Every week I like to take a moment to showcase the moments that brought me the most joy, but also keep it real with the chaos. The key is seeing that despite the chaos, there is still so much good! Sometimes it’s awesome activities and other times it’s a sweet moment between the kids. There are always moments that can fill us with joy if we choose to see them with a thankful heart.
What a way to start summer break – with less than half my kids!
June 1st was the first official day of summer break and it was also the day that Micah got an airplane and flew off to Vegas for a work conference. That left me with the five kids. But on Saturday his parents came up and stayed overnight to then take the three older kids back to their place for the week.
The big boys have done this every summer for the last five years or so but this year Mercedes was able to join in on the fun. We all went to church together in the morning then said our goodbyes in the parking lot. I totally teared up and had to sit for a few minutes before driving so I could actually see. It’s the longest I would go without seeing her! Even when I was on hospital bedrest for the twins I still saw her every day. But I knew she’d have fun.
The little boys were quite upset though. They cried for their siblings most of the way home from church and several times after getting home. Mercedes is always around so this was a completely new experience for them. I guess they need to get used to it though since she is going to kindergarten in August!
I wanted to make the week as fun as possible and do some special things since I “only” had two kids to tote around.
We started with a picnic lunch in the living room on Sunday. You can tell they are still on the sad side 🙁
They must have been exhausted from the previous few days because they napped for almost three hours on Sunday afternoon and I was able to clean the whole basement plus redo our basement gallery wall. I bought these frames on Black Friday and they have been sitting in the basement for nearly six months. I finally put them up so we can display school pictures now! I also need to take some pictures of the little boys that I can put in frames because I’d rather not have them empty for the next 2.5 years!
On Sunday night I loaded the boys up in our bike trailer and we biked about 2.5 miles to a park. The wind was not my friend that night and I was shaking by the time we made it. They ran around while I guzzled water and regained my strength to make the trek back home. It was a good ride – I just didn’t expect such a fight with the wind!
Monday morning we built a blanket fort with a folding table and the box from our new mower. There were lots of giggles coming from inside and then we watched a movie from the fort as well.
Monday afternoon was really warm so we put swimsuits on and went to the local splash pad. They weren’t very sure about it at first but once they started exploring they became more and more excited and had a blast. It was around 90*F but because I was in the shade they would cool off quickly when them came to see me. We lasted about an hour splashing then swung by Sonic for a half priced shake as a treat to eat with our dinner.
I “Hulk-smashed” my apple cutter on Tuesday. Seriously, I just want to easily cut apples! I guess we have had this thing for probably our entire marriage, but c’mon! I had to actually cut apples with a knife for the rest of the week 😉
Thursday was a special day because it was our last full day – just the three of us. We got donuts for breakfast. I even behaved and only bought three donuts, rather than getting a full box like I usually do. I decided we didn’t need the extra expense or calories 😉
After donuts we went to a different library location and this one has an awesome playroom full of all sorts of different imaginative toys. The boys immediately started playing with the play kitchen. They shopped for food and filled up a cart then set a table with a full meal.
Then they pulled out all the squishy blocks and rolled around in them and over each other. The mirror in the space added an extra level of fun because they kept pausing to make goofy faces at themselves. Man these kids are silly!
In the mail on Thursday were my earrings that I won from Alison and Aubrey for being a GYPO Style Challenge affiliate. I entered a contest for the Summer 2018 Capsule wardrobe and won! I picked these blush tassel hoops which are so different than anything I own but I really like them!
After naps we ate snack in a box, because what else should you do when you have a giant box?
And finally it was Friday evening and Micah’s plane was coming in! He was supposed to get back around 4:30pm but due to maintenance issues with the plane he didn’t get in until 5:30pm. Thankfully I was watching the website and knew when I needed to load the kids up and head to the airport.
We parked in the viewing area so we could hopefully see the plane land. Look how excited they are to see their daddy!
We missed the actual landing (of course) because we were talking and taking the above picture but look, it’s his plane!
And then after that I barely had my phone out and didn’t take a single picture the rest of the weekend! We went out to dinner – just the four of us – to welcome Micah home. We walked around a few stores and finished our grocery shopping on Saturday morning then waited for the other kids to get back home with Micah’s parents. Everyone was back together by mid afternoon on Saturday.
It was an out of the ordinary week, but it was so nice to spend more focused time with the little guys who don’t get that a lot. But I guess once school starts again in the fall we will get a lot of it! Now let’s get going with the rest of summer as a full family.
Where did you find joy in the chaos this week? What was your favorite part of the week?
