We had missed holding our annual Wilkins Family Summer Olympics during the kids' summer off time, but we didn't want to skip it this year.
So Monday during Family Home Evening, we headed to the park, on the very last day of summer, to sneak it in.
Adam held the previous trophy, and Grace surprised us all by winning!
We had a fantastic time, saying good-bye to summer and exercising at the park together.
***
On Tuesday, we switched gears and Toasted to Fall!
Josh and I busied ourselves during the day with decorating and making our traditional dinner: caramel apple pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans, and pumpkin bars.
We talked about all the things we LOVE about fall and toasted our favorite season with sparkling cider.
***
On Wednesday we went the library, while we waited for Mike to be done with work.
.
Afterward, we raced home to get ready for Activity Days. We had a manners dinner, where we learned good manners while we ate a spaghetti dinner (and played some fun games).
It was a fun and crazy-busy evening.
***
On Thursday evening, Grace had her very first volleyball game!
She didn't score, but her team won all 3 sets, winning the game.
I LOVED her excitement and enthusiasm during the game, and the joy on her face as she hugged her teammates afterward when they won.
***
On Friday we were heading out to Adam's football practice with the boys I baby-sit, when it started to rain.
Adam still had football, and there was no way I could sit in the rain with all of those kiddos.
So we crashed the nearby McDonald's Playplace instead.
They all had a fun time while staying dry.
And just as practice finished, it started to crazy rain/hail.
It was awesome!
***
On Saturday, Mike had the day off. He took Adam to his football game (they lost, but he had a fun time), and then came home to work on the yard.
Our bushes had grown to tree level, so he and the boys have been working on cutting them all down.
The bushes look much better.
Now to get them to bundle all of those bushes up for the garbage man...
;)
That evening I had the privilege of going with this sweet lady to the General Women's broadcast.
She did really well for 10 minutes, and then spent the remaining time asking me "How much longer is this?" every 5 minutes for the rest of the time.
Which made the time SUPER enjoyable for me.
;)
Luckily, our stake Relief Society presidency is super-smart. They bought donuts from Donut Tyme, a nearby, small donut shop that makes insanely good donuts (even if their spelling stinks). When Grace walked in the cultural hall, and saw the table piled with hundreds of beautifully-arranged donuts, along with apple cider, she decided that her time was well spent after all, and can't wait to go again.
***
On Sunday after church, we worked on school projects.
I really want to get to a place where we don't do homework on Sundays.
But we aren't there yet.
Grace had a project due for her social studies class, where they are learning about economics. She had to design and sell a product to the other students from her own store.
She went with cookies.
We spent the afternoon making cookies, business cards, and signs for her shop.
Adam had a project due on J.K. Rowling for his homeroom class. He designed a timeline about her life, with a moving picture of her that went under it as he talked about her. He also had to write a 2-page paper.
Next month we are doing these things earlier than the night before!
(I think).
;)
