Monday, June 30, 2014

Jump for June!

Ah, June. The month wherein this greatness was born (and I'm not talkin' about the blog). ;)

June of 2014 was busy!

We kicked the summer off with swimming lessons, the park, and generally adjusting to NO SCHOOL!

Tyler kicked it off with a trip to India to visit the Rising Star Outreach Campus. If you haven't heard, he is now Executive Director of Rising Star Outreach. They provide support to the leprosy-affected in India: medical support for those who had leprosy (which is cure-able now!), educational support for the kids of these colonies (kids of the leprosy-affected aren't welcomed into the local schools), and micro-loans to help the individuals in these colonies become self-sufficient.

So he arrived at the campus (which houses the school and the dorms where the volunteers stay) early in June.

The kids danced and he was welcomed with a lovely ceremony. 


Tyler got to see the cute guy we sponsor at the school. Doesn't he have the best smile!? 

Tyler was also able to see how volunteer supports were working out in the colonies. RSO has some amazing volunteers!!
And, honestly, who can pass up a picture of micro-loan goats? LOVE THIS!
During the weekend he was there, Tyler was able to visit a really cool ancient temple...
and the beach! He said it was a lot like his beach in NJ. The sand felt similar (which isn't always the case--you'd be amazed at how different sandy beaches can feel!) and the water was just like NJ, but the cows kinda threw it all off from the NJ vibe...

Tyler got back at like, midnight on a Friday night. IT WAS SO GOOD TO HAVE HIM HOME! We decided the smartest plan was a piano recital the very next day.  
Jack loves performing in his recitals! His best buddy, Gabe, was able to join us for the recital! Actually, we had several really good family friends join us, which the kids LOVED! It made them feel so special.
Sheridan was excited for the chance to perform, too. She had to wear the shirt her dad brought her back from India. The recital went great! While the adults were enjoying some conversation, the kids disappeared to play tag in the church. Generally, we don't let them. But I was exhausted after 10+ days of solo mommy-ing and Tyler was exhausted from the 30+ hours of travelling from the opposite side of the earth. The blood-curdling screams followed by a boy who looked like a zombie apocalypse ended the conversation.

That's right, Henry is the kid who had to get stitches on his head from a piano recital. Our first ER visit with a kid! They ended up having to knock him out since the cut was so close to his eye and wiggling would not help them fix him up cleanly. Sigh. Welcome back from India, Tyler! :)
 He was not thrilled with the process  but managed a pretty good attitude.
 Seven stitches later, we told Henry we'd call him Harry Potter for a while.
Fathers' Day was a definite improvement from the stitches, although the kids were NOT excited about taking a picture after church. I'm sure I made Tyler something tasty. Maybe fajitas? Anyway, it was an awesome day. How could it not be, with such an awesome Daddy?

The next week I spent a day at Girls' Camp (yay for Young Women!) and got super-duper-nasty stomach-flu sick. I was glad I only stayed the day, even though I was sad I missed out on the time with my young ladies (they are the best!). Then, just in time for my birthday a few days later, I got sick again with a NOT stomach-flu flu sickness. My birthday day I had to cancel lunch with my sister-in-law and Grandma-in-law. Total, total bummer. We held off on celebrating for a few days until I felt like a human again and my amazing friend made me a DELICIOUS decadent chocolate cake.
We spent the last part of the month playing and getting ready for our trip to NJ/DC!