As I was filling in our July calendar at the beginning of the month, I realized that we only had ONE day in the entire month of July that no one in the family had anything scheduled. Just one day. That was the moment that I realized our summers were changing. As the kids get older and busier and more entrenched in time-consuming activities (I'm looking at you, EMS Dance Team), our lazy and carefree days of summer will be fewer and fewer. We still found free time to relax and go to the pool and hang out with friends and do what we wanted, but there was also a lot more checking the schedule and chauffeuring kids to activities and fitting in our fun around the other things on our schedule. It was still a good summer, but the landscape of our summers seems to be changing. And this is what the last month of our summer looked like:
Theater filled a lot of our summer free time. Staley was in 3 shows, Adelie was in 2, and Briggs was in 1. Between rehearsals and shows and helping out as needed to get ready for the shows, many hours were spent at the theater. I think the shows deserve their own post(s) (because I have SO many pictures), so more about those to come.
All 3 kids participated in the Red Devil Racers running camp again this summer. It culminated in a final race, but both girls were at a theater rehearsal, so Briggs was the only Sancken kid who got to participate in the race. Briggs chose to run the longer race this year, which was about 1.25 miles. He finished 8th out of 15 kids.
We all participated in the Fight for Life 5K fundraiser for St. Jude, along with Jill and Cade. This was Briggs' first 5K, and he ran the entire thing! Staley won her age group in a time of 26:08, Adelie was 3rd in the same age group with a time of 34:40, and Briggs was 2nd in his age group with a time of 34:29. All 3 kids ran the whole way and did a great job!
Staley went to a 3 day overnight dance camp with her EMS Dance Team at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington. Although she had to miss parts of camp for play rehearsals, she had a great time with learning, dancing, staying up too late, and hanging out with her friends. She had a great time, but she was EXHAUSTED when she got home.
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Zach and Chris have been busy timing races around the local area.
When we've had free time, we've taken friends to State Farm Pool with us on several different occasions.
My college friend, Jenny, came up from Edwardsville and met us there one day with her 2 kids for a few hours of catching up and swimming fun.
We also enjoyed lots of play dates and a pool day with Avery and Isla when my friend, Christie, was home with her girls at the beginning of August.
We also took advantage of a friend's pool when they were out of the town for the week. Having access to a pool just a few blocks from our house made it way easier to squeeze in a little daily pool time (during a VERY hot week).
Adelie got to enjoy a sleepover and some pottery painting with Caroline as a special treat from Grammie and Grandpa for Caroline's birthday.
Although Staley had to miss it because of a play, Adelie and Briggs had a great time with Lila, Uma, and Papa at an art and animal activity. They got to pet a sloth, hold/see lots of cool animals (like baby chicks, a huge toad, a tortoise, an armadillo, a tarantula), and paint a sloth picture.
Adelie's picture (which she gave to Staley because Staley loves sloths)...
and Briggs' picture.
The kids had a great time with both the art and the animals.
And what a memorable experience!
Both Adelie and Briggs said that holding the baby chicks was their favorite.
The St. Jude Run was at the beginning of August. It will also have its own post, but since it filled so much of Zach's time in late July/early August, it deserved a shout-out here too.
All 3 kids have performed with their Rising Stars group at various community events.
Adelie got to sing her solo, "Shiny" from Moana, at one of the performances.
And Staley has also gotten to do her solo, "Naughty" from Matilda.
Staley also started cross country at the middle school. She participated in some team open runs in June, a 2 day/week cross country camp put on by the high school in July, and officially started daily practices the first week of August.
Staley has maintained her running streak, running at least a mile every day since April 1, which has helped her as she has started her season.
I got hired as the assistant EMS cross country coach this year, so I have been enjoying getting to spend time with Staley and her friends daily while helping out at practices and meets. I'm really loving it!
Adelie and Briggs got to go with Zach to an adoption party thrown by his friend, Shyam, as they celebrated the adoption of their daughter.
There was lots of food, candy, face painting, and other kids to play with.
They had a great time! Staley had another theater show, so she and I were not able to attend.
Staley and I enjoyed an evening out at the theater to see McKinley perform in the show "Bright Star." Loved it!
Along with all the other things that we've done this summer, we still fit in time for back to school shopping and haircuts, playdates with friends, trips to the library, lessons, and summer fun.
It was a whirlwind of a summer. It felt full and fast, but we enjoyed it all! And now, ready or not, it's on to the school year.
