Hart Happenings

This week was pretty full, as summer weeks can be.
Garden class is going really well and takes a couple of morning every week.  We have a really great crew of kids, so it is super fun.
Tuesday was my birthday so, per the tradition we spent the day in Yellowstone.  Dad surprised me by calling Monday evening to let me know he wanted to come celebrate with us.  His company is always the best.  We listened to some great tunes on the way into the park and saw some beautiful scenery.  We got hit by the rain and hail Ruthie mentioned and concluded the evening with showing of The Foreigner at the Playmill theater in West Yellowstone.  Just delightful to be in such a lovely place with the people I love the most!  Perfect.  Mom also sent a super neat gift up with dad.  It is a frame containing the portraits of my maternal line for 6 generations.  SO COOL!  We had a pioneer day activity with the primary kids today at church and I took it to show them because I love it so much!  Thanks mom!
Wednesday Ian went with a friend to volunteer at the local animal shelter which they enjoy as long as Ian remembers to take his allergy pill so the cats don't render him a drippy, sneezy mess.
Jack is back into soccer practices which he really loves and has been working on drills, dribbling, and building his endurance by distance running every day.  It is neat to see him apply himself in that way and I think it really helped him prepare for the Spartan he did on Saturday.  Friday he had Webelos day camp and while he was there Peter and Ian invited friends to go to the zoo and then out for ice cream.  It was a good day.
Thursday evening I hosted a baby shower for a friend of mine.  She is due to have baby #5 on Jenn's original due date at the beginning of August and I wanted to do something to celebrate but she already has everything she needs.  What to do?  She reminds me of Ruth and is super practical so I thought maybe a freezer meal prep party would be helpful.  We did a bunch of prep on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.  The boys were awesome help in the kitchen and getting the yard looking it's best, Alex was a great shopping companion and fine tuner in the yard also, and everything went off without a hitch.  We set up tables in the backyard (it was a perfect night) and broke up into teams and each team grabbed a recipe, the supplies, and the ingredients and then prepped the meal, covered it with foil, labeled it, and wrote the directions on the top.  The gals who came all had a great time and we put together about a dozen freezer meals in an hour.  It was a really fun party.  Ian helped me put together a killer playlist that everyone loved.  My friend took a picture of her freezer afterward and sent it to all of us and it was fun to see that maybe we actually did do something helpful for her.  Huzzah!
The Spartan was a really fun experience and I'm really glad Ruth talked us all into it.  I was glad to be useful and help watch the kids.  Dad actually did more of the heavy lifting there, but it was fun to watch all the cousins play together.  And even though I didn't run the 8.6 miles, my legs are still feeling all the running up and down the hills to watch the kids race, pick up lunches, gather drinks, chase littles, and try to track down the adults in the race.  It was absolutely beautiful up in the mountains!  And it was fun to be somewhere that we haven't been before.
Its been a beautiful summer so far!
Glad to hear that Jenn and Scott are home with the babies!  That sounds so cozy and nice!  We're so excited for them to start building their little family life!
Cheers!