Catching up...

I have so much catching up to do on the bloggity blog.   Something really changed in me this summer though.  If you've been reading a long time, you have probably heard me say (write) that I don't love summer.  And in the past, that has been true to a certain extent.  But this summer was great.  The kids did not do a lot of structured activities.  Will worked a lot, hung out with friends, did water polo and went to CA for the Junior Olympics.  Harry did a few LAX camps and Camp Utopia.  Kate did one art camp and vacation Bible school.  That's it.  We spent a lot of time being lazy and having fun.

I realized something really important this summer.  Dave and I do a pretty good job at parts of the parenting/family thing (we make a lot of mistakes too).  Like we are good at setting limits and creating boundaries and teaching values. We are good at getting them to study and get the homework done and go to church. We are good at spending time with our kids and talking to them.  But you know what we have not been really good at for a long time?  JUST HAVING FUN! We are not spontaneous and we are not super laid back. We don't act silly or laugh as often as we should. This summer, I have been much more laid back and much more spontaneous and it worked for me.  Who knew?  I have always been such a planner at heart.  Who knew I could fly by the seat of my pants?!

I really want to write more about our Seaside beach trip and post more pics from that but I need to do this post first....

Well, Harry finally came back from camp.  It was a long 2 weeks for me and Kate (I think Will and Dave did just fine).

Kate was so excited to see her Habu!!!  He came home tired and with a sinus infection and cough but he had an awesome time!!!  And that kid he hung out with in every single photo that I thought was from Mississippi actually lives a few blocks away and goes to Harry's school!!  So happy about that.  He seems super nice.

Kate's gymnastics competition meets are quickly approaching and she is getting excited.  I am getting nervous...about her hair!  She needs a hairstyle that will not fall out during all 4 of her routines (floor, bar, bean and vault).  I think they lose points if their hair falls out.  Did anyone see that episode of Modern Family?!  Any tips from you experienced Dance/Gym Moms? I tell you all this just in case you notice some funky hairstyles on her:)

Last week, Kate and I spent a morning with her easy bake oven.  I am personally not a fan of the easy bake oven.  I'd rather teach Kate to cook and bake from scratch with real recipes in real appliances.  And as you've seen, we do that all the time.  She, however LOVES the easy bake.  So, easy bake it was.

Our easy bake packets were old and the consistency of the frosting was not good.  But Miss Kate loved her cake anyway!!! Yes, she is in Christmas Pajamas in August with a giant bun:) See, it is the new spontaneous, fun Kim! HA!

Last weekend, our good friends invited us to the beach for some fun family time before school started. This is an annual tradition although this year we could only go for the day.  It was such a nice and relaxing day...

Will and our friend having a chat.  Lovely seaweed in the background:(

Will took the kayak way out but it was too far for me to photograph him.
All the boys enjoyed kayaking a lot.

In fact, Dave recently purchased a decked out fishing kayak and all the equipment for our family to fish in the salt marshes!!!  I think we will be spending a lot of time at the beach this year.

And finally, Will started school this week.  He is a sophomore.  I wish he had a car this year but none has appeared so far.  He does drive to school (with Dave) in the mornings.
 I am not sure if I ever posted it but he got his license this summer!!!!





First day of school pics:)

Kate and Harry start on Monday so we are trying to soak up the last few laid back days of summer:)