Day 1692 | 4-H Projects

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The 4-H fair is just around the corner and we’ve got projects on our mind…and our to-do list. Chase is taking four projects this year. One is done: see the monster pillow pictured above. Two are mostly done: an avocado seedling that just needs to keep growing and an original LEGO design that needs some extra flare. The final project is photography—and we have a plan for that. Hopefully we’ll wrap that up by the end of the week, too.

I’ll keep you posted.

Day 1691 | Blossom

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Have you been wondering about our newest family member? Blossom is still around and is doing great. He’s content being woken up at all hours of his daytime sleep, tolerates being held, and has become a good friend. A good friend that poops a lot whenever we’re hanging out. Sometimes it's necessary to look past your friends’ shortcomings.

Day 1683 | Juggling Lesson

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Tadpole Camp was cancelled today because of storms, so we ended up stopping at the library to grab a book on hold that we’ve been waiting for. When we arrived, we found out we were just in time for a juggling lesson. You can’t pass that up!

We’ve definitely got some work to do on our juggling skills, but the boys did get the hang of the twirling plates and balancing balloons. Probably no jobs in the circus for us quite yet, though. 

Day 1682 | Reflecting on a Crazy Week

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Last week was bananas. Like, maybe the busiest we’ve experienced since having kids. The boys had a blast attending two separate camps and starting soccer (which is an eight-week activity), but, man, all that schlepping and prep-work is exhausting. I think I’m still recovering.

This was the general schedule last week:

  • 8:45am | Leave house

  • 9:30am-noon | Beaver Creek Nature camp

  • 12:10pm-12:50pm | Drive from Beaver Creek while eating lunch in the car

  • 1:00pm-4:00pm | Time Travel Camp at the Children’s Theater

  • 4:15pm | Home

That’s not too terrible, right? Well that was just Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Monday and Wednesday, it looked like this:

  • 8:45am | Leave house

  • 9:30am-noon | Beaver Creek Nature camp

  • 12:10pm-12:50pm | Drive from Beaver Creek while eating lunch in the car

  • 1:00pm-3:45pm | Time Travel Camp at the Children’s Theater

  • 3:45pm-4:00pm | Drive to soccer while changing into soccer socks/shin guards and eating a quick snack

  • 4:00pm-5:00pm | Soccer

  • 5:15pm | *Home

*Except on Wednesday when I had to drop the boys off at Chris’s office so that I could scoot out to my pottery class. That day, the boys got home around 6:30pm and I returned back to the house at 9:00pm.

Some observations from a manic week

  • A perfume of sunscreen and bug spray followed me everywhere.

  • In total, I drove about 290 miles in one week. I’d say usually we average around 50. I was in the car for about 2.5 hours/day.

  • Packing lunches is no joke. Chase eats hot lunch (because I’ve never given him the option-ha!), and I always knew packing lunches every day must stink, but I really get it now. It’s just one more thing you have to plan for and prep before getting out the door.

  • I over-scheduled myself because I needed to make the most of my windows of kid-free time (which is in short-supply this summer). During the two-hour windows of these camps, I shoved in three meetings, two appointments, and countless errands. Although it was nice to cross some of these things off my list, I wouldn’t say I felt more composed at the end of all of this.

  • Living out of the car is a thing (see photo above). Our van has never been dirtier + more full of stuff than last week. We had about three changes of clothes, lunch containers + bags, sunscreen/bug spray, crafts from every day at camps, water bottles galore, stuff for all my meetings, multiple pairs of shoes/sandals—you get the idea.

The van has recovered completely from the chaotic week. I think the boys and I are still working on it.

Day 1681 | Letting Go

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Both boys are officially two-wheel bike riders now. They are at their happiest when they are navigating our block on their own. You read that right. We’re letting them ride their bikes around our block solo (out of site…eek!). It’s been a lesson in letting go, that’s for sure.

They’re just so proud of themselves and their independence, though. It’s very sweet.

Day 1679 | Father’s Day

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Since Chris and I were out of town last weekend, today was his Father’s Day celebration. We surprised him with a pretty great present scavenger hunt (Chase even contributed his first clue—usually I’m the one who writes them) and then the rest of the day was filled with some of his favorite things: a walk to the farmer’s market, some productive time spent working on the fort, a bike ride to get ice cream, a [fruitless] trip to play Kubb at a local establishment, and grilling out + low-key family time with just the four of us. 

It was a good day. I’m not sure we did enough to express the total and complete love and appreciation we feel for this guy, but we tried our best! 

Day 1675 | Soccer

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Chris and I made it home after a wonderful weekend away. We’re tired and behind on life but that’s what you have to do sometimes. :) 

This week also happens to be the busiest week of the summer for us—perfect timing. The boys are in two camps every day this week and soccer started today as well (it’s a Monday/Wednesday thing for most of the summer). It’s going to be *a bit* intense but super fun. 

If the blog is a tad quiet this week, it’s because we’re all running around like maniacs.