Summer Treats, Just in Time for School

 Daniel finally finished his ELA essay this week, so I declared our family officially DONE with homeschool, and we went shopping for summer treats a week before summer vacation ends (for the second year in a row--maybe we'll actually shop for them in June next year).

Most of the kids chose their treats fairly quickly.  Here's Daniel posing dramatically with his Chocolate Life cereal.

Anna opted for some caramels . . .

. . . and Todd was really excited to get a big box of rainbow Mike & Ikes.  I chose some jerky for Daddy, and some rosemary artisan bread for me (to savor with Italian truffle cheese--yum!).

Then we all waited . . . and waited . . . and waited for a certain Hendrickson who takes her annual treat selection very seriously.  She wants something new and different, but that she's confident she'll like.  She wants something that will last a while, but that she won't get bored of.  And she wants to stretch the treat budget I gave her to its absolute limit.

I eventually told Joy she had five more minutes to choose something, or else she would have to come back another day.  After a bit of handwringing, she opted for a sampler of four pastries.  Alas, one of them turned out to be a tiramisu thing with coffee in it, so it ended up in the trash.  Thankfully, Joy has generous siblings who shared their candies, and which made her feel a little better.

Games and Hurricane Prep

Hurricane Henri was headed for New England this morning . . .

. . . so we took the net posts off our trampoline . . .

. . . and flipped it over again so it wouldn't go sailing into a neighbor's yard (or house).

Then we went inside to play spoons (dibs on the purple one!) . . .

. . . and chess . . .

. . . and Todd's solitaire variation of Dragonwood.

Oh, and the hurricane?  It swerved around us, so we didn't get much wind or rain in our area.  Better safe than sorry, though.

Posing at Kimball Farms

It was Todd's turn for a Mama date today, and he asked to go to Kimball Farms for ice cream.

When I asked him to stand by a sign so I could take his picture, he posed like Green Bomber from "Super Bomberman R" (a video game our kids are currently fan of).  Todd thinks Green is cute, and I suspect he feels a connection to Green because they're both the youngest in their families.

After our little photo shoot, Todd and I headed to the ice cream window to choose a flavor to share.  You can never go wrong with Cookies and Cream!

The Explorer

 One of Daniel's youth leaders planned a backpacking trip for the boys this week . . .

. . . so we borrowed a pack from him . . .

. . . and Daniel tried it on . . .

. . . then practiced hiking around our house with it, exploring the great indoors.

A Pilgrimage to Claire's

 Joy wanted to get her ears pierced before she starts high school next month . . .

. . . so we made a trip to the mall today (is there any mall that doesn't have a Claire's?).  They had a sign advertising "free piercing," but it doesn't mention that the special earrings they pierce with cost anywhere from $40 to $110.  Of course, the employee tried to convince us that the $110 diamond earrings were the best choice.

We opted for the $40 stainless steel ones, thank you very much.

Especially since Joy wanted to buy a bunch of other earrings to try once her ears heal up.  I like the donut stacks best.  Don't you?

Mom Shirts

 My hair . . .

. . . has been getting kind of long lately.  I briefly (like, for two milliseconds), considering cutting my own hair again, but I didn't feel like spending another four hours in the bathroom with a pair of scissors . . .

. . . so I called up my hair stylist friend, and she did a better job in 20 minutes.  Oh, and that shirt?

When I went school shopping with the kids today, they asked me to take a picture of it and send it to my mom, because they thought it looked like something she would wear.  Does the fact that I liked it and bought it mean I'm turning into my mom?  If so, I'm fine with that.  She's one of the best people I know.

We sent her a picture of this shirt too.  That definitely looks like Red Grandma's style!  She replied that maybe she should just hire us to shop for her. :)

Family History Help

Joy and Daniel want to learn more about doing family history . . .

. . . so Brother Carl from church came over to give them some pointers.  He helped them find some distant relatives they can be baptized for when they go to the temple later this week!