Summer 2013: A little of this, a little of that

It's September! And I've really really sucked at blogging this year. I think it's because I spend most nights working and once I'm done working, I tend to want to sleep. I start posts but then they get really long/boring/complicated/whatever and so I save them, unfinished. Seriously, I've tried to blog about summer two different times and I get to the point where I discover I hate everything I've written, they go nowhere.

But, maybe today will be more successful.

So, summer. 2013 was a really great summer! This is what we did this summer, person by person.

Thomas

I think Thomas had a good summer. He did two sessions of swimming lessons. He can swim 50 meters without stopping (much). He loves to do backstroke, but can freestyle and butterfly as well. He spent a lot of time at home watching Minecraft videos (seriously, Minecraft should be called Minecrack; it is on every device in our home and it still seems to not be enough.) Thomas got braces in August. The orthodontist gave him a list of things he shouldn't eat which my dear son took literally. Suddenly every food that he's used to eating was a recipe for disaster and so he stopped eating everything but chicken noodle soup. This was quite a stressful event since we were marooned in the middle of Disneyland where there is very little chicken soup. The afraid-to-eat-anything situation culminated as we sat on the patio of the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe where he ate baby-bird-sized bites of the $9 turkey sandwich he got for lunch while I sat looking on, wondering why the hell my son could no longer eat normal food. I had braces for almost 5 years. I couldn't remember a single food I didn't eat during that five years. Oh, son. The Jolly Holiday patio will always hold fond memories.

Other stuff he did:

• Turned 12. Yesterday was the first day he passed the sacrament.
• Jumped off the 7.5 meter diving board.
• Walked his brother to and from school for 3 weeks.
• Became a high brown belt in tae kwon do.
• Learned how to do a front flip on the trampoline
• Spent a lot of time at the swimming pool, practicing swimming
• Got a cell phone.
• Had the first real (well, longer than 7 weeks) summer in many years. Going from year-round to traditional school is strange. And now my kids will be on different schedules until Thomas is a junior in high school. That sort of makes me want to cry.
• Started junior high. We almost sent him to a charter school, but in the end he is attending his regular district school. He loves it. It's so strange that he's no longer a little kid.
• Passed the 5 feet mark. In fact, he's 5 feet 2 inches, and growing every day.
• Decided that he did want to look good for junior high and insisted that his clothes come from Aeropostale. We bought him everything that he needed and at the end, they gave me a 30% off coupon for the next weekend. I went back to a different Aeropostale store and bought everything that he had already gotten again and used the 30% off and then returned the original clothes with the original receipt. I love working the system!

Ben

Ben also did swimming lessons. Ben passed off two classes in one session so that he could be in Thomas's class for the second session. Ben finished soccer in June. On the way to his last game he announced to all of us in the car that he was going to get a lot of goals that day. He ended up getting all of the goals for his team that day. It's amazing to me how he will decide he's going to do something and then does it. Ben also went off the 7.5 meter diving board, but he wasn't supposed to because there is an age clause that restricts anyone under age 10 from jumping. He enjoyed the 3 times he did it and then didn't get to do it again.

Other things Ben did:

• Spent a weekend with his grandma while we ran Ragnar. Both the kids enjoyed this.
• Started third grade
• Avoided cutting his hair until the very last minute before school started. Ben is very picky about his hair.
• Jumped on the trampoline every second he could.
• Discovered that Subway was pretty good. Finally my kids like something other than McDonalds. Such a small victory!
• Slept somewhere other than in his bed and didn't have a bed time for an entire MONTH after school let out. I wasn't sure I was going to survive it, but I did. Oh for the days of my kids being little and going to bed. I miss them!
• Learned how to do a backflip on the trampoline yesterday! His awesome cousin Nathan taught him in about 5 minutes. He's wanted to learn all summer long but I didn't feel comfortable spotting him. Now he knows how to do it and is soo happy.

 The parents (that's me and Shane, in case you didn't know.)

• Went on a few dates. We've reached the mecca of parenthood where we don't have to get a babysitter anymore to go to dinner together. It is a-maz-ing. The kids love it, we love it, it's a win-win situation.
• Ragnar. It was a great year. I loved our team. Leg #8 was awesome - it was so nice to not be the last runner. And I didn't have to drive the whole time. Wahoo for Ragnar - it's awesome and I can't imagine a summer without it.
• Swimming. As soon as the outdoor pool at the rec center opens, we are swimming. I never imagined we would love swimming but we do.
• Turned in our old car (the lease was up) and leased another one. I hate dealing with car dealerships! We got a CX5. I'm liking it so far. I have to admit: it's fun having my phone sync to my car. And it's nice to not fumble for my phone when someone calls. The kids love connecting their iPods to the radio (when I actually let them do it, that is.)
• Spent time with Shane's grandpa who moved up here from St. George in August. It is so nice to have him so close. I love that my kids will get to know him better and have more memories of their sweet great-grandpa.

Me

• Got a new calling at church. I'm now teaching Gospel Doctrine. It's interesting.
• Turned 38. I hate 38. I've been okay with my thirties up until this age. I would rather be 39 than 38. It's just so....ignominious. Blech.
• Got a passport. I've never had one before! And I just might be using it soon....
• Found a pair of wooden shoes that come close to replacing the ones I lost 2 summers ago. The new ones are taller and the strap is narrower, but they are easy to slip on, comfortable (or getting there) and, best of all, I got them super cheap on clearance.
• Helped my mom organize her family room. There's still more work to be done, but we got a good start.
• Read Divergent and Insurgent in a week. They are the first books I've read on my phone. I kind of liked it and kind of hated it. I'm looking forward to the third book that comes out in October.
• Started going to a body sculpting class at the rec center. It is awesome. I've realized the hard way that it isn't enough to run. Strength training helps my joints so much. I resisted this fact for soooo long, but no longer. I love going to this class when I can manage to fit it in.
• Went to my friend Janna's baby shower. She was in the middle of a move from New York to San Franscico so it was fun to see her while she was in Utah. I can't wait for her to be able to snuggle her little baby in the baby I made for her!
• Found a new favorite run for the summer. I run from my kids karate studio to the gym, swim a few laps, then run back to the studio. I also did a few where I ran to the Olympic Oval and ran laps there. As much as I hate hate hate HATE running laps, I love love love the 65 degree temperature.

Whew. That was long. A lot goes into a summer and I would hate to not have any of it chronicled. I hope you all had a good summer. It's strange that it's already Labor Day. I'm going to miss summer. But fall has a few surprises in the works, so I'm excited for it as well.