Checking In

 Oh my gosh, it's July. 

Things have been crazy the past few weeks and now it's already a new month. There is LOTS to say but let's start with VBS was great! 

We had a fantastic week and I think for the most part it went really well. There are some things I will change for next year though, and I always look for ways to improve. 

Here we all are. 

Anyway, immediately following VBS, like we unloaded the car at home and reloaded it, we took off for Minnesota. 

We stopped on the way out of town to get C's new glasses. 

We had a delightful weekend. We hit the Mall of America because the last time we took the kids M was two and she doesn't remember. We went to the Aquarium. 

After the Aquarium we walked around a bit and then went to Ikea. 

The real reason for going north was Joe's high school graduation party. He is Husband's cousin but was also our ring bearer once upon a time. So we got to see some of Husband's relatives, which was nice. 

So this is my first part of the catch up check in. More soon!! 

VBS Week

 Oh hey there. 

If you need me this week I will be rocking out to VBS music. 

And hanging in the "southwest" 

This is my first year as director and Day One went pretty darn well! 

It's so much work, but I love VBS week and helping youth find a love for Jesus. 

The Start of Summer Break

The Last Day of School went well for the kids! And here we are already a few days into summer break. How is that possible.

M is devestated the school year is over. Mostly because the girl is a social butterfly and is already missing her friends. 

C is less sad about school being over. He likes the routine. But he was ready for a break. The last bit of Mondays there were more exhausting because he was just ready for permanent weekends. 

We surprised the kids with Hamilton tickets to kick off the summer the day after school let out.

We had a good time. Husband and I saw it in 2016 in Chicago. But this was the kid's first time seeing it. I am so glad we made it happen! 

We had so much fun that we kind of got on a kick and declared summer 2022 the summer of theatre. So we saw another show this past weekend. 

Madagascar Junior was more fun than I anticipated. We've got more shows coming down the pike too! 

Do you remember that C got Waldo for his birthday last year? So we now consider that to be Waldo's "birthday" too. So he got a betta log for his big day. We finally installed it and after some hesitation, both aquatic gentlemen have discovered it and find to be quite satisfactory indeed. 

In other aquatic news, swim lessons began last Tuesday and they're still going great. This year we put them together in the same "private" lesson of just the two of them. 

It works out okay! One of us waits, then takes them straight to their summer program, then heads off to work. In this heatwave we have, the pool was the place to be let me tell you. Sitting in my car for 30 minutes wasn't as much fun. (With gas prices so high you better believe I wasn't idling and just had my windows open!) 

And that's what we are up to about now. 

Happy Wednesday! 

Na na na na... Hey June!

Holy heck we made it to June! And the last day of school here! 

Let's just recap the week a bit first though shall we? Tuesday was still May, but it was the parent showcase for the school Irish Dancing Club. 

Here is M with one of her favorite friends. 

So truthfully, I never thought M was going to do much as far as performing but hot dog if she didn't have natural stage presence. Time will tell what she does with that but she did really enjoy going to Irish dance this year. 

Wednesday was the Day of Awesomeness. Basically, a bunch of inflatables and each group of grades gets some time playing. 

Here's M and one of her other favorites before obstacle coursing.

I swear C participated too, but his teacher isn't as good about taking pictures and none of my friends volunteered during his classes time to play. (That's how I got this picture in fact, one of my friends was there.) 

Yesterday was field day. I took no pictures of the kids before they left for school and I haven't seen any. But that's okay. 

And today was the last day. Look at how much they grew up this year!!! 

I know it's not just me, they definitely look more grown up! I didn't make them take uniform pictures this morning after all. I told them I was going to but it truly does it really matter to anyone but me? (And even I decided it didn't matter, because the reality is, I want to see what they actually wore on the last day of school!) 

We are ready for summer! 

I mean, actually I am not. There's kind of a lot of emotions swirled around the end of this school year. Things were... mostly normal honestly. And they haven't been normal since C was in Kindergarten. So, to have these celebrations and events with parents able to volunteer just means more. And seeing how big my kids are, after the events of the last week or so nationally... I don't take for granted how lucky I am that these beautiful souls are mine and I get to love them and experience the fun with them. 

God is so good. And so is summer. 

Memorial Day Weekend

My Memorial Day started off early because I got to go to the first grade fairy tail plays. I know you're jealous. 

If I am being honest, they weren't that great. It was hard to both see and hear but who cares? It's first grade. We did get to finally see all the dioramas. Here is a smattering of most of them:

We also got to spend some time with our kids and read. And I enjoyed that too. 

Friday night, we went to see M's friends play baseball. This is not our family's sport but we were happy to go and support them for a single game. 

It was cute to watch her watch the game. She ran up to one of her friends to tell him he had a nice hit, and he reacted so sweetly. He tossed his head back and was like "no big deal" but he was beaming that a classmate came to see. There were 4 of her friend's on the team and we knew a couple of the other kids as well. The best part was the team they played also had some kids from our school so she knew some of those kids too. 

Plus, at one point Husband got to hold a three week old baby. And that's always fun! 

Also on Friday night, Husband and I put together our new grill!! 

We have used the same Weber charcoal grill since we got married. It works perfectly fine. But after work, getting the grill going can be a real pain. Last summer we actively avoided grilling because we either didn't want to smell like charcoal or it would take too long. So having a gas grill is a real treat. 

We gave our Weber to one of Husband's employees. She's just a year out of college and happy to have our old grill. She already used it this weekend in fact.  

Saturday we took the kids to play laser tag and the arcade to celebrate C a little more. We went right away in the morning and got to play laser tag just the four of us! Which was great because the kids had never played before. We had a good time! 

For the arcade we got time cards where they could play as much as they wanted for 30 minutes. The only thing they couldn't do was earn a prize. (Darn, no lame plastic-y garbage for me to throw away a few weeks later.) We had a lot of fun. Everyone's favorite game was the Down the Clown Game

I took no pictures of that though because we were having fun. 

Saturday night, Husband and I had a little date night fire. 

We didn't talk about much at all but somehow talked for 3 hours. The BEST. 

Sunday and Monday were SUPER low key. Mass. A grad party open house. And I did a lot of laundry. And I took no pictures. But it was good. I love a low key few days and a paid holiday. I slept in so I could get paid to sleep. (I enjoyed it too.) 

And now we are in the final push, last week of school and a Tuesday that feels like a Monday. We can do it!! 

A Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Birthday

 Yesterday was a big day because C turned 10! Should we recap the day? Too bad, I am going to anyway. Please note the many wardrobe changes throughout the day. 

He woke up and discovered the surprise theme Husband and I decided on was Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

He got to open his present from M first thing. (Because they have no patience and a present before school is always fun!) 

After a birthday bagel it was time to go to school. Cosmic Brownies in hand for the birthday treat of course! 

 

Today was supposed to be a reward day at school with fun activities and bounce houses and things. I told them in January that it was going to rain that day, because it always rains on his birthday. Always.

Sure enough, there was a pretty decent thunderstorm in the afternoon. We expected it though. And C had a great day at school. 

I picked him up from school, a treat because typically Thursdays the kids go to aftercare. We went and picked up his cake, an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Then we actually went home and got ready for our super early dinner at Red Robin. 

C enjoyed his birthday cheeseburger. Then we went home for the party portion of the night. But first: the last present arrived and it was on theme so he had to change again! 

(Fun fact about buying Thanksgiving's Day Parade merchandise in May, it's all on sale! Also, Macy's said YL was out of stock so I got a YM since C is so skinny he can wear that just fine, I just like the length of the YL better. But then they sent a YL! So that worked out!) 

I set up a teams meeting for my family and we all had a good time watching him open presents and blow out his candles. 

Then he just played and read his new books until bedtime. It was a fantastic day celebrating my C. 

Double Digit Birthday Boy

Goose, 

10. 

I mean, 10 seems really big. And yet I know there's so much more to come. It helps that you're still so tiny and snuggly. Please please never stop snuggling with me. I know you hate the "Best Snuggle Friends Forever" song, but kid you are just so snuggly. And no matter how big you get I want to snuggle you. 

This past year was a good one really. Third grade was not as scary as I thought it would be. Even math went okay and I was worried to be honest. I just kept reminding you that never once in my life has anyone ever asked me to do 100 multiplication problems in 5 minutes so it doesn't matter much to me that your brain doesn't work that fast. You can get the right answer, in your own timing. And I am okay with that. 

You are so imaginative. Still. I love how you are still so innocent and prefer just playing toys to about anything else in the whole wide world. I also appreciate that you still love Bluey and other shows even if the boys in your class call them "baby shows." They can keep their video games and violence thank you. 

This year you were in your first play and you were really very good at it. I want to always remember your big heart trying to clean up the snow as you were meant to be exiting. You also were given the largest speaking part when your class led school Mass. And I am equally proud of you for that. Next year you can become an altar server and while I am not sure if you want to, I hope you do. Serving the Lord is always a good choice. 

You also ran track for the first time. You've never expressed a ton of interest in sports but it was a good place to start. And I think it was good for you. Even if track meets are boring to watch. You sure can run and keep going. 

Your interests really didn't expand much. It's funny how that happens. Every time I think we are past penguins or Minions, they come rolling back in full force. Mario, Garfield, Minions, Penguins, Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes those are your jam. And parades. You just love parades. I honestly don't get it, because of the parade hater that I am. But I love how you love them. 

It's incomprehensible how ten years went by so quickly. It's incomprehensible how much I love you. You drive me up a wall and can push my buttons like no one else and I would do literally anything for you because you are one of the most important people in my life. I pray this is the summer you flourish and I am praying for a friend for you so much. You have such a wonderful heart to share. 

You are loved. You are cherished. I appreciate all that you are and I cannot wait to see what this next year brings. Happy happy birthday C! 

Love, Mom