Off With A Bang

 We are two weeks into summer and it is off with a bang.  I didn't get a chance to blog last week because we were off at the coast, but I'll get to that in a minute.  Let's start with summer, week 1.

Summer started in an unusual way, with a two-day friend sleepover.  We have a hard and fast "no friend sleepovers" rule in our house.  The only sleepovers my kids have had are with cousins.  As summer started, however, we had some extenuating circumstances with one of C.C.'s friends.  Her friend's parents are going through a divorce, the mom had to travel for work, and the dad works nights.  This put them in a bind and we offered to help out.

My girls were super excited about getting to break the long standing rule.  They took advantage of the time with lots of trampoline time, walks through the forest, playing games, and a trip to the church to play in the gym.  They had a great time.

Later in the week, we went with some friends to Hopscotch, which can best be described as an interactive light gallery.  The kids' favorite exhibits were the lighted ball pit and trampoline, where the lights appeared as you jumped.  It was a very cool experience, but a little sensory overload.

Saturday, we went out to the coast for Merrick's baseball tournament.  By the time we got out there, it was a whirlwind of lots of baseball with not a lot of time for much else.  In fact, the boys never even touched the beach.  The closest they came was seeing it from the hotel and on our drive to and from the field.

The girls and I were a different story.  With each game, the boys would have to be there over an hour in advance.  The girls and I would drop them off, and go to the beach.  Since we were in Lincoln City, the girls wanted to play Finders Keepers, looking for glass floats on the beach.  While we never found one, we did find a heart shaped stone tucked into a log.  We also had a great time just walking along the beach and playing in the sand.

The tournament itself was great.  We mercy ruled the first two teams and then ended up losing in the 7th inning in a nail biter to the team that would then win the tournament.  While we were bummed to go home without the ultimate "W," we made it home in time for Lundberg family dinner, complete with firepit, s'mores, and, for some, two-handed desserts.

This past week, Merrick and CC both had "summer school".  I use that term very loosely.  Carrigan's is much more like a camp.  It's a three week class called "lifelong fitness" where they play games everyday and are taking 7 fieldtrips to the park to to play disk golf.  Merrick's class was a one week leadership class.  He didn't do much learning, but earned a 1/2 credit for high school.

This also meant that Elsie and I had lots of quality time this week.  We went to a park most days and one day even when to a park day sponsored by our friend's realty group, complete with scavenger hunt, games, snow cones, and face painting.

Like I said, summer is off with a bang!  I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer holds.

Graduation Time

 This week was full of graduations and celebrations.  The parties started on Monday.  In leu of a formal graduation, the kindergarteners had a family picnic to celebrate their advancement.  That was held on Monday, in between two rounds of field day (3-5 grade went before lunch and k-2 went after).  This year, especially since it was Elsie's first field day and Carrigan's last, I felt like a needed to be there for both of them.  I ended up being at the school all day (and in the sun, which I didn't prepare for adequately enough and I ended up fried).  It was a very successful field day though, and just in time since the P.E. teacher ended up going into labor about 36 hours later.

The picnic itself was lowkey and fun.  Each family brought their own picnic blanket and lunch.  We ate together and the kids ran around and played with bubbles.  It was a short and sweet way to end the year.

The partying continued on Wednesday with Carrigan's 5th grade carnival.  They had a bounce house obstacle course, lawn games, a dunk tank, pizza, a bubble show, and shaved ice.  The kids also got West Linn High School shirts to all sign.  The weather was beautiful and it was another great way to celebrate the end of the era.

Thursday was Merrick's turn.  Time for 8th grade graduation.  They had a nice ceremony where, in addition to handing out certificates, they also handed out some awards, both for academics and for character traits.  Merrick got both an academic and a character award.  For his character he was given the perseverance award and the wellness award for academics.  It's hard for me to wrap my head around him going to high school next year.  I'm a bit in denial that his next graduation will be a big one.

The festivities wrapped up on Friday with C.C.'s 5th grade graduation.  This ceremony was much longer.  The principal and each of the kids spoke.  They had a slide show presentation and the kids sang a song.  Following the ceremony, they held a reception for families.  I can't say that I'm a lot more excited for C.C.'s transition to middle school then I am for Merrick's to high school, but I am super proud of her and her growth this past year.

After school, C.C. went to her friend's house down on the river to paddleboard and go out on their boat.  I took Merrick and his friend and Elsie and her friend to the pool.  It was a fun cap to the week, with a good time had by all.

Today is Father's Day so we can't forget to celebrate the amazing dads in our lives too.  Jeremy and I were both blessed to grow up with great, supportive dads in our lives and now he is that for our kids.  He continually shows up for them and supports them in their events and activities, big and small.  We are so blessed to have him.

P.S. before I go, here are all the kids last day of school photos and a few other goodies that didn't make it any anywhere else.