June: Summer Gets Rolling

In case I hadn't made it clear already, this summer got off to a rather weird start. Everything was on hold. I felt like I couldn't really do fun summery things for the entire month of June. I spent a lot of time and energy being with my dad and helping him prepare for mom's memorial services at the end of the month. I was so grateful for friends who helped provide fun and entertainment for the kids. I was also very grateful for a couple of scheduled activities for the girls. Chase was fine. He seemed to need some serious hermit time, but not so for the girls.

Romney was lucky enough to be able to take part in Theater School for Youth at the UofU once again. Actually I think it's now called Youth Theater at the U, but since it was TSFY for me, I will always think of it that way. Romney, just like last year, was happy to wake up early and eager to get to her camp where she spent happy hours taking part in classes like Laugh Lab where she learned some skills in improve and comedy, and also a movie-making class called Film Production. She played a hilarious granny role in a melodrama and ate it all up with gusto. Very happy. 

At the end of camp there was a show-and-tell type afternoon during which parents could come and see demonstrations from each class. I really felt proud of my Romney as she demonstrated her excellent comic skills. At the end of the afternoon the director gave out a few awards to kids and Romney was the proud recipient of one of four "Rising Star" awards. I was thrilled for her.

First Day of Youth Theater Camp!

Romney's melodrama cast

While Romney was up to her theatrics, Emma had a couple of fun things to do as well. She participated in a neighborhood drama camp of her own, put on by two sweet teens who are the daughters of an old high school friend. This year they rehearsed and performed the play The Three Billy Goats Gruff. I think Emma enjoyed the activities and the attention of these two darling girls but when it came to the actual performance she was a little shy and weepy. She does that anyway, but since there had been high emotions at home already, it was no wonder she was extra sensitive when it came to performance time. This picture of her wavering and teary smile warms my heart and makes me sad all at once. Especially because she's bravely wearing her goat horns.

Emma was also able to take a sewing class - she was finally old enough! Romney had taken the classes a few years ago before deciding she didn't want to do it anymore and I had been hoping that Emma would be willing to try it out. The teacher, Jane, is like a fairy godmother of sewing. So sweet and patient. Emma did a great job her first week and made a sleepover bag and a pair of pajama bottoms.

Topping off the end of June were Romney's final performance which not only was really fun to watch but became a demonstration of how much her daddy adores her. He has been traveling almost every week for work, and when he realized that Romney's performance would be right during one of his work weeks in Idaho, he was determined to not miss the show. He drove all the way from Preston just to watch her, and drove back that night. What a super dad. His children certainly know how much he loves them. Her sweet 6th grade teacher showed up as well. We took her out for frozen Ugurt to say thank you.

My dad also celebrated his 78th birthday. With all the hubbub of family gatherings and funeral services I almost didn't realized that dad's birthday had snuck up on us, only three days after mom's funeral. Of course we had to gather and support him and show him how much we love him. We celebrated by eating hamburgers, singing karaoke and going for rides in our cool friend's cool scooter side-car. Dad skipped the last part but I thought it was terrific.

These great activities got us happily through the month of June and into the toasty month of July when summer felt like it really got started. The heat turned up and time slowed down. Many more blog posts to come. I don't feel anywhere near to getting caught up! School starts in three days...I can do it....must blog summer before school starts otherwise I'll be blogging about Halloween next Easter.