June was our first taste of summer vacation at home. Brooklyn got out of school in late May, but we left for the beach just two days later and were there until June 1st. A good chunk of the month of June was spent doing swim lessons every morning, but we still managed to find plenty to do when the girls weren’t in the pool! This recap will cover everything except swim lessons, and I will talk about those in a separate post.
I started reading this book at the beach (Jenn brought it for me to read), and once I started, it was hard to put down. I finished it on the drive home on June 1st. It was a really captivating account of the life of a neurosurgery resident who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer not too long before he finished residency. It went through his whole life story leading up to that point, and then his wife wrote the epilogue after he died. It was so good, and it was the first book I’ve read in a LONG time. Makes me miss the days of reading for fun!
Travis turned 33 on June 5th, and Brooklyn made him a homemade birthday card. It says: “We love you so much because you feed us, you tuck us in bed, you give us money, you help us when Daddy gives us bandaids, and we just love our Pappy.” :)
Gabby’s birthday is also in June! Once Brooklyn found that out, she wanted to make Gabby a birthday card too. It reads: “To: Gabby. From: Brooklyn. We love you, Woo Woo, so much. But Daddy doesn’t like you. He does not do anything for you since he doesn’t even feed [you or] pet you. It is like Daddy bought you for nothing. But we bought you so you would have a family.”
What an epic card—and so uplifting too ;) It’s funny (and sobering) what kids pick up on, although Travis doesn’t exactly try to hide the fact that he’s not too fond of Gabby these days. We will definitely be saving this card for future laughs!
Sometimes it’s fun to all pile in the recliner together!
The Dvorak family reunion was on June 8th this year at Joe Wheeler State Park. As usual, the first thing we did when we got there was make ice cream/sorbet. This year, we tried a new recipe: Triple Berry Sorbet. It had cherry juice, cranberries, raspberries, lime juice, and lots of sugar in it. It was good but definitely TART! I think everyone liked it, but we may have to tone down the tartness if we make it again ;)
Every year, it seems like we add a kid or two to the reunion, and it is getting so fun for all the cousins’ children to play together. Brooklyn is the oldest of 13 kids (I think I counted right). Pretty nuts!
They always have fun in this inflatable pool…
…and this year, Cici brought this fun sprinkler that the kids enjoyed too!
Allen and Debbie brought a pinata again this year, and it was fun to watch the kids trying to break it open :)
Brooklyn took some pretty hard swings at it!
Even Abigail had a turn (with help)!
We brought our bubble machine and set it up during the afternoon. I think it was worth the money just for the fun that the kids have with it during the reunion every year.
Bubbles everywhere!
We attempted to get a group picture of all the kids, and it was pretty much a disaster. I think all the kids but Graham are IN this picture, but this was about as good as we could do with 13 kids ages 6 and under!
Maybe next year we’ll get a good one ;)
By 3 PM, Abigail was still awake!! This was definitely a record for the longest she’s lasted without a nap. She used it to her advantage to help Daddy eat some of his sorbet :)
But not too long after that, and she couldn’t hold her eyes open anymore :)
After supper, we got our stuff packed up and headed home. The family reunion is always a fun time, and I think as the kids get older, it will get a little easier every year.
When Brooklyn and Savannah sit at the table to draw, Abigail has to find an excuse to sit there too :) This particular morning, she was “reading” a Lion Guard book…
I wish this picture was clearer…I love to see the girls holding hands and having fun together!
One of the things Brooklyn wanted to do during her summer break was visit the public library and play computer games (wait…they have books there??) . At least Savannah knows what you’re really supposed to do at the library ;)
This girl will go to any lengths to get to Brooklyn’s bag of markers!
We went to IHOP for supper on June 11th! In the girls’ eyes, there’s nothing better than a big plate of pancakes with lots of syrup. They love IHOP :)
Abigail was keeping us entertained while we were there :)
What a silly girl!
We made a quick trip to Publix on June 14th. When Brooklyn is home for the summer, it can be a challenge to decide who gets to sit and steer the cart ;)
“Take a picture of me and Catboy!” (She saved up her allowance money to buy it and was so excited when it came…).
“Take my picture too, Mommy!”
Later that morning, Brooklyn and Savannah were excited to help make cupcakes for Father’s Day weekend to take to the lake house.
We drove to the lake that afternoon to spend Friday night and Saturday with Paw and Rae Rae. This is a frequent sight…Paw reading to the girls :)
We waited to add the frosting and sprinkles to our cupcakes until we got to the lake house…I was afraid they’d get messed up in transport otherwise.
…and Paw opened a few presents that night too!
Saturday was the day that the girls were most excited about…spending time in the water!
Such a big girl…sitting on by herself on the boat ride :)
The weather was really nice that weekend. Not hot at all, which actually made the water a little chilly (but it felt great on the boat!)
The girls always beg to go feed the fish at Rock Creek Marina :)
After our morning boat ride, it was time for lunch! Abigail enjoyed a yummy cupcake for her dessert :)
Messy but delicious!
After lunch, we went swimming…
“Mommy, watch this!”
Rae Rae also took Brooklyn and Savannah on a few jet ski rides, which they always enjoy!
Abigail managed to get a late afternoon nap before we ate supper and headed home. We had to be back home for Sunday morning Bible class because Travis and I were both teaching that session.
I was teaching the K-1 class–which also happens to be Brooklyn’s class! It was my first time to teach in a while and my first time to teach one of my own kids. This session, we studied about life in Bible times, which was really interesting. I think I learned as much as the kids did!
Some of the kids weren’t thrilled about wearing their tunics and head coverings, but I told them that they had to wear them that day for a picture at least ;)
We finally made it to the neighborhood pool for the first time this summer on June 17th! With the beach trip and swim lessons every morning for the first half of the month, there wasn’t really a good opportunity before then. We met the Wydners there, and the kids had a great time (although I forgot to get any pictures of them actually swimming).
The days of having a baby running around in her diaper will be over before I know it. Trying to soak up all the cuteness!
The girls got a surprise package from Cici in the mail this month. It was a couple of “sticker-by-number” craft kits. Brooklyn and Savannah were very excited and couldn’t wait to get started!
It was apparently an arts and crafts kind of week because they asked to paint the next morning too…
We headed back to the pool on June 19th for more swimming time. Brooklyn volunteered to push the stroller all the way there for me :)
This time, we met the Dyess family there. It’s so fun to have friends in the neighborhood for mornings like this!
Brooklyn had another checkup with Dr. Lawley (her orthopedic doctor) on June 20th. At this appointment, her right arm had almost the same range of motion that her left arm did, which is amazing to me. By this point, she had pretty much stopped really complaining of it hurting anymore. Dr. Lawley said she can do normal activities now except no trampolines, no inflatables, and no scooters/bikes. Yay for progress! When we got home from the appointment, the first thing Brooklyn did was run “super cat speed” across the driveway :) She hasn’t been able to run for 6 weeks, so she was so excited!
I love seeing Brooklyn reading to her sisters. Abigail enjoys it too!
Abigail loves to be my little laundry helper these days. Most of the time she “helps” by putting things in the wrong pile or unfolding what I’ve already folded, but at least she’s trying ;)
Brooklyn and Savannah wanted to have another sister sleepover that night. I guess our days are numbered where they will both fit in a twin bed together. As far as I can remember, they both slept pretty well…they just wake up extra early when they have sleepovers!
It’s always a big task to clean up the upstairs playroom!!
Good thing my helper was ready to clean downstairs for me ;)
I didn’t get any good pictures, but we had Andrew, Stephanie, and Cadence over for supper on June 22nd. It was a great evening catching up with them. Cadence is just a few months younger than Savannah, so the girls all enjoyed playing together.
Abigail has been wearing smocked dresses all summer long, most of which Cici made for her own girls. Some of them even have matching bonnets! I am trying to have Abigail wear them as much as possible because I doubt they’ll fit next summer. They are so special!
Brooklyn and Abigail both had eye appointments with Dr. Calderwood on June 24th. Brooklyn had the opportunity to get an eye exam at school (they offer them for free, so we figured why not?) back in the spring. It came back showing that she might have a problem called exotropia in her left eye (it’s where one eye crosses outward). We had never noticed anything like that, and the eye exams she’s had in the past at the pediatrician’s office have always been fine, but they wanted us to get it checked out just to be sure. Abigail was supposed to have another eye exam back in October 2018, but we never got it scheduled (it was a follow-up on her eye exam at 6 months of age), so I figured we could knock hers out at the same time as Brooklyn’s.
I was glad Travis was able to go with us since it took awhile. The appointment was at 7:30 AM and we were there 2 hours (you have to sit and wait to let their eyes dilate after they do the drops). Brooklyn’s eyes turned out perfectly fine! I wasn’t too worried about it because it looked to me like her face wasn’t looking straight on at the camera during the test at school anyway). Abigail had a good checkup too. I asked about her right eye because it frequently has tears draining out of it. She said we can massage the tear duct twice a day, and if it’s a clogged tear duct, that may help. If it’s due to dry eye, we can try some lubricant gel in her eye at bedtime. They can also do a surgery to unclog the tear duct if it doesn’t improve on its own, but she said let’s just wait and see how it does for now since it’s not bothering her. She is farsighted which is normal for her age. We only have to follow up with Brooklyn if we notice any problems in the future. Thankful for good reports for both girls!
Cici bought the girls a gingerbread house kit, and they couldn’t wait to put it together…
They both got to decorate two sides of the castle. It was a fun afternoon!
It didn’t stay put together for long…after Travis got home that evening and the girls showed off their masterpiece, they promptly decided to eat some of it ;) I guess they deserved to after their hard work!
We still have occasional dance parties after supper around here…and now Abigail is old enough to get in on the fun!
One of the best things about summer is being able to have “PJ days” if we want to :)
On June 28th, we had the Lovelesses, Smiths, and Dvoraks over for supper. This was the first planning meeting for a couples trip we are planning for 2020. It was a fun night, and the kids had a great time playing together.
Caught Abigail reading in her room!
Someone in our neighborhood was selling a small nightstand for $8. Brooklyn didn’t have one in her room, so I figured for that cheap of a price, it would be worth buying! Brooklyn and Savannah headed to their house with me that afternoon to pick it up. It was small enough that I could carry it home in the wagon that I was pulling :)
Brooklyn was really excited and couldn’t wait to set it up in her room. She even drew this picture of her new nightstand :) She likes having her lamp right beside her bed, and we’ve started letting her read a book in bed before she goes to sleep at night. It’s nice that she can turn her lamp off all by herself now!
We are SLOWLY getting things hung around the house, and this was our next project to be hung. I wanted something fun to hang above the landing that would serve as a “warning” to our guests of what they might find at the top of the stairs (entering the playroom)…
I ordered the print from Etsy and framed it myself. Brooklyn decorated all the animals from a craft kit she got for Christmas a couple of years ago. They were too cute to throw away! I’m happy with how it turned out :)
Notes and Quotes from June
- 6/5/19 – Brooklyn said, “What does it mean to be a Christian? Am I a Christian?” Savannah replied, “You’re not a Christian…You’re a kid!” Haha ;)
- Brooklyn has a funny way of pronouncing school and pool: “schoo-el and poo-el”. Something I want to remember down the road…it’s cute!
- Savannah: “Hey, look! A frog!” (looking out the window while we were stopped at a red light on the way to Bible class)
- Travis: “You see a frog out there?”
- Savannah: “Tricked you! It was a rock.”
- Travis (2 seconds later): “Watch out, Pookie! There’s a spider right there!”
- Savannah doesn’t even move or act scared…
- Travis: “Pookie, you didn’t fall for my trick!”
- Savannah: “Ask me like a spider again, and I’ll move my head!”
- 6/6/19 –Abigail is finally using a spoon the right way. I think giving her cereal with a spoon a couple of weeks ago has forced her to practice it! She was getting to the point where she didn’t like dry Cheerios for breakfast, so I tried pouring milk on them, and now she loves them…haha
- Dvorak family reunion – Abigail didn’t fall asleep at the reunion until probably 3:30 PM! Too much going on :) The girls all had a blast. It rained on the way there and the way home, but somehow it didn’t rain AT Joe Wheeler all day. The bubble machine, sidewalk chalk, swimming, piñata, and playground were all big hits. The adults played a saran wrap ball game that was pretty entertaining! We won a Chick-fil-a gift card, some candy, and a few dollars ;)
- 6/20/19 – Abigail is now saying “Si” (rhymes with pie) when she wants to go outside. Ex. When the other girls go out the back door, Abigail will hurry to the door and say “Si! Si!”. She is also saying “Pease” and “dow” (down). She has started saying “thank you” sometimes without being prompted. Anytime we ask her a yes or no question, the answer is always “Nnnnnnn—OOOOOhhhh” with a chuckle (even if the answer is really yes).
- 6/20/19 – Abigail is really starting to climb everything these days. She can climb onto the bench at our kitchen table. She can almost climb up onto the couch by herself. She is even climbing up into her highchair without help now.
- 6/23/19 – When we put Abigail in her high chair and she is especially hungry (like on Sunday nights after church), she will start saying “Nummy! Nummy! Nummy!” in an excited voice. She also asks for a “nak” (snack) when the other girls do :)
- 6/27/19 – Savannah pronounces most words correctly these days, but she will still say “hidding” instead of hiding. She and Brooklyn were hiding each other’s stuffed animals, and then Savannah announced, ‘That’s enough hidding for today!”
Thanks for reading!
