July 31, 2011

Summer is whizzing right by us!  It’s going so fast, in fact, that Brett and Jeff are highly offended by all the Back to School sales.  It just doesn’t seem like it should be over yet.

Brett and I have spent the last six weeks working on an online history class.  He’s trying to free up room in his Fall schedule for activities that are decidedly more engaging than history.  I think the material is fascinating.  Did you know that Columbus was NOT trying to prove the earth was round?  Elementary school teachers have been misleading children for decades!  It turns out that educated people in the 1400’s already knew the earth was round.  And I’ll bet you didn’t know that at the time of the American Revolution, people living in England paid far more taxes than the colonists did.  The war was not about high taxes.  See?  Fascinating! 

Instead of history, Jeff has been brushing up on pre-algebra skills.  He’s doing admirably, especially considering that his teacher isn’t exactly proficient in math herself.  I think we’ve done fairly well, considering.  We’ve reviewed fractions, decimals, rates, ratios, proportions, solving for an unknown, and order of operations.  I feel like I’m now ready for 7th grade, too.

With all our studying, we haven’t gone anywhere, but we’ve made up for it with a house full of company all through July.  It has been so much fun!  It started with a visit from cousin David Matheson.  He was in Spokane for a basketball tournament and then spent a week with us before flying back to Alaska.  We made sure to work in the traditional Matheson trip to Dairy Queen while he was here.

 

 

The day David left was the same day Bryce and Celestia arrived for a four-day weekend.   We barbequed and did all the traditional fireworks stuff.  Bryce was sick for most of the trip, so it wasn’t as much fun as he’d hoped; but we liked having him home, and we like Celestia A LOT.  

Right on their heels, we had TWO different families stay with us that we haven’t seen since we left BYU.  Both were traveling to Seattle and stopped to see us along the way.  We loved getting caught up and meeting their children.  I felt like I had been through a time warp.  The last time we saw them, we were all newlyweds in our 20s.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed their visits.

Jim's favorite thing this summer was going to Mt. Rainier for Girls' Camp.  We spent two days with the girls and froze the whole time.  I expected it to be a little on the chilly side, but I wasn't prepared for 40 degrees.  Brrrr!  I vote that next year we join the Ankeney's stake at a Girls' Camp with cabins.  The scenery was gorgeous, though.

As for the latest news, Jim is recovering from major oral surgery on Thursday.  He had gum grafts done on four more teeth, and as usual, didn’t tell me about it until it was time to leave for the doctor’s office.  (He thinks I complain too much about his recovery and says this method of not telling me saves him grief.  Surely he exaggerates!)  He ate a meal today for the first time in four days, and I can’t remember the last time he enjoyed my cooking more!  Perspective makes all the difference.

And to close this most exciting family update, I leave you with the picture of the week:  Brett learning what happens when an entire package of gum goes through the dryer.