practice, remember her homework, etc. It's my goal this year for karate and school--to let her fail in order for her to grow stronger and more independent. It's haaaaaaard, but I'm determined! As crazy as it sounds, JR and I need to be thinking more about where we want her to go to middle school in 2 years. I'm strongly considering home school, although they are opening a new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) school this year that would be cool too, since Maddie loves math. I am going to be doing a lot of praying about that big decision.

Chloe continues to crack us up with her precocious antics and one-liners. Someday I hope to convince her to do theater, because she is naturally hilarious. I regularly post on Facebook her little quotes that crack us up. She also started karate at the beginning of July. That means I'm at karate now every weekday afternoon Mon-Fri! It's a lot, but the kids and I love the program so much that it's worth it. She is so enthusiastic about it, she always has a smile and is already improving! Her reading is also doing really well, since this summer I required the kids to read at least 15 mins per day, in addition to doing daily pages out of summer workbooks I bought them. I think it has helped a lot to retain all the knowledge they gained over last school year.

I'm still not sure if I'm excited or bummed for school to start. Yes, I will have a lot more "kid-free" time, but we've been able to do some really fun things this summer, despite the fact that we were not able to take a true "summer vacation" this year. We picked berries, played in the water at Frenchman's Bar, Lewisville Park and Klineline, went to Alderbrook Park, hosted and visited with several friends and family members who came to visit from out of town, celebrated our 12th anniversary, and even got a brand new back patio built that is perfect for hosting summer get-togethers. I got to go to a whole week of Girls' Camp with the Young Women in my ward, which was incredible, and Madison had activity day camp. Both girls also went to KidSpace Child Enrichment Center (where both girls also attended preschool) 2 days per week (Wednesday and Friday) so I could have time to work and get things done. KidSpace is amazing, the girls absolutely love it. So the only guilt that has come along with having them go there is in using the word "daycare" which I hate like a 4-letter word.

In June, JR moved business territories from Vancouver/Clark County to the Beaverton/Hillsboro area, which has been a huge blessing. A couple weeks ago we went out to dinner with a bunch of his new partners and their wives and kids. Most of them are LDS with kids, so we all have a lot in common. I'm hoping I can join JR for his annual company meeting in San Diego in January and see even more of these great families and others we have gotten to know in the last 2 1/2 years since he started with Carmedic. I've been really happy with how the company is run and the blessing it has been to our family.