Where is Summer Going?

We are half-way through July already. While we have had a wonderful summer and done so much fun stuff, I just can't believe its almost over already! This has been a stressful week for our family and it is definitely wearing on the kids. My dad had to get a stent put in his heart because he had 90% blockage and today my friend is getting surgery for breast cancer. She is amazing, but this is going to be a rough road for her. I have been very stressed about all of it and the kids pick it up. That is one of the tough parts of being a parent and still being a person yourself. The kids definitely react to all of my emotions and feelings. I have to find the balance of allowing them to see that it is OK to experience all range of emotions, but you have to try to balance your reactions to the emotions--therein lies the hard part.
The kids got to make their handprint stones that we make every summer. With five kids, eventually I'll be able to pave our driveway with all of the stones. We've been doing it since Drew was two and he'll be ten in a few months. (That was difficult to type without getting choked up). I love doing those types of things because it always portrays my kids personalities perfectly. As we were doing the stones, Drew kept asking if the cement was poisonous and he was pretty sure that some of the dust got in his mouth and he wanted to know if he would be OK. Dawsyn was very particular about where she did her stone and how she decorated it. Delaney wanted to know if she could have a popsicle if she did a good job on hers, and Dax was acting like each decoration was a superhero! He even had superhero sounds for each one. I did Drake's for him and he through a fit when I pressed his chubby little hand into the stone for his handprint. He is going to give us a run for our money. He has developed his own mind and his own personality and quite frankly, I'm scared! Yesterday, he put his foot in the dog food bowl at a friend's house and he kept saying, "I Silly". I kept telling him no and that he needed to stop he just laughed at me. Finally I told him he had to stand in the corner and this turned into a fun game of him going to different places in the room and asking, "corner?" "Corner?" Knowing full well that it wasn't the corner. Just like the four that preceded him, he's too smart for his own good!
We also got Dawsyn's test scores in the mail, she tested gifted in math and reading so she will be in special classes this year, just like Drew was last year. She is pretty excited and I think it helps that she thinks it puts her one up in their "not so silent" sibling rivalry!