Summer Break Week 7

This week marked the half-way point of our summer break.  I can't believe how fast it is all going and how much fun we have been having.  I know there are seasons to life and honestly this season has been pretty fantastic.  It isn't perfect by any means, but that's just life.

After all of the craziness of the first half of the summer, I needed a week to slow down.  This week was it!  Our visiting family left early on Sunday the 5th before we headed out to church.  It was sad to see them go.  What made me even more sad was after church.  I picked Bree up at nursery and she was so excited to go home.  She said, "Back to the cousins, Mom".  At that point I had to tell her they weren't there but that they had gone "bye bye".  She had a very despondent look on her face and said, "Oh".  I thought for a second she might cry.  She talked about her cousins all week, and specifically Maci.  She kept saying that they had gone home, and she would do something and say, "Like Maci".  I seriously adore those two little girls and I love that the Lord blessed us with cousins for the kids that perfectly match up to them.

On Monday we went to Kohl's to find some Minnie Mouse jammies, since Maci had some of those.  The minute we got home Bree had to put them on and then proceeded to wear them all day.  We also got nail polish at Walmart since Aunt Kristi had shown Bree her pretty pink nails and then painted Bree's for her.  Bree's had already started chipping and she had wanted them fixed.  She even threw a fit on Sunday about going to church because she wanted to go to Walmart instead so we could fix her nails.  So Monday, it was "like Maci" and she wore Minnie Mouse jammies and painted her nails.

New jammies

Pretty purple nails.  I'm still learning how to get these done just right but Bree's patience is getting shorter and shorter each time we do it.  These look a lot better than the nails she had me do for her this week!

The whole week was actually quite rainy and cold, so we spent most of the week inside and playing.  On Tuesday the boys decided to turn the stairs into a slide.  They had a blast doing this and seemed relatively safe (as safe as sliding down stairs can be).  But then on Tuesday Finn crashed into the wall and injured his pinky toe on his right foot.  My first thought is that it was broken.  He wouldn't walk on it for about a day and it did swell.  However, it isn't as bruised as I would anticipate for a broken toe, so it's probably a good jam or sprain.  Either way, he's been limping around here a lot lately, but it's slowly getting better.

They used the bedding we had out for their cousins to make the slide.

On Wednesday Finn had his chest CT done.  I was so proud of him that day!  We had practiced taking breaths and holding it in preparation for his CT, only to get there and find out that not only did he have to do that but he also had to take a breath, blow it all out, and then hold it.  So, we practiced that real quick and he did great!  He had to do that four times, but he moved the final time so we did it a 5th time.  But really he did a fantastic job and earned a great toy and book from the hospital.  Kai and Bree went to a babysitter's house again during that time and had a great time.

He's amazing!  And after standing next to Finn for a CT for the second year in a row, I'm hoping that I'm not glowing in the dark, too.

On Thursday we had a crazy day!  I had visiting teaching in the morning with both sisters that I visit.  Doing that with all of the kids gets a tad crazy.  And because of the rain, I had canceled our 11am playgroup time.  Well, while we were visiting the sun came out and it warmed up, so I sent out a quick email saying that playgrroup was back on.  We went from visiting teaching to Walmart to grab luncables and then to the park to play with friends.  By the time we got home we had been out of the house for 5 hours.

Friday morning we did some crazy quick cleaning as we had a playdate scheduled with some friends.  A family from the ward came over to watch Meet the Mormons with us.  It was fun, but our kids definitely made it more difficult.  We don't get to play with these friends that often so it was good to see them and it was their first time at our house.  They have lived here 5 years--man, we're slackers!  Friday afternoon I "rented" Free Willy for the boys to watch since we all needed some more down time.  That afternoon our neighbor also knocked on our door and said he was going to take his kids' old powered vehicles to the thrift store unless we wanted them.  So, needless to say, we now have two more fun toys that take up a lot of garage space.

Friday's dinner.  Doesn't it all look yummy?!  I've been really enjoying the fresh produce this summer and making salads.  They are so easy and so yummy.  And I love that my kids love salads, too!

Saturday the kids enjoyed taking the new toys out for a drive and we also capped the week off with a trip to Walmart.  Considering that was a down week....I'd say we have been pretty busy and we are loving it!

When your first "car" is a red Mustang........yep, spoiled!