A Middle of July update

When I tell you I haven't taken one interesting picture since I last blogged, believe me! 

Last week I spent the week at home with the kids and I'd love to tell you it was exciting but honestly, it was just super chill.

We've been working to get ahead of the game for 4th grade and that's the year of learning all the state capitals. So I made Mom's version of flash cards.

Funny enough this was enough information to keep her interest and help her remember Harrisburg. She's gone from about 12 memorized to about 25 or 30 in a week so I am hopeful we can get those into her brain early. 

C got his hair cut. And then we got McDonald's for lunch because they're in the same parking lot. 

This made me laugh. I sent it to a friend who is taking her family to Germany both in jest and solidarity. M is going through a phase where she hates all food. 

I had a show to see. It was okay. 

And really that's it for interesting. Except for my tire saga. Long story short: ended up with a nail in my tire and it couldn't be repaired. (Why is it always my driver's side rear tire that acts up? I'm going to have to start holy watering it.) 

A new tire was ordered and it came in today so this evening it will go on. That will be good. It came at a very inconvenient time though as these things do. 

More of interest soon, I promise!

July is Off and Running

I would love to tell you that July has been thrilling and fun so far... but it's been pretty low-key. Which to be honest, is more my speed. 

The Mississippi is flooding which has closed a bunch of roads downtown. It truly hasn't affected our family much though the kids took a 3 day sculpture camp at the art museum and parking was a nightmare. But compared to entire towns being destroyed by tornadoes and water that's not really a problem. 

The art camp was fun for the kids though. We haven't gotten an email to come pick up the sculptures, we have to wait for them to be fired and completed. I also didn't take any pictures of the experience but trust me they went. 

Our 4th of July looks pretty much exactly the same as our holiday has always looked. We made a flag strawberry lasagna which has been our tradition for 3 years now. 

We watched The Music Man, we had a cookout of hot dogs, grilled corn and potatoes, and then watched Macy's Fireworks on TV with our glowsticks party. 

M had a fishtail braid which held up nicely and added a lovely wave to her hair for a few days too. 

On the 5th we went to see Despicable Me 4. 

And we liked it a lot. C was over the moon excited because he's always always loved all the movies from the franchise. 

We took him to see The Minion Movie for his first big movie theater experience. Then a few years later, Despicable Me 3 was M's first big movie theater experience. We definitely saw Minions Rise of Gru in the theatre. 

I took a group of kids to see Despicable Me in the theater for a field trip back in 2010. So that means of a franchise of 6 movies total, my kids saw 4 in the theater and I saw 5. That's pretty great actually. 

We took a trip to the pet store where Santiago got himself a new floating Betta Log. Because he's been looking bored lately so we figured changing things up in the tank was a fun idea.

And we did not buy a kitten. Though 2/4 of us really wanted to! 

So that's what we have been up to. This week is low-key, we are staying on top of not ruining our minds or letting them turn to mush and working ahead for the school year. 

All the Other Stuff

Okay, honestly, if anyone asks what we did in June the answer will be Vacation Bible School. But we were able to sneak in a few other things. 

C and I went to see Jesus Thirsts. It was his first time going to a middle school youth group event. 

We watched the last Pat Sajak Wheel of Fortune Episode. 

We went to see Medea in the park.

I got the steal of the century when Target had their marshmallows on sale for 49 cents a bag. Not in the store. Not on the app. Online. Totally worth resetting my password to buy the 24 bags of marshmallows for VBS for $12!! 

We took the kids to Cracker Barrel and named this guy Clarence. 

I spent a full day at a diocesean synod meeting. Which was WAY better than I was expecting. And I am so glad!!

Husband took a rain barrel class. And we are now the proud owners of a free rain barrel. 

We saw In The Heights as a family. 

And M participated in the kid's camp at our Cathedral too. 

June was busy. But it was good!! 

It's Over

Holy cow. It's over. 

What a week. Here are some stats: 

99 elementary kids.

45 preschoolers.

7 in babysitting.

80 volunteers. 

24 bags of Veggie Straws. (A Costco run I will never forget.) 

74 Bunches of Bananas (The Costco run that was somehow less ridiculous.) 

June is my most exhausting time of the year. I worked 103.75 hours in the last two weeks. 

June is also the most rewarding month of the year for me though. The months of prayer and planning play out into 5 days of fun. The generosity of our parish is unmatched and the whole thing keeps getting better. 

We might never know the lasting impact of 2024 Schuba VBS had on the people of our church. But rest assured... we are planting good seeds. 

God is a Friend Who Loves!

 VBS is rolling and it's all easier now. 

It's so much work. And also so worth it. 

In other news... we got a Bishop! I am so so glad! (I mean he has been appointed. He will become the Bishop in September at a Mass I will not be invited to.) But I am still super excited!! 

June is Slipping By

Happy Friday Everyone! 

June is flying by... I have been busy busy busy getting ready for 

VBS season is here and things are busy! (I may have mentioned that.) We honestly haven't been up to much. We went to see Garfield on Sunday for Father's Day. 

And otherwise, we are staying cool and keeping busy! See you on the other side of VBS!

June is Bustin' Out All Over!

Because it's June! June! June! June! 

In honor of June... we went to Husband's hometown. (For a specific reason that truly had nothing to do with June but whatever okay?) 

We ate lunch at home and tidied the downstairs before leaving. Of course, by then it was raining which was annoying but it's okay. It wasn't raining where we were going. 

This is a true story: since our drive home from Michigan last week there has been an inconsistent rolling noise from my car. It's not all the time, only on severe or dramatic turns. And even then not all the time. So I've been anxious about it and worried. You guys... it was a walnut under my hood. Just rolling back and forth. Easiest car problem solution ever. (We threw the walnut away.) 

The drive was otherwise uneventful. 

After we checked in we headed for the most delicious pizza. I don't know why his hometown pizza is so much better than the pizza we can get at our house. So frustrating. But it does make it sweeter to visit. 

Once our tummies were full we went to play at a park. I took this picture and sent it to one of my friends with the caption: "Look! I natured!" 

This was the response I got: 

I had sent her this targeted ad I got the other day: 

Adventure is out there! But so are serial killers. See, she is my outdoor friend. Like they go crazy outdoor hiking camping, living off of whatever camping. Carrying out their own human waste camping. 

I am an indoor kind of girl. With a house. And a bed. Billie Jo is my people. Admittedly, I love my outdoor friend very much but I am not going camping. 

We then went to the Whippy Dip. Because that's what we do when we go to town. (Like twice a year.) 

Then before bedtime, we went to one of our other favorite parks! Which was a lot of fun. Except I didn't love the sheer number of gnats. So many gnats. 

Sunday we went to Mass and thanks to a little help from the Holy Spirit ended up sitting in Husband's Grandma's pew! She was excited to join us when she arrived. And she was the whole reason we were there, to begin with. Because it was her 85th birthday and mostly everyone was in town.

Truly, after Mass, we went to the grocery store and ran into 2 different relatives. We all smiled big for the huge group picture. I can't wait to see how that looks when the photographer sends that back. There could/should have been 80 peeps in it if everyone was there. Everyone of course was not there.  66 people were though and that is still a pretty good turnout. 

We also took a picture with just our little family and Grandma. 

And we are so glad to have that. 

And that was our June weekend.