July 2015

We have completed our 3rd successful year of the annual, 4th of July Douglas family reunion at the lake.  And this year both my parents and Scott’s parents were able to make it (plus Jeff)!  We were worried about how my parents would handle having so many people/chaos in the house—but they flowed with it pretty well!

Check out the American tattoos!

Different people were in charge of dinner and or dessert each night.  You are witnessing the delicious grilled pizza night below.

And this was the legendary homemade pie crew—key lime; peach; and blackberry (freshly picked be the kids that morning).

But let’s not forget the homemade “Banana Jubilee” (banana pudding) either :-)

It is nice having John and Becky back in the States, they tend to bring out the best in everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trey and Jackson got along so well!

 

 

 

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In addition to John and Becky getting home from their mission (and having the 3rd annual Douglas 4th of July Lake trip)….Chip got married!!

We have seen a transformation in Chip ever since he decided to tie the knot with is long time girlfriend, Renita.  He seems more organized and motivated!  It was a fun rehearsal lunch at Fogo de Chow, followed the next night by a sweet wedding ceremony.  Didn’t she make a stunning bride???

The wedding brought the added benefit of having more Douglas family members fly in—namely Esther, Arrius, Alex, Celeste and Clara.

A highlight of the weekend was going to see “Inside Out” at Lenox theatre Saturday night with most everyone, even though that movie messed Taylor up for a couple of days…”Mom, I’m hearing voices in my head!!!”  Not the thing a previous psych nurse loves to hear.

We had a few fun outings in July:  the zoo, whitewater, children’s museum, catch air, different parks, the spray grounds, and the pool.  I have found we need to go somewhere/just get out of the house every day—or the summer day is too long/kids start bickering.  We are running out of ideas though, so it’s a good thing school starts Monday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The older kids also did a few summer camps in July.  Drama camp (GACS) and Camp High Harbour for Tay; then Fun Camp and Basketball camp (both at Marist) for Jackson.  Unlike last months experience with GACS, this one was very positive!  Taylor absolutely loved her drama teacher, and since she is a strong reader (and still has no fear) she got to have some pretty big roles—Ariel (in The Little Mermaid), and Molly (in Annie).  She ate it up!!

Oh and after Drama camp ended each day, my mom took Taylor directly to a horse riding lesson (at a horse riding farm near Sugarloaf).  Man these kids have had a good summer!  Too good probably.  We need to spend the next several weeks doing service projects!!!  Anyone know of a good way to serve in Atlanta with kids on a Saturday??

 

 

 

Geez, it was also Scott’s 33rd birthday this month!  We brought the Stevenson family to the lake (from Jackson’s baseball team), and their kids lined up perfectly with gender/age of our kids.  It happened to be Mike Stevenson’s birthday also, so we celebrated him Friday night, and Scott Saturday night.

Our younger two were sleeping!

Finally, we spent an additional week at the lake with the Steward family.  It was fun seeing my cousins, and Laura. Plus it was great having so many adults help with the kids. And… I started clearing the wake consistently this week—finally, only took 8 years!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam!

So Scott attended a Principal training in Miami this month, and he felt like he had 2 big unlocks—1. the power of a 10 minute meditation each day (check out the head space app) and 2. the need to delegate more often (which is funny bc before the training he had always considered himself as a delegater). 

Going forward, he has been delegating as much as he can and not only is he happier, the consultants on his team are happier—they love completely owning their own work streams.  Maybe BCG will work out a little bit longer after all!

My brother Jeff sent me an article (on how to have a meaningful/happy life) from the Stanford Alumni magazine and a few of the quotes have stuck with me, thought I’d share!

“I place my bets more often on high motivation than on any other quality except judgment.”

“But you can keep your zest until the day you die. If I may offer you a simple maxim, “Be interested.” Everyone wants to be interesting but the vitalizing thing is to be interested. Keep a sense of curiosity. Discover new things. Care. Risk failure. Reach out.”

“You have to build meaning into your life, and you build it through your commitments, whether to your religion, to an ethical order as you conceive it, to your life’s work, to loved ones, to your fellow humans.”

“As Jim Whitaker, who climbed Mount Everest, said, “You never conquer the mountain. You only conquer yourself.”

Then from our church published magazine (Ensign), this article (on the importance of retiring to bed early and waking up early) was inspiring!  Check it out, I am recommitted!  #healthywealthywise

Much Love,

TFK