Lots of fun activities happened this July. We started the month with the 4th of July celebration. Then we took a family trip with the Powers clan to Palm Springs, where we enjoyed the 115 degree weather by spending most of our time in the pool. We had a small just (immediate) family birthday celebration for Lydia. Danny and Bekah came out for a visit. And with that, the month has come to a close.
Cordelia has stayed very active this month. Her ice skating took a three week break and she got back on the ice the last week of July. During the break from ice skating she did a basketball league on Sunday mornings. It was a good opportunity for her to try out her basketball skills and meet some friends. We’re debating whether we can keep her in the league once the school year starts. Cordelia enjoyed the week in Palm Springs. She also got her “Camp Grandma” week and had lots of fun. She did lots of crafts with Grandma and Grandpa as well as taking several trips to Legoland. While there are lots of fun things going on, Cordelia has been struggling emotionally with responding to frustrating situations in an appropriate way. While we’ve been trying to help her through this, it’s been a challenging month emotionally.
Anthony has loved doing soccer. From the first class he was loving it and even scored two goals in the first scrimmage. He says he wants to keep doing soccer and play when he’s an adult. We’re pleased to have found something that sparks his interest. He also enjoyed the week in Palm Springs. He leveled up in swim class, now able to swim the whole length of the pool for breast stroke. Now he’ll be starting on butterfly.
Lydia’s favorite part of the family vacation was swimming in the pool, both the big one and the small jacuzzi. We had a small celebration for Lydia’s 4th birthday while we were in Palm Springs. Tim made a fancy cake for her when we returned home on her actual birthday and we went out for a fun dinner the Saturday after her birthday. Lydia also leveled up in swim class. She’s doing much better swimming and has been able to swim the whole length of the pool (25m), rolling over to take breaths. She has not been as enthusiastic about soccer. We’re not sure if it’s just cause she’s younger or doesn’t actually like it. We’ll probably keep her in it for now, for the sake of schedule convenience.
Natalie continues to crawl and pull herself up. She doesn’t seem super interested in walking, unfortunately. At the end of the month she’s cutting her second tooth on the top and has been a lot less pleasant. If she’s not being fed, she’s generally pretty happy to be around. But she is not a fan of the bottle or sippy cup, especially with a new tooth coming in. She continues to develop well. She learned how to put a fork with pieces of hot dog in her mouth, which is exciting – she prefers a fork to using her fingers now.
Alicia is turning into a truly versatile person. She’s handling engineering work, kid watching and taxing to various activities, plus preparing for a homeschool year with Anthony and some bonus AWANA stuff. It all rounds out to a very active life. Somehow it all manages to be getting done. Alicia compares time to a gas – in that it compresses and expands to fill the available space.
Tim has been having a somewhat interesting time on the work front lately – he’s been completing some of his initial taskings at his new position and getting some helpful feedback. He’s also been talking to people at his previous job about some changes that are occurring there – we’ll see what the future holds, job-wise. At home, he’s been working on getting the landscaping completed in the front yard, with transplantings of the previous plants that are being kept and more recently installing PVC irrigation runs. So far no leaks, but there’s many more joints to go…
Please pray for us as we transition into August. There are a few weeks left before school starts, with the kids planning on going to some sports camps together as Tim and Alicia finish gearing up for the school year. Alicia will be officially starting home school with Anthony, while Lydia and Cordelia will be going back to Legacy for Pre-K and 3rd grade. This summer has been a bit of a “soft open” for Alicia and it’ll be an adjustment when the academic year officially begins.
