High speed catch up so we can get on with the latest!

Here's the thing. It's been something akin to three months since my last blog post, and as the days ticked by, the weight of all the things I felt like blogging about or felt I ought to blog about piled up and up and at some point, blogging didn't sound fun anymore so I just didn't.

BUT!

We've just returned home from a fifteen day adventure out west, and I can't wait to regale you with my photos and stories.

Before I force you onto the sofa, dim the lights and fire up the slideshow player, though, here's a quick run down of things you didn't get to hear about these past many moons:

~ I turned 39. It was one of the most amazing birthdays of my life, truly! 40 is destined to be a let down, but I'm okay with that. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends, who all chipped in and gifted me a large chunk of change so that I could refresh my living room with new slipcovers, a rug, curtains, fresh paint and, above all, throw pillows to my heart's content! You've likely seen some windows into the brightening up process via instagram, but you haven't seen official before and after pictures yet, because it's not yet done. The paint is still sitting by my kitchen door waiting for the right moment. I foresee that moment coming while the kids are in KC visiting my folks a couple weeks from now. I'll keep you posted.

~ There was a band concert in which both Ruth and Marianne played, on trumpet and trombone, respectively. There was also Ruth's piano recital, at which she performed a solo piece and two duets with our neighbor, Nicole. The duets were a fun treat to hear played, after hearing only Ruth's half of the piece for weeks. I have videos of the piano recital if anyone desperately wants to watch it. Or just ask Ruth to play her solo piece for you sometime. She's generally happy to oblige. She's looking forward to piano again in the fall. Meg will begin taking lessons then. Both the older girls will carry on (slightly against their wills) in band, too. Oh, there was a Spring Program for vocal music in the mix, as well! So many performances as the school year wrapped up.

~ Ruth finished the inaugural year of Chess Club at St. T's in last place, but with full marks for sportsmanship. Nathaniel is convinced, after watching the final tournament, that with a little training in strategy she could beat the majority of the kids in the club next year. We'll see how that plays out. I'm proud of her for sticking with it, enthusiastically even, despite never winning. That's a sign of true character.

~ Marianne and Ruth both played on extraordinarily successful (for any Y teams our kids have ever played on) recreational volleyball teams, and Nathaniel coached Meg's micro-soccer team. Our weekends were hopping for a few weeks, there!

~ Another year of school finished splendidly. Strong grades, happy kids, onward to summer! Peter "graduated" preK and will be in all day, every day Kindergarten next year. (Side note: he's learned to read this spring and summer, and it's such a treat! Just tonight he read his own bedtime story to me. I mean, it was "Bathtime for Biscuit", so he's not reading chapter books to himself like Meg was at this stage, but he's still rocking this whole learning thing!)

~ I almost skipped one! Ruth again! She had a birthday. Crazy kid went and turned 11. She's a joy, truly. Our running joke this summer goes like this - whenever Ruth heads outside to do something (climb a tree, roller skate, etc), I call out, "Be careful!" and she replies, "I always am!" usually just seconds before she tumbles down the stairs or falls from something high or the like. But she does always manage to jump back up and keep moving. I love that kid! For her birthday, we had a "Mario Kart" tournament in which all the cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents participated. It was hilarious! I made Smitten Kitchen's "I want chocolate cake Cake" which was fabulous. And she got a "coupon" (made by me) to take a couple of friends to "Defy Gravity", one of those places where the whole floor is covered in trampolines. She was in heaven.

~ Marianne and Ruth each attended SKY Camp (Catholic Summer (K)Camp for Youth). It was the first sleep-away camp for Ruth, Marianne's second year. They explicitly asked NOT to attend the same session, so I jumped through some hoops to make sure they'd each have a few friends at different camps, but not the same one. Some siblings would want to go together, I suppose... I agreed with them that they'd be better off on their own.

~ Marianne has undergone a series of scoliosis testing, which will culminate in an absurdly long MRI next week to rule out anything the doctors haven't seen yet. What they have seen is some very severe curvature. Her spine is a crazy S shape with major curves that will require her to have surgery in a couple years to have rods installed. {sigh} On the upside, knowing that she'll have the surgery lightens our need to worry about bracing now, because it wouldn't do much good. She will get a brace later this summer that she'll have to wear part time, but we think it'll be mostly at home, rather than all day at school where it would be much more of a battle for us and an embarrassment to her. Keep her in your prayers as we continue in this process!

~ All the kids had eye exams and they've all got 20/20 vision or better. Mostly better. Hooray for that one genetic win that we've handed on to them! Don't ask about how their dental check ups went.

~ June came on strong and hot and we spent the majority of our afternoons at the pool. Peter and Rachel also took a round of morning swim lessons, so double pool time for them! Ruth got her choice of a floaty/innertube as another bday gift, and chose a wildly huge and hilarious pretzel. It's so fun she often chooses NOT to take it to the pool because she doesn't want to have to deal with all the kids there wanting to be on it non-stop.

~ The 4th of July was insane this year! Kids were planning and constructing fireworks-extravaganza-structures weeks in advance. Arthur's fam and Tom and Laura came to join in the craziness, and it was a party for the ages. There are videos that I took on Marianne's phone that I hope to share someday, but she accidentally deleted them while we were on vacation, so Nathaniel's having to research "deleted file recovery" and see what he can do. Poor Marianne. She was heartbroken as she watched the videos delete, when she'd been trying to "protect" them from that exact fate.

Okay! I think that's it! I'm calling myself all caught up. Prepare yourselves... the vacation post is coming!