After the once-in-a-lifetime trip this summer, we came home to a neglected garden that apparently does better without us. That made us a lot of chocolate zucchini bread!
Summer fun!
The blooms are just getting better each year. This pink airbrush hibiscus was one I drove to pick up last year at a special garden center since it was a "dinner plate" size. And it's spectacular.
A few days after getting back from Europe, we had Jim's big race with our family band all ready to play. But I got covid on the way back apparently, so Saturday morning (even though I was testing negative then) I felt awful and couldn't go. Thankfully, I'm the only one that got it and my symptoms weren't really that bad. Nicole made me a happy breakfast. I almost feel guilty to say I loved getting my meals brought to my room and having time to do nothing. But by the end, I was so stir crazy I was mopping the floor in my room and cleaning my closet haha.
Mike came back from boys camp with a fractured wrist. Glad it wasn't worse.
Random pic from the kids...lizard with a cool blue tail. We have tons of lizards around the pool!
Marian was so kind and took the kids out to play at the park while I was still in my room quarantining.
Thankfully, my quarantine was over just as we had a beach trip planed. We finally found the sweet spot of good waves on Topsail- south of the pier. We had the time of our lives.
Lots of sun
Katy had her checkup and is 46lbs (7th%) and 50in (46th %).
Diana had her checkup and is 67lbs (31st%) and 55in (55th%)
Jim had to work part of the week we were there, so we invited friends one day and then Marian another day. Having friends and family at the beach to play with us really can't be beat!
The moon was magical!
And the sunrise absolutely breathtaking.
Diana started flying a stunt kite and learning how it works. She loves the thrill of the wind pulling at the kite and the speed of the dives and turns. Still working on accuracy haha
We went to the far southern part of Topsail Island where it's just long stretches of sand. I ran four miles while everyone else fished, crab hunted, and flew kites. Love those beach mornings.
Of course Jacob caught something!
We tried gator sausage and it was great. I'm pretty sure any meat can taste fine as sausage because of all the spices and pork fat they add, but still it was fun!
Nicole bait casting.
Caught a puffer fish in the crab trap
Crab success! Too small to keep though
Mike showing that he caught the big one! Notice that his waterproof cast cover doesn't slow him down.
Diana caught three crabs in one trap!
Some fishermen were trying to catch sand crabs as bait for fishing, but were struggling. Nicole went over (she knows how to see where they are in the sand), got a half bucket full of them, and then gave them to the men. It was so nice of her!
They got their soccer balls signed by players from NCFC
Mike and Jake labored over targets, making them perfectly accurate, and then selling them to Jim. Good businessmen.
John has very good strength to draw a bow. It's actually kind of crazy.
I paid Diana to run a kids camp for her siblings for several hours a day. Talk about peace at home! It was awesome. She got paid based on how well I rated the camp at the end of each day (arguing would bring down the rate), and it worked amazing about 90 percent of the time. Definitely doing that again.
The boys wanted in on the paid childcare, so they made a shooting gallery, complete with moving targets, a spreadsheet keeping track of points earned, and background music. Again, this was hours of work and was so good for them to be creating. Of course, the tape they used did put the paint off the ceiling.
John cracks me up
Katy was pretty sure one eye gave her the best aim
John hit a target that gave him a prize. It was a good day to be Johnny boy.
We took the kids kayaking at the lake 15 minutes away one Saturday.
Diana loves to bake. She made these by herself. You can see John is thrilled at all of the sweets now available for consumption.
Lots of pool time with these kiddos.
Michael grew so much he split the back of this sunday shoe. He's just not much of a complainer! It was only when I noticed it that he admitted he "probably" needed bigger shoes.
Nicole at the airport. Because she spent LITERALLY 24 hours at airports trying to come home from AFY. She's a trooper!
Before she came back, I got some pics of her with my brother Caleb, who took her around BYU and Provo for some fun
We showed Nicole how we accidentally kept setting a place for her at the table. We really missed her!
On her last flight. ALMOST home!
Dance pic she sent us from her AFY- she's on the left in the red shirt.
On the left in the front
I got these shots of my other dinner plate hibiscus. They are just incredible.
The day before opening.
The boys and cousins trying out Caleb and Anna's game they created to sell on Etsy.
Jim took the girls camping. They came back with great stories and filled with love for their daddy.
Some other friends came too and they ran around screaming at spiders together.
Jim made sure the girls got some archery in.
Nicole's first XC meet! The seasons starts in the summertime.
Right before school started up again, we wanted one last beach trip!
Trying to catch the little fish in the tide pools
The tide pools make for the warmest water and are so relaxing!
We had fun playing family games each night.
Wheel of Fortune was the favorite
We explored the northern part of Shell Island, our favorite place to find weird and cool beach stuff.
Jake teaching Diana how to skim board
The pit!
Nicole's sideways foot prints. Good mindless beach relaxation.
Getting bait for some fishing!
Diana put the bait fish in a pool she made called Sunny Vibes Hotel. As the tide rose, however, the fish began escaping. She then punished the fish for not appreciating her hotel by throwing them to the seagulls. Not sure how I'd feel about visiting her Sunny Vibes hotel personally haha.
So much fun and energy in this girl!
Jake got one!
Mike got a crab
Lizard fish too! Jacob had his checkup and is He is 65.4lbs (2nd %), 58 in (29th %)
Bigger crab!
Mike practicing with his stunt kite
Ice cream for the ride home!
Nicole was pretty proud of how well she did her first time shooting a rifle!
At one XC meet it had rained a bunch so her legs were covered in muddy gravel!
While taking Jake out for dinner after he finished reading the Book of Mormon, we discovered that my favorite desert ever was back on the menu at Longhorn!
Mike had a pinewood derby for fun with his young men's group at church. He did pretty well!
Diana wanted to show me how well she organized her bed! I loved it, but was curious where she is supposed to sleep...
We went to meet the teacher...and they handed us the kids report cards from last year. Ooops! I did check the grades online, but we left for Europe a few days before the end of school and that was prettymuch the last thing on my mind. The kids were all super curious what their grades had been haha.
And they're off!
John is in 1st grade now. He had his checkup and is 43lbs (32%), 46 in (59th %) with a BMI of 14.3.
Michael is an 8th grader. He had his checkup and is 103lbs (33%) and 65.5in (62nd %).
For his 14th birthday, he wanted everything red...and lemon cake. So it was crabs, a mix of watermelon/strawberries, and lemon cake.
I love how John is figuring out how to get meat from a crab!
Nicole's XC team did cleanup around the downtown. She also got to meet the mayor (not pictured)
We did a quick day trip to the beach with some friends.
Nicole won some fudge after getting a gumball from a machine at a random store. It was so lucky!
Nicole forgot her stuff. I'm not a huge fan of bringing kids stuff they forget, so I figured if I wrote a super embarrassing note it would go a long way in preventing future occurrences. "To the amazing gorgeous Nicole Del Bianco" did the job pretty well.
Another meet picture. She enjoys the team, although the running is not easy for her. I'm glad she is willing to stick with a hard thing.
John's teacher gave him a prize for being good. His teacher last year never did (he went through two teachers and it was a struggle for that second one in her first year not being a preschool teacher). This teacher really knows how to keep John focused. It includes lots of rewards and incentives that keep his brain on track which he really needs.
Diana had friends walk home after school with her to swim and play for a few hours one Friday. I was so grateful that she has so many friends- it's not something I had or that my older ones really have. They were so cute, even having a water fight with cups...in the pool.
We did a quick trip to Marian and Brandon's lake house one Saturday. Jake somehow got this dragonfly on his finger.
The kids each tried wake surfing and most of them got up even if for a second!
Brandon was so kind to get in the water and help the kids again and again...and again.
We all sang together at church "I Will Be What I Believe" and practiced together a few Sundays. After one practice, Jim said he felt like we should go sing to a family in the ward so we all got right in our cars and went and did it. It was really sweet and special to serve that way. And then this last Sunday we sang and it was wonderful. Nicole told me it's one of her favorite church songs.
Diana selfie.
I came home to find John ready to learn! He's pretty sure that's how to wear the guitar strap haha
Nicole and Jim went on a boar hunt with his brother Luke and nephew Kollin. They stayed at this house.
And then went to a hunting blind in the middle of this swampy forest. There were a bunch of blinds so everyone split up except Jim and Nicole.
Super thick vegetation and lots of bugs.
Nicole was ready! She loved the experience, even though no animals came by to give her an opportunity.
Kollin got one the first night!
At the lodge
Luke got one the morning they were leaving. It was definitely an awesome time, and I'm hoping Nicole will get chances in the future. We had some amazing sausage already from these animals and feel blessed to have such healthy meat.
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