To quote Charles Dickens (which I don’t do often) – it was the best of times, it was the worst of times… I feel like that accurately sums up the last week and a half. Honestly, I could gloss over the hard moments and simply share stories of all the adventures we’ve had, the places we’ve been, the people we’ve seen. You’d assume we’ve been living the dream. And yes, there have been so many good moments. We are thankful for them. I guess for every up in life, there is a potential down too.
Let’s get the “downs” over with. The first week of summer has been a harder adjustment period than I expected. The boys haven’t been behaving very well with each other or with me. Now that Owen is home from preschool, we’re adapting to full days together again. It was a rocky start to say the least. I’m trying to balance play, outside time and rest with some light school work, chores and play dates. Last week got over scheduled which is my bad, but the stress was also deepened by having the flooring installers come out yet again, the van in the shop for a day, busy preparations for VBA and then our family developed summer colds. That’s the hard stuff…
The good stuff is we hung out with lot of people we love and enjoy! We went to lots of parks. We live in a beautiful area. It was great to get outside with friends. We ate lots of a good food. We fell into bed tired each night after full days. We really made the most of the moments.
I know that the “good stuff” paragraph was way shorter than the “hard stuff” paragraph. I would love to to give you all the details on our fun adventures, but I’m still struggling with my summer cold. My brain is a bit foggy. Instead of rambling on about the good times we’ve had, I’ll share them in pictures. I hope that my next post will be a more informative.
I’ve learned a lot this last week. The kids have been out of routine and it’s changed their behavior. I often assume that they will just roll with the changes, but I can assume too much of them. We needed more naps/down time this last week than we got. Last summer the boys got along so well that I had hoped those same vibes would transfer over to this summer. Even though we got a rocky start with behavior, I am optimistic that if we slow things down, we’ll work through the issues and we’ll adjust to all being home together again.
It’s VBA week right now. With summer colds (for Jeremy, Graham and I). It’s been a bad combination. Jeremy needed my help so Graham and I joined VBA for two days. They were a rough two days for me. I am sick and the group of kiddos I led were a bit on the wild side. I felt bad that I wasn’t able to give the kids my best self because I was under the weather. I have high standards for myself and I wasn’t able to reach them this week. I also felt bad because I wanted to be the best leader possible as a support to my hubby. Instead he got a leader who was just limping along. This is Graham’s last year to be too young for VBA, so I know I’ll get to make up for my rough two days next year. Graham enjoyed his two days at VBA with some minor hiccups. Owen is enjoying the full week experience. He is so social. Events like VBA are perfect for him.
After VBA wraps up, our boys will be ring bearers in a wedding this weekend. I’m a little nervous about how they will do as ring bearers… I guess we’ll find out soon enough. If anything, I’m sure I’ll have some cute photo opportunities. I having a feeling this weekend will be a memory we never forget! I am so happy for the bride & groom. It’s sweet that my boys get to be a part of their special day. Stay tuned for the big wedding weekend lowdown!
Okay, that’s all for now. I hope to have a positive report for you next week!
Tuesday’s Adventures: Flooring guy came to the house while we went to a play date with preschool friends. Then we went to claim our free books from the summer reading program at the library and do a grocery pick at Walmart. Love having pick up in our local area!
Wednesday: We went down to Rainier, OR to meet up with Auntie April for the morning. Grandma joined us since our van was in the shop. Then it was home to pick up the van and head to church for our regular Wednesday night classes.
No pictures from Thursday: VBA errands, haircuts for the ring bearers. Friday adventures: A friend from high school and her three kiddos came to visit us for the morning/afternoon. Then we went out to Mossyrock for dinner with growth group friends. I love this shot of the boys out for an evening stroll to look at Mayfield Lake.
Saturday: Spent the day out at Mayfield Lake hiking and playing with friends. The weather was cool and cloudy, so the park was quiet. I’m not an outdoorsy person, so I’m proud of myself for hiking twice this month. It helps that we live in a beautiful area and our boys are getting big enough to hold their own on a trail!
Mayfield Lake adventures!
Our Sunday evening plans changed due to illness. We had hoped to go out to dinner and the park, but it made no sense for me to go out to eat when I couldn’t taste or enjoy my food with a cold. Jeremy still took the boys to the park for a bit while he ran VBA errands. He is the best dad ever!
Monday morning: VBA with my boy! Not pictured – Graham and about 43 other kiddos in my group!
Monday evening: The first MOPS & MOMSnext Summer Play Date. We had ice cream and popsicles at the church playground.
Amy Scott's Thoughts 