June 2023 Summer gets serious

June 1: Melissa is gone again.  We got home from our big trip and she headed for Utah county for her cousin Jay Clift's wedding.  The rest of us went for a big bike ride.  Lilian was slow and exhausted riding her balance bike. (Foreshadowing)

June 2: Lilian couldn't keep herself from putting her hair in her mouth, so I asked if I could cut it off and she agreed.  Melissa wasn't happy when I texted her about it and told me to fix it. 

Melissa and her mother enjoyed a few days away for the wedding. They stayed at Nana and Grandad's. Jay was married at the Timpanogos temple and the reception was at the Castle in Lindon.  They got to enjoy most of the day catching up with family. 

Katy, Audra, Mary and Melissa

We went to Mickey Ekker's house (Lily's former primary teacher) to try to rescue my hair chopping.  All parties agree she looks cute. 

Melissa with the groom and bride, Jay and Ally Cliftman.  They combined their last names. 

Jun 3: Saturday morning we completed Lilian's birthday about me board for Nana.  Favorite color: aqua, purple, blue. Best Friends: Hannah, Finn, mommy and daddy. Song: I am a child of God. Hobby: Play. Food: Cake. Movie: Frozen. When I grow up: Police Officer. 

Jun 4: Hannah reading to Lilian after church. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Jun 4: Starting summer gymnastics. 

Jun 7: Melissa is volunteering with 4H this year to help with the kids activities. They kicked off the summer with an animal day.  Finn with a hedgehog. 

  Finn's turn to read to everyone while Melissa rested in bed.

Jun 9: Oh yeah, Lilian learned to ride her bike while Melissa was at the wedding.  After that super slow and long ride on the balance bike I convinced her that it was time to move to Hannah's old Frozen bike.  She is really doing pretty well!  However, as I write this 8/6/23, we haven't been practicing enough. 

Jun 9: Chris Allen texted to ask if we wanted to go camping and we knew that if we didn't say yes, we might not go this summer.  So we agreed and had a blast.  The kids all had fun together and we really enjoyed spending almost a full 24 hours with the Allen's.  Then they decided to move to St. George a couple of weeks later!  Better job opportunities. 

Jun 12: Melissa and the kids headed to Lloyd's lake in Monticello for a homeschool gathering.  They hiked around the lake and collected clay to build with. 

Jun 14: Melissa and the kids went to visit Eli Numbers at her cabin southeast of town.  They explored the canyon rim next to their property and enjoyed exploring the cabin.  

Jun 15: Grandma Workman's ward held a mother/daughter tea party.  Melissa and the girls went and had fun. Unfortunately Hannah couldn't eat most of the treats.  Before going to England she was diagnosed with a sugarcane allergy based on a blood test.  We were thinking this might have accounted for her chronic itching.  We decided after England to try a month without sugarcane.  Melissa bought all sorts of sugar free or alternate (beet, coconut, etc.) sugar products.  We made homemade breads and cookies for the month.  After a month we went back to normal life.  No difference in itching or GI tract. 

Finn spent the evening with Grandpa and they built a tower crane frame. You usually don't see a real smile like that on Finn in a photo. 

Jun 16: The annual run from the dino photo at the Dino Museum.  They are getting better at this. 

Jun 17: Melissa got a dog!  This is Carrilyne Jaynes. Melissa taught two of her daughters when she taught in Provo. Carrilyne ended up fostering a dog for a few weeks for a sick neighbor and asking for help because she was going on a trip.  Melissa wouldn't take no for an answer, so we met Carrilyne in Green River and we have a dog now.  Oy vey!

Jun 18: Father's Day. Melissa and the kids got me bocce ball and we played it in the yard after dinner with Grandma and Grandpa. 

Jun 19: Lilian seems to have taken quite well to the dog, even though she's a total spaz (Goldie, not Lily).

Jun 20: A couple of days earlier Melissa and I had been looking around the basement trying to figure out how to make it more desirable as we felt we weren't getting many Airbnb bookings.  We talked through a handful of ideas, one of which was buying a vinyl mural.  I told Melissa to just call Nikki, so she did.  A few days later, blam!

Summer homeschool involved raising butterflies.  This is their net/cage and Lilian is excited to watch this one eat watermelon while waiting for the other 3 to hatch. 

Jun 21: one of the items to make the basement more desirable was a bench to take off your shoes in the entry. Finn went right to work helping Melissa build it. 

Jun 22: The pool heater broke this year and the kids had to do swim lessons in the cold pool at 8 and 9 AM.  Lilian participated in almost nothing!  Here she is letting the lifeguard float her in the water. 

Jun 23: Friday. Lilian dropped out of swim lessons on the last day after a challenge to stay in the water up to your chest the whole time to earn a breakfast date with dad.  So while she was supposed to be at lessons, we released the butterflies.  Everyone got to hold a butterfly on their finger for a moment before the wind whisked them away.  

Then Hannah and Finn went to swim lessons and graduated! Celebratory sodas, retrieved from the bottom of the pool.

That afternoon we went to the blue park and Finn did the monkey bars on his own for the first time ever!

While we were at the park Melissa made artificial succulent displays for the basement. 

Jun 26: Finn finally earned the $55 he was needing to buy this Lego set.  Melissa actually purchased it a few months earlier with MyTechHigh funding, but he looks pretty happy with his accomplishment.  

Jun 28: Back to 4H. Art day, painting rocks.  

 

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